Adverbial diminutives for precision
In Latin American Spanish, the diminutive suffixes -ito and -ita aren't just for nouns. When added to an adverb, they add precision, intensity, or a delicate nuance to how an action happens.
For adverbs of manner, this often translates to "very" or adds a sense of care, gentleness, or urgency. For example, despacio (slowly) becomes despacito (very slowly, gently), and rápido (quickly) becomes rapidito (very quickly).
| I place the domino very slowly at the end. | Pongo el dominó despacito en el extremo. |
| The precise row continues growing very quickly. | La hilera milimétrica sigue creciendo rapidito. |
Temporal and spatial exactness
Attach these suffixes to adverbs of time and place to narrow down exactly when or where something happens. Adverbs ending in -a generally take -ita, while others take -ito:
- ahora (now) becomes ahorita (right now)
- cerca (close) becomes cerquita (very close)
- luego (later/soon) becomes lueguito (right away)
- lejos (far) becomes lejitos (quite far away)
| Right now he is looking at the trembling domino. | Ahorita él está mirando el dominó tembloroso. |
| The pieces continue collapsing very close together and trigger the end. | Las fichas siguen colapsando cerquita y desencadenan el final. |
| My trembling hand would have ruined the precise work right away. | Mi mano temblorosa habría arruinado el trabajo milimétrico lueguito. |
Diminutives on gerunds
In colloquial Latin American Spanish, you can even add -ito to gerunds (words ending in -ando or -iendo). This usually describes an action being done very carefully, stealthily, or delicately.
For instance, the gerund of callar (to keep quiet) becomes callandito (very quietly).
| He continues building the domino very quietly. | Él sigue armando el dominó callandito. |