-inho

See also: inho

Portuguese

Alternative forms

• -im, -in', -in, -inh (pronunciation spelling)
• -zinho

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *-nós

Proto-Indo-European *-iHnos

Proto-Italic *-īnos

Latin -īnus

Old Galician-Portuguese -ỹo

Portuguese -inho

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese -ỹo. Compare Italian -ino, French -in, both diminutive suffixes. Doublet of -ino.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈĩ.ɲu/ [ˈĩ.j̃u]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈĩ.ɲu/ [ˈĩ.j̃u]
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈi.ɲo/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈi.ɲu/

• Rhymes: -iɲu, (Brazil) -ĩɲu

Suffix

-inho m (noun-forming suffix, plural -inhos, feminine -inha, feminine plural -inhas)

1. forms the diminutive of nouns; -ie; -y; -ling; -let
   1. indicates smallness, shortness, youth, fewness, etc.

      ‎casa (“house”) + ‎-inha → ‎casinha (“small house”)

      ‎criança (“child”) + ‎-inha → ‎criancinha (“young child”)

      ‎texto (“text”) + ‎-inho → ‎textinho (“short text”)

      ‎pipoca (“popcorn”) + ‎-inha → ‎pipoquinha (“small portion of popcorn”)

      Synonyms: -culo, -ete, -ito, -ulo

      Antonym: -ão

   2. belittles the suffixed noun; -let

      ‎time (“sports team”) + ‎-inho → ‎timinho (“bad sports team”)

      ‎país (“country”) + ‎-inho → ‎paisinho (“country of little importance”)

      Synonyms: -culo, -eco, -ilho

   3. indicates affection; -ie; -y

      ‎cachorro (“dog”) + ‎-inho → ‎cachorrinho (“doggy”)

      ‎terra (“land”) + ‎-inho → ‎terrinha (“homeland”)

Suffix

-inho (adjective-forming suffix, feminine -inha, masculine plural -inhos, feminine plural -inhas)

1. (somewhat informal) forms the diminutive of adjectives and adverbs, roughly equivalent to English somewhat or kind of

   Synonym: meio

   ‎feio (“ugly”) + ‎-inho → ‎feiinho (“somewhat ugly”)

2. forms the augmentative of adjectives and adverbs

   ‎limpo (“clean”) + ‎-inho → ‎limpinho (“very clean”)

Suffix

-inho (adjective-like pronoun-forming suffix, feminine -inha, masculine plural -inhos, feminine plural -inhas)

1. (informal) forms the diminutive of pronouns
   1. indicates smallness

      ‎aquele (“that one”) + ‎-zinho → ‎aquelezinho (“that small one”)

      Synonym: mesmo

   2. intensifies or emphasises personal pronouns

      ‎eu (“I”) + ‎-zinho → ‎euzinho (“little old me”)

Suffix

-inho

1. (Brazil, colloquial, regional) forms the diminutive of gerunds, indicating a lack of intensity or seriousness

   ‎chovendo (“raining”) + ‎-inho → ‎chovendinho (“drizzling”)

   ‎namorando (“dating”) + ‎-inho → ‎namorandinho (“having an uncommitted romantic relationship”)

Usage notes

• This suffix retains the gender of the root word and usually its final ⟨a⟩ or ⟨o⟩ too, even if the former ends a masculine word or the latter ends a feminine one:

  ‎problema (“problem”) + ‎-inho → ‎probleminha (“little problem”), not *probleminho

  ‎tribo (“tribe”) + ‎-inho → ‎tribinho (“tribelet”), not *tribinha

  • This is always true in prescriptive grammar; however, some informal formulations deviate from this pattern, such fotinha, from foto. Brazilian grammarian Evanildo Bechara additionally deems -inha valid if the root is a clipping of a feminine word ending with ⟨a⟩, such motinha from moto, in turn a clipping of motocicleta.
• The suffixes -inho, -ão, and -mente do not alter the vowel qualities in the root word:

  ‎certo (“accurate”) + ‎-inho → ‎certinho (“precisely correct”, with /ɛ/); compare certeiro (with /e/ or /ɨ/)

Derived terms

Portuguese terms suffixed with -inho

-inha

adeusinho

Afonsinho

Alfonsinho

algodãozinho

andarinho

armarinho

arrozinho

aviãozinho

azulinho

bailinho

baixinho

bambuzinho

barrigudinho

barzinho

betinho

bobinho

bofinho

bolinho

branquinho

burrinho

caboquinho

cadinho

caminhãozinho

canarinho

capachinho

capitãozinho

caralhinho

ceguinho

cercadinho

chifrinho

chiqueirinho

cigarrinho

clarinho

coitadinho

coquinho

cuidadinho

cuspinho

daninho

diabinho

direitinho

engomadinho

engraçadinho

escurinho

espertinho

estalinho

felizinho

foguinho

fortinho

fradinho

galinho

gambazinho

gaviãozinho

geladinho

Gordinho

gordinho

gostinho

grãozinho

gravetinho

Juninho

lerdinho

levinho

limãozinho

magrinho

maiozinho

Marquinhos

marronzinho

mauricinho

mocinho

molhadinho

mulatinho

narizinho

negrinho

neguinho

Nintendinho

novinho

olhinho

orfãozinho

papinho

patrãozinho

pavãozinho

peixezinho

perdidinho

pesadinho

pianinho

picadinho

piolhinho

polenguinho

ponteirinho

porquinho

portãozinho

poucachinho

poucochinho

pouquinho

pretinho

radinho

rapazinho

rapidinho

raposinho

retinho

ribeirinho

riquinho

rodriguinho

rolinho

Ronaldinho

roxinho

Rubinho

sabãozinho

segundinho

soldadinho

sotãozinho

Soutinho

Tiaguinho

tortinho

tracinho

tunelzinho

urubuzinho

verãozinho

verdinho

vermelhinho

veuzinho

vilarinho

xadrezinho

-zinho

Further reading

• “-inho”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “-inho”, in Dicionário Eletrônico Houaiss [Houaiss Electronic Dictionary] (in Portuguese), São Paulo: UOL, 2004–2026
• “-inho”, in Dicionário Infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026
• “-inho”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2026, →ISBN
• “-inho”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026