Nouns with Diminutive Inflection
ᒨᐦᑯᒫᓐ | ![]() |
muuhkumaan | a knife |
ᒨᐦᑯᒫᓂᔥ | ![]() |
muuhkumaanish | a little knife |
To say that something is small, the suffix –ish can be added to a noun. For animate nouns the suffix is –ishish.
ᑖᐦᑎᐳᐧᐃᓐ | ![]() |
taahtipuwin | a chair |
ᑖᐦᑎᐳᐧᐃᓂᔥ | ![]() |
taahtipuwinish | a little chair |
ᒥᑎᐦᒌ | ![]() |
mitihchii | a hand |
ᒥᑎᐦᒌᔥ | ![]() |
mitihchiish | a little hand |
For words that contain a -t-, the -t- sometimes becomes -ch-:
ᐊᑎᒻ | ![]() |
atim | a dog |
ᐊᒋᒧᔑᔥ | ![]() |
achimushish | a little dog |
ᐊᔥᑐᑎᓐ | ![]() |
ashtutin | a hat |
ᐊᔥᒍᒋᓂᔥ | ![]() |
ashchuchinish | a little hat |
The diminutive suffix -ish can also be added to verbs:
ᒦᒋᓲ | ![]() |
miichisuu | she is eating |
ᒦᒋᓱᔔ | ![]() |
miichisushuu | she is eating a little |
For More Information, see Stem Shapes