Suffixes called diminutives are added to words to indicate smallness, affection, humor, pity, irony, or ridicule. Some common diminutives are: -ito, -cito, -ecito, -illo, -cillo, -ecillo

Note that diminutives change to match the gender and number of the word they modify. For most words, we drop the final vowel and add -ito or -illo.

Examples:

ahora - now ---> ahorita - right now
hermano - brother ---> hermanito - little brother
Juana - Jean ---> Juanita - Jeannie

Let's look at some example sentences:

Sí, señor. Ahorita se la consigo.
Yes, sir. I'll get it for you right away.

¿Usted cree que esté allí ahorita?
Do you think he might be there right now?

No paramos para comer así que tenemos hambre ahorita.
We did not stop to eat so we are hungry right now.

Mi hermanito tiene cinco años.
My little brother is five years old.

Se los llevó tu hermanito.
Your little brother took it.

¿Por qué le pegaste a tu hermanito?
Why did you hit your little brother?

Words with more than one syllable that end in E, N, R, or a stressed vowel take -cito or -cillo:

Examples:

una joven - young girl ---> jovencita - young lady
mamá - mama ---> mamacita - mommy
pintor - painter ---> pintorcito - poor painter
pobre - poor ---> pobrecito - poor little thing

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