The diminutive in German
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The diminutive
We use the diminutive form âchen to indicate that something is âsmallâ or âcuteâ. It can be added to most nouns in German.
das Tier â das Tierchen
the animal â the little animal, the little critter
der Stern â das Sternchen
the star â the little star
If the noun contains an a, o or u we generally add an umlaut to it. We also generally remove the final âe, if there is one.
der Schatz â das SchĂ€tzchen
the treasure â little treasure, darling, sweetheart
die Torte â das Törtchen
the cake â the little cake
die Blume â das BlĂŒmchen
the flower â the cute little flower
Notes:
- All diminutive nouns are neuter.
der Haifisch â das Haifischchen
the shark â the baby shark
die Katze â das KĂ€tzchen
the cat â the pussycat, the kitten
- The alternative diminutive ending -lein is mainly used for words that end in âch. It can be used with other words too, but that sounds somewhat old-fashioned.
das Buch â das BĂŒchlein
the book â the little book
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