Town, Region and Country
Village, city, country - and the ending that makes a word smaller, except when what it really makes it is friendlier.
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The ending that is not really about size 🏘️
Portuguese loves an ending you have probably already heard: **-inho** and **-inha**. Books call it the diminutive and translate it as "little", which is right about a third of the time. The rest of the time it is doing something English has no ending for at all: making a word **warmer**. A **cafezinho** is not a measured-out small coffee. It is a coffee offered to you kindly. Learn the form, then learn what it is really doing.
Where you live 🗂️
Four words to learn, plus two that are nearly free: **a cidade** (the city) and **o centro** (the centre).
Match each word to its meaning
- a aldeia
- o país
- a rua
- o bairro
- village
- country
- street
- neighbourhood or district
How the ending is made 🤏
For a word ending in an unstressed **-o** or **-a**, take the vowel off and add **-inho** or **-inha**, matching the word: **casa** becomes **casinha**, a little house. **livro** becomes **livrinho**, a little book. **gato** becomes **gatinho**, a kitten. **Some words take -zinho or -zinha instead**: café gives **cafezinho**, and cidade gives **cidadezinha**. Recognise those when you meet them; this module does not ask you to work out which words take which, because that is a second rule and one is enough for now. **And the useful part**: when you meet a long word you do not know, look for **-inho** or **-inha** on the end and take it off. What is left is usually a word you can look up.
What is a cafezinho? ❓
A Portuguese host offers you **um cafezinho**. What are they most likely offering?
- A coffee, offered warmly: the ending is being friendly rather than measuring
- A coffee that is definitely smaller than a normal one
- A cheaper coffee
- A coffee for a child
The rule 📝
Portuguese makes a word smaller by taking off the final unstressed vowel and adding an ending. casa becomes _____ and livro becomes _____. The ending matches the _____ of the word. But it does not always mean literally small: very often it adds _____ or informality, which is why a cafezinho is offered rather than measured. So when you meet an unfamiliar long word, look for _____ on the end and take it off.
Find the ending ✍️
An interactive activity.
Order them by size 🪜
An interactive activity.
Which are true of the diminutive? ✅
Select the TWO correct statements.
- The ending matches the word: -inha for a feminine one, -inho for a masculine one
- It often adds warmth or informality rather than saying anything about size
- It always means the thing is physically smaller
- It makes the word plural
Use it 🧭
An interactive activity.
Two jobs, one ending ↔️
The same ending, doing two quite different things. Reading which one is meant comes from the situation, not from the word.
The summary 🖊️
A village is _____ and a city is _____. A country is _____ and a street is _____. And the ending _____ makes a word smaller, or friendlier, and often both at once.
A tua vez ✍️
An interactive activity.