Learn about diminutives in Russian
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Intro |
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| Michael: What are diminutives and how are they formed in Russian? |
| Saodat: And are they commonly used? |
| Michael: At RussianPod101.com, we hear these questions often. Emiliya Estis points out a cute kitten to her daughter, Elsa Estis. She says, |
| "Look at the kitten!" |
| Emiliya Estis: Глянь на котёночка (Glyan' na kotyonochka!) |
| Dialogue |
| Emiliya Estis: Глянь на котёночка! (Glyan' na kotyonochka!) |
| Elsa Estis: Милый! (Milyy!) |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| Emiliya Estis: Глянь на котёночка! (Glyan' na kotyonochka!) |
| Michael: "Look at the kitten!" |
| Elsa Estis: Милый! (Milyy!) |
| Michael: "How cute!" |
Lesson focus |
| Michael: In this lesson, we'll discuss just how common diminutives in Russian are and how they are formed, so you can easily spot them when practicing. Diminutives denote exactly the opposite of augmentatives, that is to say, something cute or small. In Russian, the diminutive form of nouns typically takes on the following suffixes and infixes: |
| Saodat: -ик (ik), -ек (-ek), -ок (ok), -ёк (yok), -очк- (ochk), -ечк (-echk), -ышк (yshk)-, -oньк- (on'k), and -еньк- (en'k). |
| Michael: Sometimes, entirely new words are created to denote the diminutive form of a word. For instance, you can take the word |
| Saodat: папа (papa) |
| Michael: or "papa." The diminutive for this word is |
| Saodat: папочка (papochka), |
| Michael: which is a term of endearment for one's dad. In Russian, diminutives are formed not only to imply that something is small or cute, but also to express one's emotions toward a person, animal, or thing. |
| [Recall 1] |
| Michael: Let's take a closer look at the dialogue. |
| Do you remember how Emiliya says "Look at the kitten?" |
| (pause 4 seconds) |
| Saodat: Глянь на котёночка! (Glyan' na kotyonochka!) |
| Michael: The Russian word for a kitten is |
| Saodat: котёнок (kotyonok) |
| Michael: Adding the suffix |
| Saodat: -ек (-ek) |
| Michael: transforms the word from "kitten" to |
| Saodat: котёночек (kotyonochek) |
| Michael: "little kitten." |
| [Summary] |
| Michael: So far, we have learned that the diminutives are suffixes that convey the smallness of an object described in the sentence. They are also used to express one's affection toward another person. There are a lot of diminutives used in the Russian language, and their use often depends on the gender of the noun. Let's take, for example, the word |
| Saodat: рыба (ryba) |
| Michael: or "fish" takes the suffix |
| Saodat: -к (-k) |
| Michael: to form the diminutive |
| Saodat: рыбка (rybka) |
| Michael: which could mean "little fish." Meanwhile, neuter nouns like |
| Saodat: колесо (koleso) |
| Michael: or "wheel," could take the suffix |
| Saodat: ик (-ik) |
| Michael: and form the diminutive |
| Saodat: колёсико (kolyosiko) |
| Michael: a term used to describe a tiny wheel, such as the scroll wheel you see in a computer mouse. Diminutives are often used when addressing little children. For instance, to describe a little child's eye, or |
| Saodat: глаз (glaz), |
| Michael: a mother would use the diminutive |
| Saodat: глазик (glazik), |
| Michael: adding the suffix |
| Saodat: -ик (-ik) |
| Michael: to imply that the child's eye is smaller and cuter. |
| Cultural Insight/Expansion |
| Michael: You've probably realized by now how important diminutives are and how commonly they are used in the Russian language. They don't only convey the smallness of an object, but they also convey a sense of intimacy when referring to a person. For instance, the word |
| Saodat: мама (mama) |
| Michael: can have several diminutive forms, one of which is |
| Saodat: мамочка (mamochka), |
| Michael: an affectionate term to call someone's mother. A more playful version would be the diminutive |
| Saodat: мамуля (mamulya) |
| Michael: Diminutives apply to people's names too. For instance, the name |
| Saodat: Вова (Vova) |
| Michael: could come in the form of |
| Saodat: Вовочка (Vovochka) |
| Michael: The same is true with the name |
| Saodat: Маша (Masha) |
| Michael: which can have diminutives ranging from |
| Saodat: Машенька (Mashen'ka) |
| Michael: to |
| Saodat: Машуля (Mashulya). |
Outro |
| Michael: Do you have any more questions? We're here to answer them! |
| Saodat: Пока! (Poka!) |
| Michael: See you soon! |
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