In language structure, a diminutive,^[1] or diminutive form (abbreviated DIM), is a formation of a word used to convey a slight degree of the root meaning, smallness of the object or quality named, encapsulation, intimacy, or endearment.^[2][3] It is the opposite of an augmentative.

While many languages apply the grammatical diminutive to nouns, a few also use it for adjectives and even other parts of speech (see Dutch, Italian, Latin, Romanian, Portuguese, Polish, Russian, Slovene, and Yiddish examples below).

Diminutives are often used for the purpose of expressing affection (see nickname and hypocoristic). In many languages, the meaning of diminution can be translated "tiny" or "wee", and diminutives are used frequently when speaking to small children; adult people sometimes use diminutives when they express extreme tenderness and intimacy by behaving and talking like children. (See Apocopation.)

In some languages, diminutives are formed in a regular way by adding affixes to nouns and proper names; in English the alteration of meaning is often conveyed through clipping, either alone or combined with an affix.^[1] English diminutives tend to be shorter and more colloquial than the basic form of the word; diminutives formed by adding affixes in other languages are often longer and not necessarily colloquial.

In many languages, formation of diminutives by adding suffixes is a productive part of the language.^[2] All nouns, not just proper nouns can be diminuted. The word "diminutive" is used in a narrower and less vague sense here than when referring to English. The basic meaning of diminution in these languages is "smallness of the object named"; endearment, intimacy, etc. is secondary and dependent on context. For example, the name of one the last Roman emperors of the western part of the Roman Empire—Romulus Augustus—was diminuted to Romulus Augustulus (little Augustus) to emphasise the contrast between the grandness of the name and political insignificance of its bearer; in this case the connotation of diminution is derogatory, not endearing.

A double diminutive is a diminutive form with two diminutive suffixes rather than one.

Indo-European languages[link]

Germanic languages[link]

English[link]

Productive diminutives are not common in Standard English in comparison with many other languages. Nevertheless, most dialects of English feature a fair lot of sidling and sibling diminutives. Terms such as "movie" for "moving picture" are oft-heard in English.

Sometimes a diminutive lengthens the original word: e.g., "hottie" to denote a sexually appealing (or "hot") young man or woman. (Note that analogous expressions in languages in which diminution is a regular part of the grammar would not be called diminutives.) Diminutives of first names are often encountered, e.g., Maggie (from Margaret), Sally (from Sarah), or Suzie (from Suzanne); however, they also function as nicknames.

English has also borrowed liberally from other languages when producing new diminutives: e.g., -ette is from French. However, some of those are lexicalized and, in many contexts, do not function as proper diminutives in modern English.

English diminutives[link]

• -k/-ock/-uck: bollock, bullock, buttock, fetlock, hillock, mattock (OE mattuc), mullock, pillock, stalk, whelk, yolk
• -n/-en/-on (accusative or feminine): chicken, kitten, maiden
• -le (defrequentative -l): puddle, sparkle
• -ish (disparative): largish, reddish, smallish, tallish
• -s (degenitive): Becks, Betts, Wills
• -sie/-sies/-sy (babytalk assimilative or from patrici- of Patsy): bitsy, footsie (1930), halfsies, onesies, popsy (1860), teensy-weensy, tootsie (1854), twosies, Betsy, Patsy, Robsy
• -o (American devocative, later Commonwealth): bucko, daddio, garbo, kiddo, smoko, wacko, Jacko, Ricko,
• -er/-ers/-ster (agentive, intensive, hypocoristic, also elided rhotic -a): bonkers (1948), preggers (1940), starkers (1905), Becker[s], Lizzers, Hankster, Patster
• -a (Geordie assimilative -er): Gazza, Macca
• -z (geordie degenitive -s): Bez, Chaz, Gaz

Loanwords:

• -ling (Norse defrequentative-patrinominative): darling, duckling, fingerling, gosling, underling
• -erel/-rel (Francish-Latin comparative, pejorative -(t)eriale): cockerel (1450s), coistrel (1570s), doggerel (1249), dotterel (15th century), gangrel (14th century), hoggerel, kestrel (15th century), mackerel (1300ish), minstrel (1180), mongrel (1540s), pickerel (1388), puckerel, scoundrel (1589), suckerel, taistrel (18th century, N for E tearstrel: tear+-ster+-rel), tumbrel (1223), titterel/whimbrel (1520s), wastrel (1847)
• -el/-il/-ille/-l/-le (Norman-Francish lenite -c-/-g- or metathetic -i- dim. -iol-): broil (14th century; F brusle), broil (15th century; VL brodicula), griddle (1300ish, ME gridel, F gredil, VL graticula; cognate with E hurdle), grille (1661), jail (1250s; F jaiole, nF gaiole, VL gabiola, L caveola), mail (1320; L macula), pill (1400), quail (1300ish; ML quaccula), rail (1320; L regula), rail (1460; VL rasculum), rail (1450s; VL ragula), roll (1300ish), squirrel (1327), toil (1300ish; VL tudicula), trail (1300ish; VL tragula)
• -et/-ette/-etti/-etto/-it/-ita/-ito/-itta (F-S-I-L defrequentative -itat-): amaretto, burrito, cigarette, clarinet, courgette, diskette, fajita, falsetto, faucet (1400ish), gambit (1656), kitchenette, marionette, minuet, oubliette, palette, pallet (1350s), parquet, poppet (1300ish), puppet (16th century), rabbit (1380), Sagitta, señorita, spaghetti, suffragette, swallet (1660ish), taquito, towelette, wallet (1350s)
• -ot/-otte (F ablaut^[4] or assimilative dim.-defreq. -ultat-): culottes, harlot (13th century), Charlotte, Diderot, Lancelot (1180), Margot, Peugeot, Pierrot
• -let/-lette (F dim.-defreq.): aglet (15th century), applet (1995), booklet (1859), chicklet (1886), eyelet (1400), gauntlet, goblet, hamlet (15th century), leaflet (1787), oillet (1350s), omelette (1611), piglet (1883), roulette (1734), tablet (1300ish)
• -ey/-ie/-y (Scottish-Dutch dim., 15th century-on): cookie (1703), daddy (1500ish), dearie, doggy (1820), girlie (1942), kitty (16th century), laddie (1546), mammy (1520), mommy (1902), mummy (1820), sissy (1846), whitey (1820), Debbie, Frankie, Frenchy (1820), Johnny (1670), Marty, Morty, Nancy
• -kin (Dutch dim.-acc. -ken/-chen, 15th century-on): bodkin, cannikin, catkin, lambkin, manikin, napkin, pannikin, ramekin, welkin (OE wolcen)
• -kins (hýpocoristic dim.-degen.): Laurakins, Sallykins
• -leus/-ola/-ole/-oli/-ola/-olo/-olus/-ula/-ule/-uleus/-ulum (Francish-Spanish-Italian-Latin dim., mainly 17th century-on): alveolus, areola, areole, article, cannoli, casserole, cerulean, cuniculus, curriculum, Equuleus, ferrule, formula, granule, homunculus, insula, malleolus, majuscule, minuscule, nodule, nucleus, nucleolus, particle, pergola, pendulum, pianola, piccolo, ravioli, raviolo, reticle, reticule, reticulum, spatula, tarantula, vacuole, vinculum, vocable
• -eau/-el/-ella/-elle/-ello/-il/-illa/-ille/-illo/-le (F-S-I-L bidim.; E -kin): armadillo, bordello, bureau, castle (OE castel, <1000), codicil, espadrille, flotilla, limoncello, mantle, Monticello, morsel, organelle, pastel, pencil, pestle, quadrille, quarrel, rowel (1344), scintilla, vanilla, violoncello
• -ina/-ine/-ini/-ino (F-S-I simulative, mainly 1750s-on; E -like or -ling as adj. but cognate with -ing as n. or adj.): bambino, coquina, doctrine (1350s), domino, farina, figurine, linguine, maraschino, marina, neutrino, palomino, tambourine, zucchini
• mini- (commercial miniature compound): minibar, miniblind, miniboss, minibus, minicar (1949), minicassette (1967), minicomputer (1963), minigame, minigun, minimall, minimarket (1965), minimart, mini-nuke, minischool, miniseries (1974), miniskirt (1965), minitower, minivan, miniver (1250), mini-LP, mini-me, MiniDisc

Scots[link]

In Lowland Scots diminutives are used much more frequently than in some other forms of English. The diminutive is formed by the suffix -ie, -ock, -ockie (double diminutive) or –ag (the latter from Scottish Gaelic, and probably influencing the other two before it). -ie is by far the most common prefix used.

Examples include

• -ie: burnie (small burn), feardie or feartie (frightened person, coward), gamie (gamekeeper), kiltie (kilted soldier), mannie (man), Nessie (Loch Ness Monster), postie (postman), wifie (woman)
• -ock: bittock (wee bit, little bit), playock (toy), sourock (sorrel),
• -ag: Cheordag (Geordie), bairnag (small child)
• -ockie: hooseockie (little house), wifockie (little woman)

Dutch[link]

In Dutch, the diminutive is formed by adding one of the suffixes -je, -tje, -pje, -etje, -kje to the noun in question, depending on the latter's phonology:

• -je for words ending in -b, -c, -d, -t, -f, -g, -ch, -k, -p, -v, -x, -z or -s: neef → neefje (male cousin), lach → lachje (laugh), schaap → schaapje (sheep)
• -pje for words ending in -m: boom (tree) → boompje
• -kje for words ending in -ing: koning (king) → koninkje (the 'ng'-sound transforms into 'nk')
• -′tje for words ending in a vowel, and adding "'-tje"' without the apostrophe would change the pronunciation: auto ("car") → auto'tje (or: autootje)
• -etje for CVC words ending in -ng, -b, -l, -n or -r: ding → dingetje (thing), bal → balletje (ball), kam → kammetje (comb), kar → karretje (cart)
• -tje for words ending in -r, -n, -h, -j, -l, -w, or a vowel: zoen → zoentje (kiss), boei → boeitje (buoy), appel → appeltje (apple), ei → eitje (egg), keu → keutje (billiard cue)

Often the suffixes -ke, -eke, -ske, -pie, or -ie are used in different dialects instead of the former mentioned. However, some expressions became standard language:

• Slapie—a buddy who one shares sleeping quarters with
• Koppiekoppie—smart thinking
• Koek en zopie—small food and drinks stalls that spring up along frozen canals during winter
• Makkie—easy job, piece of cake
• Manneke—little fellow
• Bakkie—cup (of coffee), rig (radio transmitter), trailer

In Dutch, in addition to nouns, diminutive forms of adjectives and adverbs may also be created:

• adjective: groen (green) → groentje (lit. "little green" meaning rookie)
• adverbs: groen (green) → groentjes (lit. "littly green" meaning greenish), net (neat) → netjes, zacht (soft) → zachtjes

Some nouns have two different diminutives, each with a different meaning:

• bloem (flower) → bloempje (lit. "small flower")
• bloem (flower) → bloemetje (lit. also "small flower", but meaning bouquet)

A few words also exist solely in a diminutive form, e.g. zeepaardje ("seahorse") and sneeuwklokje ("Snowdrop"). See other e.g.

When used to refer to time, the Dutch diminutive form can indicate whether the person in question found it pleasant or not.

• Na een uurtje gezellig gekletst te hebben met haar vriend ging het meisje naar huis.

After chatting to her boyfriend for a little hour, the girl went home.

The diminutive can also be used pejoratively.

• Hij was vanavond weer echt het "'mannetje'".

"He acted as if he was the (little) man of the evening."

Afrikaans[link]

In Afrikaans, the diminutive is formed by adding one of the suffixes -ie, -pie, -kie, -'tjie, -tjie, -jie, -etjie to the word, depending on the latter's phonology (some exceptions exist to these rules):

• -ie for words ending in -f, -g, -k, -p or -s: neef → nefie (male cousin), lag → laggie (laugh), skaap → skapie (sheep)
• -pie for words ending in -m: boom (tree) → boompie
• -kie for words ending in -ing: koning (king) → koninkie
• -′tjie for words ending in -i, -o, or -u (usually borrowed from other languages): impi → impi′tjie
• -jie for words ending in -d or -t: hoed → hoedjie (hat)
• -etjie for CVC words ending in -b, -l, -m, -n or -r: bal → balletjie (ball), kam → kammetjie (comb), kar → karretjie (car)
• -tjie for most other words: soen → soentjie (kiss), koei → koeitjie (cow), appel → appeltjie (apple)

Diminutives of words that are themselves diminutives are used, for example baadjietjie (little jacket). Such constructions do not appear in Dutch.

Afrikaans has almost identical usage and grammar for diminutive words as Dutch, the language Afrikaans was derived from. (detailed below) There are differences in Dutch as compared to Afrikaans. One is that suffixes end with -je (e.g. beetje, a [little] bit, mandje, basket) as compared to -ie in Afrikaans (e.g. bietjie, mandjie—same meanings respectively). This reflects the usage of -ie in the dialects of the province of Holland that most of Dutch settlers came from. An other difference is that in the Dutch language also adjectives and adverbs can be conjugated as diminutives as if they were nouns. Diminutives are widely used in both languages, but possibly more so in the Afrikaans language.

In some cases the diminutive in Afrikaans is the most commonly used, or even only form of the word: bietjie, mandjie, and boontjie (bean). In other cases the diminutive may be used figuratively rather than literally to imply affection, camaraderie, euphemism, sarcasm, or disdain, depending on context.

German[link]

German features words such as "Häuschen" for "small house", "Würstchen" for "small sausage" and "Hündchen" for "small dog". Diminutives are more frequently used than in English. Some words only exist in the diminutive form, e.g. "Kaninchen" ("rabbit" derived from the Latin diminutive cuniculus via the Old French word 'conin'). The use of diminutives is quite different between the dialects. The Alemannic dialects for example use the diminutive very often.

Diminutives are always neutral as for grammatical gender, regardless of the original word. For example, the common German word for girl is das Mädchen, which is neutral because it is a diminutive of die Maid (feminine) – the maiden. While Mädchen is an everyday word, Maid is hardly used nowadays and usually is associated with medieval language (as in fables, novels, etc.).

There are two suffixes that can be systematically applied in German:

• -chen, e.g. "Brötchen" for little bread (corresponding with English -kin as seen in "napkin", Low Saxon (Low German) and Dutch -je, -tje, -ke, -ken and other forms depending on the dialect area)
• -lein e.g. "Männlein" for little man (corresponding with English -let and -ling, Alemannic/Swabian/Swiss -lé (Spaetzlé), -li (Hörnli), Bavarian and Austrian -l, and Latin -culus'/-cula)

Suffixation of the diminutive suffixes –chen and –lein to a finally stressed word stem causes umlaut of the stressed vowel.

Austro-Bavarian[link]

In Bavarian and Austrian German, the -l or -erl suffix can replace almost any usual German diminutive. For example, the standard word for 'girl' in German is Mädchen and, while Mädchen is still used frequently in Austrian German, a more colloquial "cute" usage would be Mädl or Madl. It is regular for Austrians to replace the normal Bisschen ('a little' as in "Can I have a little more?") with Bissl. This has become a very distinctive feature of Austrian German.

A familiar example of the -erl diminutive is Nannerl, the childhood name of Maria Anna Mozart, the sister of the celebrated composer. Historically, some common Austro-Bavarian surnames were also derived from (clipped) first names using the -l suffix; for example, (Jo)hann > Händl, Man(fred) > Mändl (both with epenthetic d and umlaut), (Gott)fried > Friedl, and so on.^[5][6]

Swabian[link]

In Swabian German this is done by adding a -le suffix (the e being distinctly pronounced, but not stressed). For example, a small house would be a "Häusle" or a little girl a "Mädle". A unique feature of Swabian is that words other than nouns may be suffixed with -le, which is not the case with other German dialects, High German, or other languages: wasele (diminutive of was, what) or jetzetle (diminutive of jetzt, now) or kommele (diminutive of kommen, come). (In both Spanish and Italian, these may be formed similarly, e.g. igualito – diminutive of igual, same and pochino or pochettino - diminutive of poco, a little/a few). Many variants of Swabian also have a plural diminutive suffix: -la. E.g.: "oi Mädle, zwoi Mädla."

High Alemannic[link]

In High Alemannic the standard suffix -li is added to the root word. A little would be äs bitzli (literally a little bite) as to "ein bisschen" in Standard German. The diminutive form of bitzli is birebitzli.

Vowels of proper names often turn into an umlaut in Highest Alemannic, whereas in High Alemannic it remains the same. Proper names: Christian becomes Chrigi, in Highest Alemannic: Chrigu. Sebastien becomes Sebi resp. Sebu. Sabrina becomes Sabsi resp. Säbe. Corinne becomes Cogi resp. Cogä. Barbara becomes Babsi resp. Babsä, Robert becomes Röbi resp. Röbu. Jakob becomes Köbi resp. Köbu. Gabriel becomes Gäbu in Highest Alemannic.

Low German[link]

In East Frisian Low Saxon, -je, -tje, and -pje are, like in Dutch, used as a diminutive suffix (e.g. huis becomes huisje (little house); boom becomes boompje (little tree)). Compare this with the High German suffix -chen (see above). Some words have a slightly different suffix, even though the diminutive always ends with -je. For example, man becomes mannetje (little man). All these suffixes East Frisian Low Saxon shares with Dutch (detailed above).

In other varieties of West Low German, spoken in the east of the Netherlands, diminutives occasionally use the umlaut in combination with the suffixes -gie(n):

• man → mānnegie (EN: man → little man)
• kom → kōmmegie (EN: bowl → little bowl)

In Northern Low Saxon, the -je diminutive is rarely used, except maybe Gronings, such as in Buscherumpje, a fisherman's shirt. It is usually substituted with lütte, meaning "little", as in dat lütte Huus- the small house. The same goes for the North Germanic languages.

Historically, some common Low German surnames were derived from (clipped) first names using the -ke(n) suffix; for example, Ludwig > Lüdeke, Wilhelm > Wilke(n), Wernher > Werneke, and so on.^[7] Some of these name bases are difficult to recognize in comparison to standard German; for example, Dumke, Domke < Döm 'Thomas',^[8][9] Klitzke < Klitz 'Clement',^[10][11] etc. Some of these names may also have Slavic or mixed Slavic-Germanic origins.^[12]

Yiddish[link]

Yiddish frequently uses diminutives. In Yiddish the primary diminutive is -l or -ele in singular, and -lekh or -elekh in plural, sometimes involving a vowel trade in the root. Thus Volf becomes Velvl, Khaim: Khaiml, mame (mother): mamele, Khane: Khanele, Moyshe: Moyshele, kind (child): kindl or kindele, Bobe (grandmother): Bobele, teyl (deal): teylekhl (mote), regn (rain): regndl, hant (hand): hentl, fus (foot): fisl. The longer version of the suffix (-ele instead of -l) sounds generally more affectionate and usually used with proper names. Sometimes a few variations of the plural diminutive forms are possible: balebos (owner, boss): balebeslekh (newly-wed young men): balebatimlekh (petty bourgeois men).

Many other diminutives of Slavic origin are commonly used, mostly with proper names:

• -ke: Khaim/Khaimke, Sore/Sorke, Khaye/Khayke, Avrom/Avromke, bruder/bruderke (brother). These forms are usually considered nicknames and are only used with very close friends and relatives.
• -[e]nyu: kale/kalenyu (dear bride), harts/hartsenyu (sweetheart), zeyde/zeydenyu (dear grandpa). Often used as an affectionate quasi-vocative.
• -tshik: Avrom/Avromtshik, yungerman/yungermantshik (young man).
• -inke: tate/tatinke (dear daddy), baleboste/balebostinke (dear hostess).
• -ik: Shmuel/Shmulik, Yisroel/Srolik.
• -tse or -tshe: Sore/Sortshe, Avrom/Avromtshe, Itsik/Itshe.
• -(e)shi: bobe/bobeshi (dear grandma), zun/zuneshi (dear son), tate/tateshi (dear daddy).
• -lebn: tate-lebn, Malke-lebn. This particle might be considered a distinct compound word, and not a suffix.

These suffixes can also be combined: Khaim/Khaimkele, Avrom/Avromtshikl, Itsik/Itshenyu.

Some Yiddish proper names have common non-trivial diminutive forms, somewhat similar to English names such as Bob or Wendy: Akive/Kive, Yishaye/Shaye, Rivke/Rivele.

Yiddish also has diminutive forms of adjectives (all the following examples are given in masculine single form):

• -lekh (-like): roytlekher (reddish), gelblekher (yellowish), zislekher (sweetish).
• -ink (-ling): roytinker (cute red), gelinker (cute yellow), zisinker (so-sweet).
• -tshik or -itshk: kleynitshker (teeny-tiney), altitshker (dear old).

Some Yiddish diminutives have been incorporated into modern Israeli Hebrew: Imma (mother) to Immaleh and Abba (father) to Abbaleh.

Icelandic[link]

A common diminutive suffix in Icelandic is -lingur:

Examples:

• grís → gríslingur (English: pig → piglet)
• bók → bæklingur (English: book → pamphlet/booklet)
• jeppi → jepplingur (English: jeep → SUV)

Swedish[link]

A common diminutive suffix in Swedish is -is:

• godsak → godis (candy)
• daghem → dagis (daycare centre/kindergarten)

Note that the usage of -is is not limited to child-related or "cute" things. For instance,

• kondom → kådis (condom)
• permission → permis (furlough)

Romance languages[link]

French[link]

French diminutives can be formed with a wide range of endings. Often, a consonant or phoneme is placed between the root word and the diminutive ending for phonetic purposes: porcelet < pourceau , from lat. porcellus.

Feminine nouns or names are typically made diminutive by adding the ending -ette: fillette (little girl or little daughter [affectionate], from fille, girl or daughter); courgette (small squash or marrow, q.e., zucchini, from courge, squash); Jeannette (from Jeanne); pommettes (cheekbones), from pomme (apple); cannette (female duckling), from cane (female duck). This ending has crossed over into English as well (e.g. kitchenette). Feminine nouns may also end in -elle (mademoiselle, from madame).

Masculine names or nouns may be turned into diminutives with the ending -ot, -on, or -ou (MF -eau), but sometimes, for phonetic reasons, an additional consonant is added (e.g. -on becomes -ton, -ou becomes -nou, etc.): Jeannot (Jonny), from Jean (John); Pierrot (Petey) from Pierre (Peter); chiot (puppy), from chien (dog); fiston (sonny or sonny-boy), from fils (son); caneton (he-duckling), from canard (duck or he-duck); chaton (kitten), from chat (cat); minou (kitty, presumably from the root for miauler, to meow); Didou (Didier); Philou or Filou (Philippe).

Some masculine diminutives are formed with the masculine version of -ette: -et. For example: porcelet, piglet, from porc; oiselet, fledgling, from oiseau, bird. However, in many cases the names for baby animals are not diminutives—that is, unlike chaton/chat or chiot/chien, they are not derived from the word for the adult animal: poulain, foal (an adult horse is a cheval); agneau, lamb (an adult is either a brebis, female sheep, or a bélier, male sheep). French is not unique in this, but it is indicated here to clarify that not all names of animals can be turned into diminutives by the addition of diminutive endings.

In Old French, -et/-ette, -in/-ine, -el/-elle were often used, as Adeline for Adele, Maillet for Maill, and so on. As well, the ending -on was used for both genders, as Alison and Guion from Alice and Guy respectively. The Germanic side of Vulgar Latin bore proper diminutives -oc and -uc, which went into words such as L pocca and pucca, to become F poche (pouch); -oche is in regular use to shorten words: cinéma → cinoche.

Italian[link]

In Italian, the diminutive is expressed by several derivational suffixes, applied to nouns or adjectives to create new nouns or adjectives with variable meanings. The new word is then pluralized as a word in its own right. Such derived words often have no equivalent in other languages.

• -ello, -ella: finestra → finestrella (window → little window), misero → miserello (miserable);
• -etto, -etta, the most used one along with -ino: casa → casetta (house → little house), povero → poveretto (poor), cane → cagnetto (dog);
• -icchio, -icchia, mainly of regional use, often pejorative: sole → solicchio (sun → weak sun);
• -ino, -ina, the most used one along with -etto: paese → paesino (village → little village); also in baby talk and after other suffixes: bello → bellino (pretty), giovane → giovanotto → giovanottino (but there are no limits to suffixation, which could continue);
• -otto, -otta, often attenuating: aquila → aquilotto (eagle → baby eagle), stupido → stupidotto (stupid → rather stupid);
• -uccio, -uccia, hypocoristic or pejorative (also in southern forms -uzzo, -uzza).

Such suffixes are of Latin origin, except -etto and -otto, which are of unclear origin.^[13]

Moreover, some additional hypocoristic suffixes are used to create new adjectives from other adjectives (or, sometimes, from nouns): -iccio, -igno, -ognolo, -occio (of Latin origin, except the last one, whose origin is unclear).^[14]

Italian loanwords[link]

Examples that made it into English are mostly culinary, like linguine (named for its resemblance to little tongues ("lingue", in Italian)), and bruschetta. The diminution is often figurative: an operetta is similar to an opera, but dealing with less serious topics. "Signorina" means "Miss"; with "signorino" (man) they have the same meanings as señorita and señorito in Spanish.

The English demonstrative affixes would be ablauts of -one: -on, -un, -en (big-un, littlun, littl'un, little-un); but this is colloquial and seldom.

Latin[link]

In the Latin language the diminutive is formed also by suffixes of each gender affixed to the word stem. Each variant ending matches with a blend of the variant secondary demonstrative pronouns: In Old Latin, ollus, olla, ollum; later ille, illa, illud (illum-da to set off ileum).

• -ulus, -ula, -ulum, e.g. globulus (globule) from globus (globe).
• -culus, -cula, -culum, e.g. homunculus (so-small man) from homo (man)
• -olus, -ola, -olum, e.g. malleolus (small hammer) from malleus (hammer)
• -ellus, -ella, -ellum, e.g. libellus (little book) smaller than librulus (small book) from liber (book)

Similarly, the diminutive of gladius (sword) is gladiolus, a plant whose leaves look like small swords.

Adjectives as well as nouns can be diminished, including paululus (very small) from paulus (small).

The diminutive ending for verbs is -ill-, placed after the stem and before the endings. The diminutive verb changes to the first conjugation, no matter what the original conjugation. Conscribere "write onto" is third-conjugation, but the diminutive conscribillare "scribble over" is first-conjugation.

The Anglicisation of Latin diminutives is relatively common, especially in medical terminology. In nouns, the most common conversion is removal of the -us, -a, -um endings and trading them for a mum e. Hence some examples are vacuole from vacuolum, particle from particula, and globule from globulus.

Portuguese[link]

In Portuguese, diminutives can be formed with a wide range of endings but the most common diminutives are formed with the suffixes -(z)inho, -(z)inha, replacing the masculine and feminine endings -o and -a, respectively. The variants -(z)ito and -(z)ita, direct analogues of Spanish -(c)ito and -(c)ita, are also common in some regions. The forms with a z are normally added to words that end in stressed vowels, such as café → cafezinho. Some nouns have slightly irregular diminutives.

Noun diminutives are widely used in the vernacular. Occasionally, this process is extended to pronouns (pouco, a little → pouquinho or poucochinho, a very small amount), adjectives (e.g. bobo → bobinho, meaning respectively "silly" and "a bit silly"; só → sozinho, both meaning "alone" or "all alone"), adverbs (depressinha, "quickly") and even verbs (correndo → correndinho, both of which mean "running", but the latter with an endearing connotation).

Romanian[link]

Romanian uses suffixes to create diminutives, most of these suffixes being of Latin or Slavic^{[citation needed]} origin. Not only names, but adjectives, adverbs and pronouns can have diminutives as well, as in Portuguese, Polish and Russian.

Feminine suffixes

• -ea (ramură / rămurea = tree branch)
• -ică (bucată / bucăţică = piece)
• -ioară (inimă / inimioară = heart)
• -işoară (ţară / ţărişoară = country)
• -iţă (fată / fetiţă = girl)
• -uşcă (raţă / răţuşcă = duck)
• -uţă (bunică / bunicuţă = grandmother)

Masculine suffixes

• -aş (iepure / iepuraş = rabbit)
• -el (băiat / băieţel = boy)
• -ic (tată / tătic = father)
• -ior (dulap / dulăpior = locker)
• -işor (pui / puişor = chicken)
• -uleţ (urs / ursuleţ = bear)
• -uş (căţel / căţeluş = dog)
• -uţ (pat / pătuţ = bed)

Adjectives frumos > frumușel (beautiful ; pretty)

Adverbs repede > repejor (fast ; quite fast)

Pronouns dumneata (you, polite form) > mata > mătăluță (used to address children respectfully in a non-familial context)

nimic ( nothing)> nimicuța

nițel (a little something)

Spanish[link]

Spanish is a language rich in diminutives, and uses suffixes to create them:

• -ito/-ita, words ending in -o or -a (rata, "rat" → ratita. Ojo, "eye" → ojito. Cebolla, "onion" → cebollita),
• -cito/-cita, words ending in -e or consonant (león, "lion" → leoncito. Café, "coffee" → cafecito),
• -illo/-illa (flota; "fleet" → flotilla. Guerra, "war" → guerrilla. Cámara, "chamber" → camarilla),
• -ico/-ica, words ending in -to and -tro (plato, "plate" → platico),
• -ín/-ina (pequeño/a, "little" → pequeñín(a). Muchacho/a, "boy" → muchachín(a))
• -ete/-eta (Pandero, "tambourine" → pandereta).

Other less common suffixes are

• -uelo/-uela (pollo, "chicken" → polluelo),
• -zuelo/-zuela [pejorative] (ladrón, "thief" → landronzuelo),
• -uco/-uca (nene, "children" → nenuco),
• -ucho/-ucha [pejorative] (médico, "doctor" → medicucho),
• -ijo/-ija (lagarto, "lizard" → lagartija "wall lizard"),
• -izno/-izna (lluvia, "rain" → llovizna),
• -ajo/-aja (miga, "crumb" → migaja),
• -ino/-ina (niebla, "fog" → neblina).

Some speakers use a suffix in a word twice, which gives a more affectionate sense to the word.

• chico, "small" (South American Spanish) → chiquito → chiquitito/a, chiquitico/a, chiquitín(a).
• pie, "foot" → piecito → piececito, piececillo.

Sometimes alternating different suffixes can change the meaning.

• (La) mano, "hand" → manita (or manito), "little hand", or manilla or manecilla, "hand (clock)".

Baltic languages[link]

Lithuanian[link]

Lithuanian is known for its array of diminutive forms. Diminutives are generally constructed with suffixes applied to the noun stem. By far, the most common are those with -elis/-elė or -ėlis/-ėlė. Others include: -ukis/-ukė, -ulis/-ulė, -užis/-užė, -utis/-utė, -ytis/-ytė, etc. Suffixes may also be compounded, e.g.: -užis + -ėlis → -užėlis. In addition to denoting small size and/or endearment, they may also function as amplificatives (augmentatives), pejoratives (deterioratives), and to give special meanings, depending on context.^[15] Lithuanian diminutives are especially prevalent in poetic language, such as folk songs. Examples:

• ąžuolas (oak) → ąžuolėlis, ąžuoliukas
• brolis (brother) → brolelis, broliukas, brolytis, brolužis, brolužėlis, brolutytis, broliukėlis, etc.
• klevas (maple) → klevelis, klevukas, klevutis
• pakalnė (slope) → pakalnutė (Lily-of-the-valley, Convallaria)
• saulė (sun) → saulelė, saulytė, saulutė, saulužė, saulužėlė, etc.
• svogūnas (onion) → svogūnėlis (bulb)
• vadovas (leader) → vadovėlis (textbook, manual)

Latvian[link]

In Latvian diminutives are widely used and are generally constructed with suffixes applied to the noun stem. The most common are those with -iņš/-iņa, -tiņš/-tiņa or -ītis/-īte. Others include: -ēns, -elis/-ele.

Examples:

• laiva → laiviņa (boat)
• ūdens → ūdentiņš (water)
• brālis → brālītis (brother)
• cālis → cālēns (chicken)
• nams → namelis (house)

Slavic languages[link]

Slovene[link]

Slovene typically forms diminutives of nouns (e.g., čajček < caj 'tea'), but can also form diminutives of some verbs (e.g., božkati < božati 'to pet, stroke'; objemčkati < objemati 'to hug') and adjectives (e.g., bolančkan < bolan 'sick, ill').

Serbo-Croatian[link]

Serbo-Croatian uses suffixes -ić, -čić for diminutives of masculine nouns, -ica for feminine nouns and names, and -ce, -ašce for neuter nouns.

Feminine:

• žaba (frog) → žabica
• lopta (ball) → loptica
• patka (duck) → patkica

Masculine:

• konj (horse) → konjić
• sin (son) → sinčić
• nos (nose) → nosić

Neuter:

• pero (feather) → perce
• sunce (sun) → sunašce
• jezero (lake) → jezerce

Bulgarian[link]

Bulgarian has an extended diminutive system.

Masculine nouns have a double diminutive form. The first suffix that can be added is -че, (-che). At this points the noun has become neuter, because of the -e ending. The -нце, (-ntse) suffix can further extend the diminutive (It is still neuter, again due to the -e ending). A few examples:

• kufar (suitcase) → kufarche → kufarchentse
• nozh (knife) → nozhche → nozhchentse
• stol (chair) → stolche → stolchentse

Feminine nouns can have up to three different, independent forms (though some of them are used only in colloquial speech):

• zhena (woman) → zhenica → zhenichka
• riba (fish) → ribka → ribchitsa
• saksiya (flowerpot) → saksiyka → saksiychitsa
• glava (head) → glаvitsa → glavichka

Note, that the suffixes can be any of -ка (-ka), -чка (-chka), and -ца (-tsa).

Neuter nouns usually have one diminutive variant, formed by adding variations of -це (-tse):

• dete (child) → detentse
• zhito (wheat grain) → zhittse
• sluntse (sun) → slunchitse

Adjectives have forms for each grammatical gender and these forms have their corresponding diminutive variant. The used suffixes are -ък (-uk) for masculine, -ка (-ka) for feminine and -ко (-ko) for neuter:

• maluk (small) → munichuk, malka → munichka, malko → munichko
• golyam (big) → golemichuk, golyamа → golemichka, golyamo → golemichko

Czech[link]

In Czech diminutives are formed by suffixes, as in other Slavic languages. Common endings include -ka, -ko, -ek, -ík, -inka, -enka, -ečka, -ička, -ul-, -unka, -íček, -ínek etc. The choice of suffix may depend on the noun's gender as well as the degree of smallness/affection that the speaker wishes to convey.

Czech diminutives can express smallness, affection, and familiarity. Hence, "Petřík" may well mean "our", "cute", "little" or "beloved" Peter. Some suffixes generally express stronger familiarity (or greater smallness) than others. The most common examples are the pairs -ek and -eček ("domek" – small house, "domeček" – very small house), and -ík and -íček ("Petřík" – small or beloved Peter, "Petříček" – very small or cute Peter), -ko and -ečko ("pírko" – small feather, "pírečko" – very small feather), and -ka and -ička/-ečka ("tlapka" – small paw, "tlapička" – very small paw; "peřinka" – small duvet, "peřinečka" – very small duvet). However, some words already have the same ending as if they were diminutives, but they aren't. In such cases, only one diminutive form is possible, e.g. "kočka" (notice the -ka ending) means "cat" (of normal size), "kočička" means "small cat".

Every noun has a grammatically-correct diminutive form, regardless of the sense it makes. This is sometimes used for comic effect, for example diminuting the word "obr" (giant) to "obřík" (little giant). Speakers also tend to use longer endings, which are not grammatically correct, to express even stronger form of familiarity or cuteness, for example "miminečíčko" (very small and cute baby), instead of correct "miminko" and "miminečko". Such expressions are generally understood, but are used almost exclusively in emotive situations in spoken language and are only rarely written.

Some examples. Note the various stem mutations due to palatalisation, vowel shortening or vowel lengthening:

/-ka/ (mainly feminine noun forms)

• táta (dad) → taťka (daddy), Anna → Anka, hora (mountain) → hůrka (a very small mountain or big hill), noha (leg, foot) → nožka (a little leg, such as on a small animal)

/-ko/ (neuter noun forms)

• rádio → rádijko, víno (wine) → vínko, triko (T-shirt) → tričko, pero (feather) → pírko, oko (eye) → očko

/-ek/ (masculine noun forms)

• dům (house) → domek, stůl (table) → stolek, schod (stair/step) → schůdek, prostor (space) → prostůrek, strom (tree) → stromek

/-ík/

• Tom (Tom) → Tomík (little/cute/beloved Tom = Tommy), pokoj (room) → pokojík, kůl (stake/pole) → kolík, rum (rum) → rumík, koš (basket) → košík

Polish[link]

In Polish diminutives can be formed of nouns, adjectives, adverbs, and some other parts of speech. They literally signify physical smallness or lack of maturity, but usually convey attitude, in most cases affection. In some contexts, they may be condescending or ironic. Diminutives can cover a significant fraction of child's speech during the time of language acquisition.^[16]

For adjectives and adverbs, diminutives in Polish are grammatically separate from comparative forms.

There are multiple affixes used to create the diminutive. Some of them are -ka, -czka, -śka, -szka, -cia, -sia, -unia, -enka, -lka for feminine nouns and -ek, -yk, -ciek, -czek, -czyk, -szek, -uń, -uś, -eńki, -lki for masculine words, and -czko, -ko for neuter nouns, among others.

The diminutive suffixes may be stacked to create forms going even further, for example, malusieńki is considered even smaller than malusi or maleńki. Similarly, koteczek (little kitty) is derived from kotek (kitty), which is itself derived from kot (cat). Note that in this case, the suffix -ek is used twice, but changes to ecz once due to palatalization.

There are also diminutives that lexicalized, e.g., stołek (stool), which is grammatically a diminutive of stół (table).

In many cases, the possibilities for creation of diminutives are seemingly endless and leave place to create many neologisms. Some examples of common diminutives:

Feminine

• żaba (frog) → żabka, żabcia, żabusia, żabeńka, żabuleńka, żabeczka, żabunia
• córka (daughter) → córeczka, córunia, córcia (Originally córka was created as diminutive from córa, which is no longer in common use.)
• kaczka (duck) → kaczuszka, kaczusia, kaczunia
• Katarzyna (Katherine) → Kasia, Kaśka, Kasieńka, Kasiunia, Kasiulka, Kasiuleczka, Kasiuneczka
• Anna (Anna) → Ania, Anka, Ańcia, Anusia, Anuśka, Aneczka, Anulka, Anuleczka
• Małgorzata (Margaret) → Małgorzatka, Małgosia, Małgośka, Gosia, Gosieńka, Gosiunia, Gosiula

Masculine

• chłopak (boy) → chłopczyk, chłopaczek, chłopiec (Originally chłopak was created as diminutive from Old Polish chłop, which now means "peasant".)
• kot (cat) → kotek, koteczek, kociątko, kociak, kociaczek, kotuś, kotunio^[17]
• Grzegorz (Gregory) → Grześ, Grzesiek, Grzesio, Grzesiu
• Michał (Michael) → Michałek, Michaś, Misiek, Michasiek, Michaszek, Misiu
• Piotr (Peter) → Piotrek, Piotruś, Piotrusiek,
• Tomasz (Thomas) → Tomek, Tomuś, Tomcio, Tomeczek, Tomaszek
• ptak (bird) → ptaszek, ptaszeczek, ptaś, ptasiątko

Neuter

• pióro (feather) → piórko, pióreczko
• serce (heart) → serduszko, serdeńko
• mleko (milk) → mleczko
• światło (light) → światełko
• słońce (sun) → słoneczko, słonko

Plural

• kwiaty (flowers) → kwiatki, kwiatuszki, kwiateczki

Adjectives

• mały (small) (masculine) → maleńki, malusi, malutki, maluśki, malusieńki
• mała (small) (feminine) → maleńka, malusia, malutka, maluśka, malusieńka
• zielony (green) (masculine) → zieloniutki
• zielonkawy (greenish) (masculine) → zieloniutkawy
• miękkie (soft) (neuter) → mięciutkie

Adverbs

• prędko (fast) → prędziutko, prędziuteńko, prędziuśko, prędziusieńko^[17]
• prędzej (faster) → prędziusiej
• fajnie → fajniusio
• super → supcio

Verbs

• płakać (to weep) → płakuniać, płakuńciać, płakusiać^[17]

Russian[link]

Russian has a wide variety of diminutive forms for names, to the point that for non-Russian speakers it can be difficult to connect a nickname to the original. Diminutive forms for nouns are usually distinguished with -ик, -ок, -ёк (-ik, -ok, -iok, masculine gender), -чк-, -шк-, -oньк- or -еньк- (-chk-, -shk-, -on'k-, -en'k-) infixes and suffixes. For example, вода (voda, water) becomes водичка (vodichka, affectionate name of water), кот (kot, male cat) becomes котик (kotik, affectionate name), кошка (koshka, female cat) becomes кошечка (koshechka, affectionate name), солнце (solntse, sun) becomes солнышко (solnyshko). Often there are many diminutive forms for one word: мама (mama, mom) becomes мамочка (mamochka, affectionate sense), мамуля (mamulia, affectionate and playful sense), маменька (mamen'ka, affectionate and old-fashioned), маманя (mamania, affectionate but disdainful), - all of them have different hues of meaning, which are hard to understand for a foreigner, but are very perceptible for a native speaker. Sometimes you can combine several diminutive suffixes to make several degrees of diminution: пирог (pirog, a pie) becomes пирожок (pirozhok, a small pie, or an affectionate name), which then may become пирожочек (pirozhochek, a very small pie, or an affectionate name). The same with сыр (syr, cheese), сырок (syrok, an affectionate name or a name of a small packed piece of cheese, see the third paragraph), сырочек (syrochek, an affectionate name). In both cases the first suffix -ок changes к to ч, when the suffix -ек is added.

Often formative infixes and suffixes look like diminutive ones. The well known word водка (vodka) has the suffix -ka, which is not a diminutive, but formative, the word has a different meaning (not water, but a drink) and has its own diminutive suffix -ochka: водочка (vodochka) is an affectionate name of vodka (compare voda - vodichka). There are may examples of this kind: сота (sota, a honeycomb) and сотка (sotka, one hundred sqr. meter), труба (truba, a tube) and трубка (trubka, a special kind of a tube: telephone receiver, TV tube, tobacco pipe - in all these cases there is no diminutive sense). However, трубка also means a small tube (depending on context). But most of the time you can tell diminutive particle from formative by simply omitting the suffix. If the meaning of a word remains, the suffix is diminutive. For example: кучка (kuchka, a small pile) -> куча (kucha, a pile) - the general meaning remains, it is a diminutive form, but тачка (tachka, wheelbarrow) -> тача (tacha, no such word) - the general meaning changes, it is not a diminutive form, потолок (potolok, ceiling) -> потол (potol, no such word) - the same with masculine gender.

There is one more peculiarity. For example, the word конь (kon', a male horse) has a diminutive form конёк (koniok). But конёк (koniok) also means a skate (ice-skating, no diminutive sense in this case), and has another diminutive form конёчек (koniochek, a small skate). The word конёк also means a gable with no diminutive sense.

Adjectives and adverbs can also have diminutive forms with infix -еньк- (-en'k-): синий (siniy, blue) becomes синенький (sinen'kiy), быстро (bystro, quickly) becomes быстренько (bystren'ko). In case of adjectives the use of diminutive form is aimed to intensify the effect of diminutive form of a noun. Diminutive forms of adverbs are used to express either benevolence in the speech or on the contrary to express superciliousness, depending on the inflection of a whole phrase.

Some diminutives of proper names, among many others:

Feminine

• Anastasia → Nastia (as in Nastia Liukin), Nasten'ka
• Anna → Anya, An'ka, Anka, Anechka, Annushka, Aniuta
• Irina → Ira, Irka, Irochka
• Natalya → Natasha, Natashka, Natashen'ka
• Tatyana → Tania, Tan'ka, Tanechka, Taniusha
• Yelizaveta → Liza, Lizochka, Lizka, Lizon'ka
• Yekaterina → Katia, Katiusha, Katen'ka, Kat'ka, Katechka
• Yevgeniya → Zhenia, Zhen'ka, Zhenechka

Masculine

• Aleksander → Sasha, Sashka, Sashen'ka, Sashechka
• Aleksey → Aliosha (as in Alyosha Popovich), Alioshka, Alioshen'ka, Lyosha, Lyoshka, Lyoshen'ka
• Andrei → Andriusha, Andriushka, Andriushechka
• Dmitriy → Dima, Mitia, Dimka, Dimushka, Dimochka, Miten'ka
• Ivan → Vanya, Van'ka, Vanechka, Vaniusha, Vaniushka, Ivanushka
• Mikhail → Misha, Mishka, Mishen'ka, Mishechka
• Pyotr → Petia, Pet'ka, Peten'ka, Petiunia
• Sergey → Seriozha, Seriozhka, Seriozhen'ka
• Vladimir → Volodya, Voloden'ka, Vova, Vovka, Vovochka

Celtic languages[link]

Irish[link]

In the Irish language diminutives are formed by adding -ín, and sometimes, -án.

Rós (Rose) > Róisín (Rosalie, Rosaleen)

Seán > Seáinín (Johnny)

Séamas > Séamaisín, Jimín

Pádraig > Páidín (Paddy)

bóthar (road) > bóithrín (country lane)

cailleach (old woman, hag, witch) > cailín (girl) [origin of the name Colleen] < Old Irish 'caille' < Latin 'pallium' = 'cloak'

fear (man) > firín, also feairín, (little man)

teach, also tigh, (house) > tigín, also teaichín

cloch (stone) > cloichín (pebble)

sráid (street) > sráidín (lane, alleyway)

séipéal (chapel) > séipéilín (small chapel)

This suffix is also used to create the female equivalent of some male names:

Pádraig > Pádraigín (Patricia)

Gearóid (Gerald/Gerard) > Gearóidín (Geraldine)

Pól (Paul) > Póilín (Paula)

-án as a diminutive suffix is much less frequent nowadays (though it was used extensively as such in Old Irish):

leabhar (book) > leabhrán (booklet, manual, handbook)

cnoc (hill) > cnócán (hillock)

Scottish Gaelic[link]

Scottish Gaelic has two inherited diminutive suffixes of which only one (-(e)ag) is considered productive.

• -(e)ag, feminine: Mòr ("Sarah") → Mòrag, Loch Nis (Loch Ness) → Niseag ("Nessie")
• -(e)an, masculine: loch → lochan, bodach (old man) → bodachan (mannikin)

Greek[link]

Ancient Greek[link]

Several diminutive derivational suffixes existed in Ancient Greek. The most common ones were -ιο-, -ισκο-/-ισκᾱ-, -ιδ-ιο-, -αρ-ιο-.^[18]

Modern Greek[link]

Diminutives are very common in Modern Greek. Literally every noun has its own diminutive. They express either small size or affection: size -aki (σπίτι/spiti "house", σπιτάκι/spitaci "little house"; λάθος/lathos "mistake", λαθάκι/lathaci "negligible mistake") or affection -ula (μάνα/mana "mother", μανούλα/manula "mommy"). The most common suffixes are -άκης/-acis and -ούλης/-ulis for the male gender, -ίτσα/-itsa and -ούλα/-ula for the female gender, and -άκι/-aci for the neutral gender. Several of them are common as suffixes of surnames, originally meaning the offspring of a certain person, e.g. Παπάς/Papas "priest" with Παπαδάκης/Papadacis as the surname.

Indic languages[link]

Haryanvi[link]

In Haryanvi, proper nouns are made diminutive with 'u' (unisex), 'da' (masculine), 'do' (masculine) and 'di' (feminine). This is of course most often applied to children's names, though lifelong nicknames can result:

• Bharat → Bhartu → demonstrates the use of 'u' for a male
• Vaishali → Vishu → demonstrates the use of 'u' for a female
• Amit → Amitada → demonstrates the use of 'da' for a male
• Vishal → Vishaldo → demonstrates the use of 'da' for a male
• Sunita → Sunitadi → demonstrates the use of 'u' for a male

Hindi[link]

In Hindi, proper nouns are made diminutive with -u. This is of course most often applied to children's names, though lifelong nicknames can result:

• Rajiv → Raju
• Anita → Neetu
• Anjali → Anju

Magahi[link]

In Magahi, proper nouns are made diminutive with -a or -wa. This is of course most often applied to children's names, though lifelong nicknames can result:

• Raushan → Raushna
• Vikash → Vikashwa
• Anjali → Anjalia

Marathi[link]

In Marathi, masculine proper nouns are made diminutive with -ya or -u, while feminine proper nouns use -u and sometimes -ee. This is of course most often applied to children's names, though lifelong nicknames can result.

Masculine :

• Abhijit (अभिजित) → Abhya (अभ्या)
• Rajendra (राजेंद्र) → Rajya (राज्या), Raju (राजू)

Feminine :

• Ashwini (अश्विनी) → Ashu (अशू)
• Namrata (नम्रता) → Namee (नमी), Namu (नमू)

Sinhala[link]

In Sinhala, proper nouns are made diminutive with -a after usually doubling the last pure consonant, or adding -ya.

• Rajitha → Rajja
• Romesh → Romma
• Sashika → Sashsha
• Ramith → Ramiya

Iranian languages[link]

Persian[link]

The most frequently used Persian diminutives are -cheh (چه-) and -ak (ک-).

• Bâgh باغ (garden), bâghcheh باغچه (small garden)
• Mard مرد (man), mardak مردک (this fellow)

Other less used ones are -izeh and -zheh.

• Rang رنگ (colour), rangizeh رنگیزه (pigment)
• Nây نای (pipe), nâyzheh نایژه (small pipe, bronchus)

Armenian[link]

Armenian diminutive suffixes are -ik, -ak and -uk.

Dravidian languages[link]

Tamil[link]

• Ramanathan, Ramalingam, Ramasamy: Ramu
• Adhiseshan: Seshu
• Somanathan, Somaskanthan: Somu
• Balakrishnan: Bala, Balki
• SuryaNarayanan: Surya
• Sivalingam: Siva
• Nanthakumar, Nandikesan: Nandhu
• Padmini: Padi
• Alamelu: Alamu

Telugu[link]

• Srinivas శ్రీనివాస్: Seenu శీను

Semitic languages[link]

Arabic[link]

In Modern Standard Arabic the usual diminutive pattern is Fu`ayL (CuCayC), with or without the feminine -ah added:

• kūt كوت"fort" → kuwayt كويت "little fort"
• hirra هِرّة "cat" → hurayrah هُرَيرة "kitten"

In certain varieties of Arabic, reduplication of the last syllable is also used (similarly to Hebrew), as in:

• Batta بطة "duck" → Batbota بطبوطة "small-duck"

Hebrew[link]

Modern Hebrew employs a reduplication pattern of its last syllable to mark diminutive forms.

• kélev כלב (dog) : klavláv כלבלב (doggie)
• khatúl חתול (cat) : khataltúl חתלתול (kitty)
• batsál בצל (onion) : b'tsaltsál בצלצל (shallot)
• adóm אדום (red) : adamdám אדמדם (reddish)
• dag דג (fish) : dagíg דגיג (small fish)
• sak שק (sack) : sakík שקיק (sachet; e.g. 'sakík te', a tea bag)

Also, the suffixes -on and -it sometimes mark diminutive forms; the former is masculine and the latter is feminine.

• kóva כובע (hat) : kovaʾón כובעון (small cap, also means condom)
• yéled ילד (child) : yaldón ילדון ("kid")
• sak שק (sack) : sakít שקית (bag; e.g. 'sakít plástik', a plastic bag)
• kaf כף (spoon) : kapít כפית (teaspoon)

Names can be made diminutive by substituting the last syllable for suffixes such as "-ik", "-i" or "-le", sometimes slightly altering the name for pronunciation purposes. At times, a syllable can be omitted to create an independent diminutive name, to which any of the suffixes mentioned earlier can be applied. In some cases, reduplication works as well.

• Aryé אריה : Ári ארי
• Ariél אריאל : Árik אריק
• Mikhaél מיכאל : Míkha מיכה
• Aharón אהרון : Á(ha)rale אהר'לה or Rón רון, which in turn can produce Róni רוני
• Davíd דוד : Dúdu דודו, which in turn can produce Dúdi דודי

Sino-Tibetan languages[link]

Chinese[link]

Personal names in Chinese, excluding the family name, are usually two characters in length. Often, the first of the two characters is omitted and replaced with the prefix character 小 xiǎo-, literally meaning "little", or 阿 ā- (more prevalent in Southern China) to produce an affectionate, diminutive name. For example, famous Cantopop singer 劉德華 Lau Tak-Wah (Andy Lau; Liú Déhuá) could use the nicknames 小華 Xiăohuá or 阿華 Āhuá.

Sometimes, "-zǐ" is also used as a diminutive suffix.^[20] In the Cantonese dialect, the suffix 仔 (Jyutping: zai2) is used after the second character in the individual's given name. Again using the name of famous Cantopop singer 劉德華 Lau Tak-Wah (Andy Lau; Liú Déhuá), the nickname he could (and does in fact) use in Hong Kong is 華仔 (Jyutping: waa4 zai2).

A very distinctive characteristic of the Beijing dialect is the usage of "er"(儿) suffix to a word, or commonly known as erhua(儿化). The "er" suffix indicates a phonological process that adds r-coloring or the "ér" (儿) sound, as it demunitize the associated word. For example, 小孩 (xiǎohái) (small child) is pronounced as 小孩儿 (xiǎoháir) in Beijing dialect.

Turkic languages[link]

Turkish[link]

See also Turkish grammar

Turkish diminutive suffixes are -cik and -ceğiz, and variants thereof as dictated by the vowel harmony rules of Turkish grammar.

-cik is applied in cases of endearment and affection, in particular toward infants and young children by exaggerating qualities such as smallness and youth, whereas -ceğiz is used in situations of compassion and empathy, especially when expressing sympathy toward another person in times of difficulty. Note the effects of vowel harmony in the following examples:

• köy (village) → köyceğiz (dear little village), kadın (woman) → kadıncağız (poor dear woman), çocuk (child) → çocukcağız (poor dear child)
• kedi (cat) → kedicik (cute little cat), gül (laugh) → gülücük (giggles/cute little laugh), Mehmet (a common male name) → Mehmetçik (literally little/young Mehmet but also used as an affectionate term for Turkey's soldiers, see also Mehmetçik)

Uralic languages[link]

Estonian[link]

The diminutive suffixes of Estonian "-kene" in its long form, but can be shortened to "-ke". In all grammatical cases except for the nominative and partitive singular, the "-ne" ending becomes "-se". It is fully productive and can be used with every word. Some words, such as "päike(ne)" (sun), "väike(ne)" (little) or "pisike(ne)" (tiny), are diminutive in their basic form, the diminutive suffix cannot be removed from these words. The Estonian diminutive suffix can be used recursively - it can be attached to a word more than once. Forms such as "pisikesekesekene", having three diminutive suffixes, are grammatically legitimate. As is demonstrated by the example, in recursive usage all but the last diminutive "-ne" suffix become "-se" as in forms inflected by case.

Finnish[link]

The diminutive suffixes of Finnish "-ke", "-kka", and "-nen" are not universal, and cannot be used on every noun. The feature is common in Finnish surnames, f.e. 'Jokinen' could translate 'Streamling', but since this form is not used in speaking about streams, the surname could also mean 'lands by the stream' or 'lives by the stream'. Double diminutives also occur in certain words f.e. lapsukainen (child, not a baby anymore), lapsonen (small child), lapsi (child).

Examples:

• • -ke: haara (branch) → haarake (little branch), nimi (name) → nimike (label, tag)
  • -kka: peni (dog (archaic)) → penikka (whelp, pup), nenä (nose) → nenukka (little nose)
  • -nen: lintu (bird) → lintunen (little bird), poika (boy, son) → poikanen (little boy, animal offspring)

Hungarian[link]

Hungarian uses the suffixes -ka/ke and -cska/cske to form diminutive nouns. The suffixes -i and -csi may also be used with names. However, you traditionally cannot have the diminutive form of your name registered officially in Hungary (although a few of the most common diminutive forms have been registered as possible legal first names in the past years). Nouns formed this way are considered separate words (as all words that are formed using képző type suffixes). They may not even be grammatically related to the base word, only historically, whereas the relation has been long forgotten.

Some examples:

• Animals
  • -us: kutya → kutyus (dog), cica → cicus (cat)
  • -ci: medve → maci (bear), borjú → boci (calf)

• Names
  • -i: János (John) → Jani, Júlia → Juli, Kata → Kati, Mária → Mari, Sára → Sári
  • -csi: János → Jancsi
  • -ika/ike: Júlia → Julika, Mária → Marika
  • -iska/iske: Júlia → Juliska, Mária → Mariska
  • -us: Béla → Bélus
  • -ci: Béla → Béci, László → Laci, Júlia → Juci
  • -có: Ferenc → Fecó, József → Jocó
  • -tya: Péter → Petya, Zoltán → Zotya
  • -nyi: Sándor (Alexander) → Sanyi

Note that these are all special diminutive suffixes. The universal -ka/ke and -cska/cske can be used to create further diminutive forms, e.g. kutyuska (little doggy), cicuska (little kitty). Theoretically, more and more diminutive forms can be created this way, e.g. kutyuskácskácska (little doggy-woggy-snoggy). Of course, this is not a common practice; the preferred translations are kutyulimutyuli (doggy-woggy) and cicamica (kitty-witty).

In some cases, the diminutive suffix has become part of the basic form. These are no longer regarded as diminutive forms:

• Animals: cinke (tit), róka (fox), csóka (jackdaw), szarka (magpie), pulyka (turkey), csirke (chicken)

You can use the adjectives kicsi or kis (little) to create diminutive forms of these nouns, e.g. kicsi macska or kismacska (kitten).

International auxiliary languages[link]

Esperanto[link]

See also Esperanto word formation.

For generic use (for living beings and inanimate objects), Esperanto has a single diminutive suffix, -et.

• domo (house) → dometo (cottage)
• varma (warm) → varmeta (lukewarm)
• knabo (boy) → knabeto (little boy)

For personal names and familial forms of address, the affixes -nj- and -ĉj- are used, for females and males respectively. Unusually for Esperanto, the "root" is often shortened, in an unpredictable manner, before being added to.

• Patrino (Mother) → Panjo (Mum, Mom)
• Mario/Maria (Mary, Maria) → Manjo, Marinjo
• Sofio/Sofia (Sophie, Sophia) → Sonjo, Sofinjo
• Patro (Father) → Paĉjo (Dad, Daddy)
• Johano (John, Johann) → Johanĉjo, Joĉjo (Jack, Johnny)
• Vilhelmo (William, Wilhelm) → Vilhelĉjo, Vilheĉjo, Vilĉjo, Viĉjo (Willy, Bill, Billy)

Whereas languages such as Spanish may use the diminutive to denote offspring, as in "perrito" (pup), Esperanto has a dedicated and regular suffix, "-id" used for this purpose. Thus "hundeto" means "little dog" (such as a dog of a small breed), while "hundido" means a dog who is not yet fully grown.

Interlingua[link]

See also Free word-building in Interlingua.

Interlingua has a single diminutive suffix, -ett, for diminutives of all sorts.

• Johannes (John) → Johannetto (Johnny)
• camera (chamber, room) → cameretta (little room)
• pullo (chicken) → pulletto (chick)

Use of this suffix is flexible, and diminutives such as mama and papa may also be used. To denote a small person or object, many Interlingua speakers simply use the word parve, or small:

• parve can → small dog
• parve arbore → small tree

Notes and references[link]

See also[link]

Look up diminutive in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Augmentative
• Hypocoristic
• Affect (linguistics)

Kanye West
West at the SWU Music & Arts Festival, 2011
Background information
Birth name	Kanye Omari West
Born	(1977-06-08) June 8, 1977 (age 35) Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Origin	Chicago, Illinois, United States
Genres	Hip hop
Occupations	rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, music video director, film director, fashion designer
Instruments	Vocals, keyboards, sampler, percussion, synthesizer
Years active	1996–present
Labels	GOOD Music, Roc-A-Fella, Def Jam
Associated acts	Go Getters, Child Rebel Soldier, Jay-Z, The Throne, Common, John Legend, Kid Cudi, Rihanna, Jeff Bhasker, Pusha T, Mos Def, Mr Hudson, Talib Kweli, Big Sean, A-Trak, Pharrell, Lupe Fiasco, RZA
Website	kanyewest.com

Kanye Omari West ( /ˈkɑːnjeɪ/; born June 8, 1977)^[1] is an American musician, film director and fashion designer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and Janet Jackson. His style of production originally used pitched-up vocal samples from soul songs incorporated with his own drums and instruments. However, subsequent productions saw him broadening his musical palette and expressing influences encompassing '70s R&B, baroque pop, trip hop, arena rock, folk, alternative, electronica, synthpop, and classical music.^[2]

West released his debut album The College Dropout in 2004, his second album Late Registration in 2005, his third album Graduation in 2007, his fourth album 808s & Heartbreak in 2008, and his fifth album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy in 2010. West released a collaborative album, Watch the Throne with Jay-Z in 2011, which is the duo's first collaborative album. His five solo albums, all of which have gone platinum, have received numerous awards and critical acclaim.^[3] As of 2012, West has won a total of eighteen Grammy Awards, making him one of the most awarded artists of all-time.^[4] All albums have been very commercially successful, with My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy becoming his fourth consecutive No. 1 album in the U.S. upon release.^[5] West has had 5 songs exceed 3 million in digital sales as of July 2011, with "Gold Digger" selling 3,086,000, "Stronger" selling 4,402,000, "Heartless" selling 3,742,000, "E.T." selling over 4,000,000 and "Love Lockdown" selling over 3,000,000^[6][7] placing him third in overall digital sales of the past decade.^[8][9] He has sold over 30 million digital songs in the United States making him one of the best-selling digital artists of all-time.^[10]

West also runs his own record label GOOD Music, home to artists such as John Legend, Common and Kid Cudi.^[11] West's mascot and trademark is "Dropout Bear," a teddy bear which has appeared on the covers of three of his five solo albums as well as various single covers and in his music videos.^[12] About.com ranked Kanye West No. 8 on their "Top 50 Hip-Hop Producers" list.^[13] On May 16, 2008, Kanye West was crowned by MTV as the year's No. 1 "Hottest MC in the Game."^[14] On December 17, 2010, Kanye West was voted as the MTV Man of the Year by MTV.^[15] Billboard ranked Kanye West No. 3 on their list of Top 10 Producers of the Decade.^[16] West has also been included in the Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world as well as being listed in a number of Forbes' annual lists.^[17]

Kanye will release the full-length album entitled Cruel Summer with GOOD Music signed artists sometime in 2012.

Early life[link]

Kanye West was born in Atlanta, Georgia,^[18] where he lived with his parents. When he was three years old, his parents divorced, and he and his mother moved to Chicago, Illinois.^[19] His father was Ray West, a former Black Panther who was one of the first black photojournalists at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and is now a Christian counselor.^[19] West's mother, Dr. Donda West, was a Professor of English at Clark Atlanta University, and the Chair of the English Department at Chicago State University before retiring to serve as West's manager. He was raised in a middle-class background, attending Polaris High School^[20] in suburban Oak Lawn, Illinois after living in Chicago.^[21] When asked about his grades in high school, West replied, "I got A's and B's. And I'm not even frontin'".^[22]

West attended art classes at the American Academy of Art in Chicago, and also enrolled at Chicago State University, but dropped out to focus on his music career.^[23] While attending school, West produced for local artists. He later gained fame by producing hit singles for major hip hop/R&B artists, including Jay-Z, Talib Kweli, Cam'ron, Paul Wall, Common, Mobb Deep, Jermaine Dupri, Scarface, The Game, Alicia Keys, Janet Jackson, John Legend among others. He also "ghost-produced" for his mentor Deric Angelettie, according to his song "Last Call" and the credits of Nas' "Poppa Was a Playa".^[23]

Music career[link]

1996–2003: Career beginnings[link]

Kanye West's first career productions came on Chicago rapper Grav's 1996 debut album Down to Earth. West produced eight tracks on the album. While the album did not attract much attention and would be the only album released by Grav, West would soon be producing for higher profile artists. In 1998–1999 he produced for well-known artists such as Jermaine Dupri, Foxy Brown, Goodie Mob, and the group Harlem World.

West got his big break in the year 2000, when he began to produce for artists on Roc-a-Fella Records. He produced the well-received Jay-Z song "This Can't Be Life" off of the album The Dynasty: Roc La Familia. West would later state that to create the beat for "This Can't Be Life", he sped up the drum beat from Dr. Dre's song "Xxplosive".^[24]

After producing for Jay-Z earlier, West’s sound was featured heavily on Jay-Z's critically acclaimed album The Blueprint, released September 11, 2001.^[25] His work was featured on the lead single "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)", "Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)" and a diss track against Nas and Mobb Deep named "Takeover"; West has worked with Mobb Deep and Nas since the track's release.^[25]

After meeting great commercial success and critical acclaim for his productions on The Blueprint, West became a sought after producer in the hip-hop industry, even before he became known as a rapper and solo artist. In the years 2002–2003 he would produce for artists such as Nas, Scarface, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, T.I., Ludacris, DMX, and Monica. He also continued producing for Roc-a-Fella Records artists and contribued four tracks to Jay-Z's follow up album to The Blueprint, The Blueprint²: The Gift & the Curse.

After great successes as a producer, West now looked to pursue a career as a rapper and solo artist, but struggled to get a record deal. Chris Anokute, then A&R at Def Jam, said that when West regularly dropped by the office to pick up his producer checks he would play demos of solo material to Anokute in his cubicle and bemoan the fact that no one was taking him seriously as a rapper.^[26] Jay-Z admitted that Roc-A-Fella was initially reluctant to support West as a rapper, claiming that he saw him as a producer first and foremost.^[27] Multiple record companies felt he was not as marketable as rappers who portray the "street image" prominent in hip hop culture.^[24] Beginning his career as a rapper, Kanye West recorded the third verse on the song "The Bounce" off of Jay-Z's The Blueprint²: The Gift & the Curse, an album he produced for, from the same label he was signed to as a rapper.

[edit] 2004–05: The College Dropout and Late Registration

On October 23, 2002, West was involved in a near fatal car crash while driving home from the recording studio.^[28] The crash provided inspiration for West's first single, "Through the Wire".^[29] West's faith is apparent in many of his songs, such as "Jesus Walks", which became a staple at his benefit performances, such as the Live 8 concert. These songs were featured on West's debut album, The College Dropout, which was released on Roc-A-Fella Records in February 2004, and went on to receive critical acclaim. The album also defined the style for which West would become known, including wordplay and sampling.^[29] The album was eventually certified triple platinum. Guest appearances included Jay-Z, Ludacris, GLC, Consequence, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Common, and Syleena Johnson. The album also featured the singles, "All Falls Down" and "The New Workout Plan", as well as Twista's number one single, "Slow Jamz".^[30] During 2003 West also co-produced songs for British singer Javine Hylton, even appearing in the music video to Real Things playing the love interest of Javine.

West was involved in a financial dispute over Royce Da 5'9"'s song "Heartbeat", produced by West and released on Build & Destroy: The Lost Sessions. West maintains that Royce never paid for the beat, but recorded to it and released it; hearing him on the beat, the original customers decided not to buy it from West. After the disagreement, West vowed to never work with Royce again.^[31] Other Kanye West-produced hit singles during the period The College Dropout was released included "I Changed My Mind" by Keyshia Cole, "Overnight Celebrity" by Twista and "Talk About Our Love" by Brandy.^[29]

West and Jamie Foxx performing "Gold Digger" at the Democratic Convention in Denver, Colorado

Taking a more eclectic route, West collaborated with American film score composer Jon Brion to construct his second album, Late Registration, which was released on August 30, 2005.^[32] Like its predecessor, the sophomore effort garnered universal acclaim from music critics.^[33] Late Registration topped countless critic polls and was revered as the best album of the year by numerous publications, including USA Today, Spin, and Time.^[34][35] Rolling Stone awarded the album the highest position on their end of the year record list and hailed it as a "sweepingly generous, absurdly virtuosic hip-hop classic."^[36] The record earned the number one spot on the Village Voice's Pazz & Jop critics' poll of 2005 for the second consecutive year.^[37] Late Registration was also a commercial success, selling over 860,000 copies in its first week alone and topping the Billboard 200.^[38] Grossing over 2.3 million units sold in the United States alone by year's end, Late Registration was considered by industry observers as the sole majorly successful album release of the fall of 2005, a season that was plagued by steadily declining CD sales.^[39] The second album earned eight Grammy Award nominations including Album of the Year and Record of the Year for the song "Gold Digger".^[40] The album is certified triple platinum.^[41]

On August 22, 2005, the MTV special All Eyes On Kanye West aired, in which West spoke out against homophobia in hip-hop. He claimed that hip-hop has always been about "speaking your mind and about breaking down barriers, but everyone in hip-hop discriminates against gay people."^[42] He then reflected on a personal experience. He said that he had a "turning point" when he realized one of his cousins was gay. He said regarding this experience: "This is my cousin. I love him and I've been discriminating against gays." He drew comparison between African Americans' struggle for civil rights and today's gay rights movement. The following year, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, West further expounded his experiences with and views on the relationship between the black and gay communities.^[43]

In September 2005, West announced that he would release his Pastelle Clothing line in spring 2006:^[44] "Now that I have a Grammy under my belt and Late Registration is finished, I am ready to launch my clothing line next spring." In that year, West produced the hit singles "Go" by Common and "Dreams" by The Game.^[45]

[edit] 2007–09: Graduation and 808s & Heartbreak

West performing in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, April 2007.

In 2007, it was announced that West would be starring in a series directed by Larry Charles. He has been working on the pilot episode for the past two years with Larry Charles and Rick Rubin. He also had this to say on January 14: "I wouldn't do something as cliché as a reality show. At least give me the credit for being more creative than that. It's a situational half-hour comedy. It's fictional, and loosely based on my life.^[46] " West also collaborated with Japanese hip-hop group Teriyaki Boyz to produce the single "I Still Love H.E.R.", a reference to Common's 1994 single "I Used to Love H.E.R.". Further to this, during a radio appearance in early 2007, West, like many of his peers, recorded an impromptu freestyle to the popular song "Throw Some D's." The song that to all other rappers was about automobile rims, was used by West to comically refer to D-cup breasts. Because of the unexpected success of the song, West went on to make a video for the freestyle, in which he is seen playing his 'Old Ass Cousin'.^[47]

West was also featured in a new song called "Classic (Better Than I've Ever Been)". It was believed to be a single for, Graduation, because he is featured on the track, but Nike quickly explained that it was for the Nike Air Force 1's anniversary. It was meant only to be an exclusive track for the company.^[48]

On March 25, 2007, he and his father Ray West supported World Water Day by having a "Walk for Water" rally.^[49] After a two-year break, West has returned to being a fashion columnist in lifestyle magazine Complex.^[50] On July 7, 2007, West performed with The Police and John Mayer at the American leg of Live Earth.^[51] West hosted the August 17 edition of British comedy- variety show The Friday Night Project.^[52]

In July 2007, West changed the release date of Graduation, his third album, from September 18, 2007, to the same release date as 50 Cent's album Curtis, September 11, 2007.^[53] 50 Cent later claimed that if Graduation were to sell more records than Curtis, he would stop releasing solo albums. However, 50 Cent would later dispel his comments.^[54] The album has been certified double platinum. Guest appearances included T-Pain, Mos Def, and Lil Wayne.^[55]

On August 26, 2007, West appeared as himself on the HBO television show Entourage which he used as a platform to premier his new single "Good Life" during the end credits. On September 9, 2007, West performed at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards, losing in every category he was nominated for; he gave an angry speech immediately afterward. (see "Controversies" section)

Following the MTV stint, West was nominated in eight Grammy Award categories for the 50th annual Grammy Awards.^[57] He won four of them,^[58] including Best Rap Album for Graduation and Best Rap Solo Performance for "Stronger" from Graduation. During the four-hour televised Grammy Awards ceremony, West also performed two songs: "Stronger" (with Daft Punk) and "Hey Mama" (in honor of his recently deceased mother).^[59]

West kicked off the Glow in the Dark Tour in Seattle at the Key Arena on April 16. The tour was originally scheduled to end in June in Cincinnati but was extended into August. Over the course of the tour West was joined by a varying group of opening acts, including Lupe Fiasco, Rihanna, N.E.R.D., DJ Craze, and Gnarls Barkley. On June 15, West was scheduled to perform a late night set at the Bonnaroo Music Festival. His performance started almost two hours late and ran for half of its alloted time, angering many fans in the audience. West later wrote an outraged entry on his blog, blaming the festival organizers as well as Pearl Jam's preceding set, which ran longer than expected.

On September 7, West debuted a new song "Love Lockdown" at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards. "Love Lockdown" features no rapping and only singing using an auto-tune device. This song appears on West's fourth studio album, 808s & Heartbreak. The new album was expected to be released on December 16, but West announced on his blog on September 24, 2008, that he had finished the album and would be releasing it sometime in November, earlier than previously scheduled. In early October, West made a surprise appearance at a T.I. concert in Los Angeles, where he stated that 808s & Heartbreak was scheduled to be released on November 25, though it was actually released on the 24th, and that the second single is "Heartless". The album was another number one album for West, even though the first week numbers fell well short of Graduation with 450,145 sold.^[60]

West performing in 2008

West performed at the American Music Awards ceremony on November 23.^[61] That same night he won two AMA awards, including Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Album for Graduation and Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Male Artist. West performed at the Democratic National Convention in Denver in August 2008, along with Wyclef Jean and N.E.R.D. in support of Barack Obama. On January 20, 2009, Kanye West performed at the Youth Inaugural Ball hosted by MTV for Obama's inauguration.

On February 17, 2009, West was named one of Top 10 Most Stylish Men in America by GQ.^[62] The next day, February 18, 2009, West won International Male Solo Artist at The Brit Awards 2009. West was not in attendance but accepted his award with a video speech, saying "Barack is the 'Best Interracial Male' but I'm proud to be the Best International Male in the world.^[63]

In April 2009, Kanye West recorded a song called "Hurricane" with 30 Seconds to Mars to appear on their album This Is War, but was not released due to legal issues with both record companies. The song was eventually released on the deluxe version of This Is War, titled "Hurricane 2.0".^[64][65][66]

[edit] 2010–present: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and Watch the Throne

West performing at The Big Chill

In May 2010, West made an animated television guest appearance on Fox's animated television series The Cleveland Show (a spin-off of Family Guy) as the voice behind "Kenny West", a rival of Cleveland Brown's son.^[67] In his first episode he performed in a rap battle with Cleveland's son. The producers stated working with West was a very good experience and a reason they chose him was because they knew he was a fan of Family Guy.^[68] Kenny West re-appeared in the season 2 premiere of The Cleveland Show.

West spent the first half of 2010 in Honolulu, Hawaii, working on his new album with the working title "Good Ass Job", later named My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, released on November 22, 2010.^[69] West has cited Maya Angelou, Gil Scott-Heron and Nina Simone as his musical inspirations for this album. Outside production is said to come from RZA, Q-Tip, Pete Rock, and DJ Premier.^[70][71] West also had Justin Vernon flown into his studio on Oahu after seemingly expressing interest in sampling one of Bon Iver's songs; Vernon proceeded to feature on a number of new tracks, including "Lost In The World," which features Vernon's vocal line from Woods.^[72]

On May 28, the Dwele-assisted first single from the album, entitled "Power", leaked to the Internet. On June 30, the track was officially released via iTunes. The upcoming music video was quoted as being "apocalyptic, in a very personal way" by the director Marco Brambilla.^[73]

On September 12, 2010, West performed a new song, "Runaway" featuring Pusha T, at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards.^[74] Shortly after the performance, Kanye revealed he was working on a 35 minute short film based around the song. The movie is said to be influenced by film noir and concerns a fallen phoenix whom Kanye falls in love with.^[75] On October 15, 2010, Kanye West was ranked 3rd in BET's "Top Ten Rappers of the 21st Century" list.^[76]

West performing at a benefit at the Museum of Modern Art in 2011

Watch the Throne, a collaborative studio album by West and Jay-Z,^[77] was released by Def Jam Recordings on August 8, 2011.^[78] It has been under production since August 2010 as part of West's GOOD Friday initiative of releasing new songs every Friday between August 20 and Christmas 2010.^[79] West said through a recent interview with MTV that the album is "going to be very dark and sexy, like couture hip hop."^[79][80][81] He appeared at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, performing the track "Lost in the World" from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.^[82] On January 6, 2011, Kanye announced via Twitter that the first official single from Watch the Throne would be a song called "H•A•M" produced by Lex Luger. The song was released on January 11, 2011.^[83]

On April 17, 2011, West closed the Coachella Festival with a headlining set that received glowing praise from fans and critics alike.^[84][85] On July 20, a track titled "Otis" from the album was released in the iTunes Store. It samples "Try a Little Tenderness" by Otis Redding.^[86] On October 19, 2011, via his Twitter, West announced plans for a Spring 2012 GOOD Music album release.^[87] On April 6, 2012, "Mercy", the lead single from the GOOD Music compilation album, Cruel Summer, was released.^[88] The song, produced by newly signed in-house producer Lifted, features West along with Big Sean, Pusha T and southern rapper 2 Chainz.^[89]

Other ventures[link]

Business ventures[link]

In August 2008, West revealed plans to open 10 Fatburger restaurants in the Chicago area; the first was set to open in September 2008 in Orland Park. The second followed in January 2009, while a third location is yet to be revealed, although the process is being finalized. His company, KW Foods LLC, bought the rights to the chain in Chicago.^[90] Additionally, West planned to launch his fashion career, and applied for internships with major European fashion houses.^[91] He was due to release his own clothing line called Past Tell in 2009. He also collaborated with Nike to release his own shoe, Air Yeezys.

On January 22, 2009, during Paris Fashion Week, West introduced his first shoe line designed for Louis Vuitton. The line was released in summer 2009.

On October 1, 2011, Kanye West premiered his women's fashion label, DW Kanye West^[92] at Paris Fashion Week. He received support from DSquared2 duo Dean and Dan Caten, Olivier Theyskens, Jeremy Scott, Azzedine Alaïa, and the Olsen twins, who were also in attendance during his show. His debut fashion show received mixed-to-negative reviews,^[93][94] ranging from reserved observations by Style.com^[95] to excoriating commentary by The Wall Street Journal,^[96] the New York Times,^[97] the International Herald Tribune, Elleuk.com, The Daily Telegraph, Harper's Bazaar and many others.^{[98][99][100]}