-inho

== Portuguese == === Alternative forms === -im, -in', -in, -inh (pronunciation spellings) -zinho (-z- + -inho) === Etymology === From Old Galician-Portuguese -ỹo, from Latin -īnus (“of or relating to”). Compare Italian -ino, French -in, both diminutive suffixes. Doublet of -ino. === Pronunciation === Rhymes: -iɲu, (Brazil) -ĩɲu === Suffix === -inho m (noun-forming suffix, plural -inhos, feminine -inha, feminine plural -inhas) forms the diminutive of nouns; -ie; -y; -ling; -let Synonym: see :Category:Portuguese diminutive suffixes indicates smallness, shortness, youth, fewness, etc. ‎casa (“house”) + ‎-inha → ‎casinha (“small house”) ‎criança (“child”) + ‎-inha → ‎criancinha (“young child”) ‎texto (“text”) + ‎-inho → ‎textinho (“short text”) ‎pipoca (“popcorn”) + ‎-inha → ‎pipoquinha (“a small portion of popcorn”) Synonyms: -culo, -ete, -ito, -ulo Antonym: -ão belittles the suffixed noun; -let ‎time (“sports team”) + ‎-inho → ‎timinho (“a bad sports team”) ‎país (“country; nation”) + ‎-inho → ‎paisinho (“a country of little importance; a powerless country”) Synonyms: -culo, -eco, -ilho indicates affection; -ie; -y ‎cachorro (“dog”) + ‎-inho → ‎cachorrinho (“doggy”) ‎terra (“homeland”) + ‎-inho → ‎terrinha (“land; country”) === Suffix === -inho (adjective-forming suffix, feminine -inha, masculine plural -inhos, feminine plural -inhas) (somewhat informal) forms the diminutive of adjectives and adverbs, roughly equivalent to English somewhat or kind of Synonym: meio ‎feio (“ugly”) + ‎-inho → ‎feiinho (“somewhat ugly”) forms the augmentative of adjectives and adverbs ‎limpo (“clean”) + ‎-inho → ‎limpinho (“very clean”) === Suffix === -inho (adjective-like pronoun-forming suffix, feminine -inha, masculine plural -inhos, feminine plural -inhas) (informal) forms the diminutive of pronouns indicates smallness ‎aquele (“that one”) + ‎-z- -inho → ‎aquelezinho (“that small one”) Synonym: mesmo intensifies or emphasises personal pronouns ‎eu (“I”) + ‎-z- -inho → ‎euzinho (“I … myself”) === Suffix === -inho (Brazil, colloquial, regional) forms the diminutive of gerunds, indicating a lack of intensity or seriousness ‎chovendo (“raining”) + ‎-inho → ‎chovendinho (“drizzling”) ‎namorando (“dating”) + ‎-inho → ‎namorandinho (“having an uncommitted romantic relationship”) ==== Usage notes ==== This suffix retains the gender of the root word and usually its final ⟨a⟩ or ⟨o⟩ too, even if the former ends a masculine word or the latter ends a feminine one: ‎problema (“problem”) + ‎-inho → ‎probleminha (“little problem”), not *probleminho ‎tribo (“tribe”) + ‎-inho → ‎tribinho (“tribelet”), not *tribinha This is always true in prescriptive grammar; however, some informal formulations deviate from this pattern, such fotinha, from foto. Brazilian grammarian Evanildo Bechara additionally deems -inha valid if the root is a clipping of a feminine word ending with ⟨a⟩, such motinha from moto, in turn a clipping of motocicleta. The suffixes -inho, -ão and -mente do not alter vowel qualities in the root word: ‎certo (“accurate”) + ‎-inho → ‎certinho (“precisely correct”, with /ɛ/); compare certeiro (with /e/ or /ɨ/) ==== Derived terms ==== === References === === Further reading === “-inho”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026 “-inho”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026