Size is rarely the point
Italian changes nouns, adjectives and adverbs with endings, and the result is called an alterato. The textbook meaning is small, big or bad. In everyday use, though, these endings mostly carry an attitude: they soften a request, give a rough estimate, praise with enthusiasm or vent annoyance.
The four groups
| Group | Endings | Example |
|---|---|---|
| diminutivo – making smaller | -ino, -etto, -ello | casetta, momentino |
| accrescitivo – making bigger | -one | librone, successone |
| peggiorativo – running down | -accio, -astro | tempaccio, giallastro |
| attenuativo – toning down | -uccio | caruccio, maluccio |
English has hardly any living suffixes for this and uses words instead: a quick question, a huge success, lousy weather. Italian does the same job with a single ending.
Making requests smaller
The most common job of the diminutive: whatever you want from someone should seem small. A domandina isn't a short question but a question that doesn't want to bother anyone. With time expressions there is a second meaning: un'oretta means "an hour or so".
Softening and estimating
Mi scusi, aspetti un momentino, controllo subito.
Sorry, just bear with me a moment, I'll check right away.
Posso farti una domandina sul progetto?
Can I ask you a quick question about the project?
Da qui al mare ci vuole un'oretta.
It's an hour or so from here to the sea.
Ti ho portato un pensierino dalla Sicilia.
I brought you a little something from Sicily.
Modesty: the present shouldn't seem like a big deal.
Thrilled or fed up
-one often means not just big but impressive: an affarone is a real bargain. -accio makes something unpleasant or irritating. Both endings are judgements and belong in conversation.
Judging with an ending
La festa è stata un successone.
The party was a huge success.
Con quella casa ha fatto un affarone.
He got a real bargain with that house.
Che giornataccia, non me ne va bene una.
What a rotten day, nothing's going right for me.
Con questo tempaccio restiamo a casa.
We're staying in with this lousy weather.
Cushioning criticism
On adjectives and adverbs, -uccio and -ino tone a judgement down. That lets you say something negative without sounding harsh, or keep praise deliberately modest.
Direct and toned down
Il ristorante è buono, ma caro.
The restaurant is good, but expensive.
Il ristorante è buono, ma un po' caruccio.
The restaurant is good, but a bit pricey.
Mio padre sta male in questi giorni.
My father is unwell at the moment.
Mio padre sta maluccio in questi giorni.
My father isn't doing too well at the moment.
benino is a toned-down verdict too: Come è andato l'esame? – Benino. means "not bad", not "very well".
When the alterato is a word of its own
Some forms have drifted away from their base word and mean something of their own. They no longer carry an attitude, and you can't read them as "small" or "big".
casino: a mess, chaos – not a small house, and not a casino either. A small house is a casetta.
pancetta: cured pork belly – not a small belly.
fumetto: a comic – originally the little puff of smoke of the speech bubble.
parolaccia: a swear word – not simply an ugly word.
