Diminutive and augmentative suffixes
In short
| Suffix | Gender | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -ić, -čić | masc. | sto → stolić, kamen → kamenčić |
| -ica | fem. | ruka → ručica, riba → ribica |
| -ce, -če, -e | neut. | drvo → drvce, prozor → prozorče, mačka → mače |
| -ina, -etina, -erina (augm.) | fem. | nos → nosina, pas → psina, kuća → kućerina |
Agreement follows the SUFFIX: malo prozorče, velika nosina. k/g/h → č/ž/š before -ica. Augmentatives are usually pejorative.
B1 · Lesson 13 · Deminutivi i augmentativi
The full explanation, from the lesson that teaches this rule
Small and sweet, or big and ugly
Serbian speakers constantly change the end of a noun to make the thing smaller, cuter or dearer: kuća (house) becomes kućica (a little house, a cosy house), riba (fish) becomes ribica (a little fish). You hear these forms all the time with children, pets and people you love. The same trick works in the other direction: nos (nose) becomes nosina (a huge nose) — and that almost always sounds mocking or rude.
A form that makes something small or dear is called a diminutive; one that makes it big (and usually unpleasant) is an augmentative. Each is made by adding a suffix to the noun, and each suffix brings its own gender with it.
Masculine diminutives: -ić and -čić
| Base noun | Diminutive | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| sto (table) | stolić | little table |
| zub (tooth) | zubić | little tooth, baby tooth |
| grad (town) | gradić | small town |
| prst (finger) | prstić | tiny finger (a child's finger) |
| kamen (stone) | kamenčić | pebble |
| balon (balloon) | balončić | little balloon |
Feminine diminutives: -ica
| Base noun | Diminutive | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| riba (fish) | ribica | little fish |
| lutka (doll) | lutkica | little doll |
| sestra (sister) | sestrica | little sister |
| duša (soul) | dušica | sweetheart (literally 'little soul') |
| ruka (hand) | ručica | little hand |
| knjiga (book) | knjižica | booklet, little book |
| ptica (bird) | ptičica | little bird |
Neuter diminutives: -ce, -ašce, -če, -e
| Base noun | Diminutive | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| drvo (tree) | drvce | little tree |
| sunce (sun) | sunašce | dear little sun |
| prozor (window) | prozorče | little window |
| mačka (cat) | mače | kitten |
| devojka (girl) | devojče | little girl |
| unuk (grandson) | unuče | grandchild (small) |
Augmentatives: -ina, -etina, -erina
| Base noun | Augmentative | Meaning and tone |
|---|---|---|
| nos (nose) | nosina | a huge nose — mocking |
| pas (dog) | psina | a huge, scary dog — negative |
| riba (fish) | ribetina | a whopper of a fish — admiring |
| kuća (house) | kućerina | a huge (often ugly) house — dismissive |
Augmentatives usually insult or mock. Calling someone's nose nosina is rude. Only in praise of size (a big catch, a strong man) is the tone positive, and then context makes it clear.
The gender comes from the suffix, not from the base
This is the one thing to watch. The derived word takes the gender of its suffix, so an adjective, a demonstrative, a possessive or a past participle must agree with the NEW word, even when the base noun had another gender.
| Suffix | Gender of the new noun | Example with agreement |
|---|---|---|
| -ić, -čić | masculine | mali stolić, crveni balončić |
| -ica | feminine | mala ribica, moja sestrica |
| -ce, -če, -e | neuter | prozorče je otvoreno (from masculine prozor), naše kuče (the little form of masculine pas), ovo mače (from feminine mačka) |
| -ina, -etina, -erina | feminine | velika nosina (from masculine nos), psina je strašna (from masculine pas) |
Look at the ending, not at the meaning or at the base word. Prozor is masculine, but prozorče is neuter: malo prozorče, never mali prozorče. Mačka is feminine, but mače is neuter: mače je popilo mleko. Pas is masculine, but psina is feminine: ne prilazi joj.
Do not invent your own diminutives. The pattern is only partly regular: each noun has its own established forms (a puppy is usually kuče, a word from a different root, even though psić also exists), and some diminutives have their own meaning (knjižica is usually a booklet). Learn the forms you meet and recognise the suffixes elsewhere.
Diminutives are also the everyday language of affection. Parents call a child dušice or zlato moje, and pets are almost always talked about in diminutive forms.
Check what you read
6 of the 15 questions this lesson asks in the app. Type the form or pick the answer.
Which suffix makes a masculine diminutive such as stolić or zubić?
___ balončić je na stolu.
Why is the diminutive of ruka spelled ručica, not rukica?
Sestrica je još(mali), ali već ide u školu.
(ovaj) devojče stalno peva.
(naš) kuče spava u kuhinji.
Examples from the course
The marked word is where the rule applies. Press play to hear the sentence.
Bebina ručica je hladna.
The baby's little hand is cold.
Ovo mače je baš slatko.
This kitten is really sweet.
Ovo devojče je veoma pametno.
This little girl is very clever.
Taj čovek ima veliku nosinu.
That man has a huge great nose.
Tata, kupi mi crveni balončić!
Dad, buy me a little red balloon!
Mali Marko je izgubio prvi zubić.
Little Marko has lost his first baby tooth.
Sestrica mi je dala svoju knjižicu.
My little sister gave me her booklet.
Kakvu je ribetinu tvoj otac uhvatio!
What a whopper of a fish your father caught!
Vidi kakva psina! Ne prilazi joj.
Look, what a huge dog! Don't go near it.
Beba stalno stavlja prstić u usta.
The baby keeps putting her tiny finger in her mouth.
Sentences in the course that use this rule: 34
Try it yourself
Translate a sentence that uses this rule. The check marks the word that went wrong and names the rule behind it, as in the app.
Sentences
Write it in Serbian
That man has a huge great nose.
Augmentative, mocking in tone.