The basic idea with a diminutive is to add an IE-sound to the word, e.g. boek > boekie. But there is always a but. Now all endings makes this perfectly simple. The basic idea is retained, but reworked depending on the context of the word. All diminutives that are pluralized get an S-ending. Diminutives are somewhat productive in English (kitty, doggie, horsie, etc.). They are very productive in Afrikaans and they are used not only for things, but even for actions, e.g. "Look how sweetly the baby sleepies." It is widely used in Afrikaans.
Note: word examples are a mix of real and fake words.
A. "IE" diminutive ending for words ending in S, K, P, G, F
|
toeris >toerissie kas >kassie teks >teksie vrug >vruggie amp >ampie |
bees >beesie fees >feesie gees >geesie skrif >skriffie |
B. "PIE" diminutive ending for words ending with a long vowel + M
|
boom >boompie kroom >kroompie doem >doempie naam >naampie |
kiem >kiempie leem >leempie parfuum >parfuumpie skuim >skuimpie |
C. "ETJIE" diminutive ending for words ending with a short vowel and any of the following endings: M, N, R, or B
| M | N | R | B |
|
kam som lam skim lem dom kom bom slim dam ham rem |
man kan lon ton ron sin son san sen pen pan pon |
mar kar lor tor bor sir sor sar ser per par por |
mab kab lob dob rob sib rib sab seb peb pab sib |
D. "TJIE / JIE" diminutive ending for words ending with a long vowel and N; or words ending with D or T
In pronunciation, it sounds as if a "k" is slipped in, making it sound like a "kie".
Drill it thoroughly.
| Long vowel + N and TJIE | Long vowel + T and JIE | Long vowel + D and JIE |
|
maan kraan loon boon been reën groen skoen seun leun |
boot bot sloot slot maat mat riet rat vraat vrat |
mond hand rand aand sand band mand klad kind huid |
E. Words inding in -NG
| Unaccented -NG (drop the G, and add KIE) | Accented -NG (add ETJIE) |
|
kussing piesang toiing koning harsing sending tweeling betaling ontlading kading |
ding sang slang tong prong gong rang tang mang hang |