Diminutives

In Dutch, a suffix can be added to the noun to indicate that the object in question is of a relatively small size. This suffix is usually –je, but it can take other forms as well (see Formation). A noun to which this suffix has been added is called a diminutive. Diminutives are very popular in the Dutch language (see Use).

Diminutives are ­het words (in the singular; in the plural they are de words like all plurals).

Formation

The basic suffix of the diminutive is –je. However, under certain circumstances this form changes. These circumstances are connected with the ending of the noun in question. The following are the most important rules for the formation of the Dutch diminutive:

1. –kje is used if the noun ends in unstressed –ing:
   

   woning	woninkje	ending in -ing	small dwelling, house
   koning	koninkje	ending in -ing	small king

   Note that the letter –g is dropped when adding the suffix –kje.

2. –pje is used if the noun ends in /m/ preceded by a long vowel, a diphthong, /l/, /r/ or /ə/:
   

   raam	raampje	long vowel before /m/	small window
   duim	duimpje	diphtong before /m/	small thumb
   film	filmpje	/l/ before /m/	small/short film
   scherm	schermpje	/r/ before /m/	small screen
   bezem	bezempje	/ə/ before /m/	small broom

3. –tje is used if the noun ends in /n/, /l/, /r/ or /w/ preceded by a long vowel, a diphthong or /ə/:
   

   baan	baantje	long vowel before /n/	small job (job on the side)
   konijn	konijntje	diphtong before /n/	small rabbit
   lepel	lepeltje	/ə/ before /l/	small spoon
   kamer	kamertje	/ə/ before /r/	small room

   And –tje is used if the noun ends in a long vowel, a diphthong or /ə/:

   spa	spaatje	ending in long vowel	small glass of mineral water
   kou	koutje	ending in dophtong	small/minor cold
   dame	dametje	ending in /ə/	little lady

4. –etje is used if the noun ends in /m/, /n/, /ng/, /l/ or /r/ preceded by a short vowel:
   

   gram	grammetje	short vowel before /m/	little gram (measure)
   pan	pannetje	short vowel before /n/	small pan
   ding	dingetje	short vowel before /ng/	little thing
   bel	belletje	short vowel before /l/	little bel
   ster	sterretje	short vowel before /r/	small star

Mind the spelling rules for doubling the end consonant after a short vowel.

A singular diminutive is always a neuter noun, whereas the plural is alwasy a de-word, e.g. de film, het filmpje, de filmpjes.

Note that the plural of a diminutive always ends in –s: plakjes, woninkjes, raampjes, baantjes, spaatjes, grammetjes.

Use

The diminutive is not only used to indicate small size, but also affection and affinity. Thus, someone can refer to a grown man as mijn broertje (literally ‘my little brother’), or a normal sized car as een lekker autootje (literally ‘a nice little car’). Indeed, the word kopje (‘small cup’) is almost exclusively used in this way: you hardly ever hear someone talking about een kop koffie.

On the other hand, diminutives can also be used in a derogative manner:

Some diminutives have no non-diminutive counterpart:

Sometimes the diminutive is used with a specific meaning which does not quite correspond with the non-diminutive:

Some nouns have two diminutive forms with two distinctive meanings, e.g. bloem has the diminutives bloempje, for ‘small flower’, and bloemetje which, in addition to the meaning ‘small flower’ is also used for ‘bunch of flowers’.

A very colloquial use of the diminutive is to substitute the ending –je for –ie in spoken Dutch: