Softening Adjectives (-ino and -etto)
In Italian, you can change the nuance of an adjective without using separate words like "very" or "a bit." By attaching a diminutive suffix like -ino or -etto, you soften the adjective to mean "rather," "-ish," or "a bit."
To alter an adjective, drop its final vowel and add the suffix, ensuring the new ending matches the gender and number of the noun it describes.
| Base Adjective | Suffix | Altered Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| basso | -ino | bassino | shortish / rather short |
| grasso | -etto | grassetto | chubby / plumpish |
Let's see how these diminutive suffixes are used to describe less-than-ideal romantic matches and awkward dates:
| My new suitor is rather short and plain-looking. | Il mio nuovo corteggiatore è bassino e bruttino. |
| That suitor was a disaster; he had a standoffish character. | Quel corteggiatore è stato un disastro; aveva un carattere freddino. |
| I didn't like him because he was shortish and chubby. | Non mi è piaciuto perché era bassino e grassetto. |
| He seemed oldish and a bit silly. | Sembrava vecchietto e stupidetto. |
Expressing Dislike with Pejoratives (-accio)
When a date goes from slightly awkward to completely disastrous, you need stronger words. The pejorative suffix -accio adds a highly negative, ugly, or contemptuous meaning to an adjective, translating to "terribly," "incredibly," or "nasty."
It follows the exact same formation rules as the diminutive suffixes. Note that in Italian, these altered forms frequently function as nouns as well (for example, bugiardo means "liar", so un bugiardaccio becomes "a terrible liar").
| I had a terribly lazy and incredibly boring boyfriend. | Avevo un fidanzato pigraccio e noiosaccio. |
| That man was a terrible liar and a nasty guy. | Quell'uomo era un bugiardaccio e un cattivaccio. |
| I don't want to see that terrible liar anymore! | Non voglio più vedere quel bugiardaccio! |
