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.
ᑌᐦᑕᐴᓐ | tehtapuun | a chair | |
ᑌᐦᑕᐴᓂᔥ | tehtapuunish | a little chair | |
ᒥᑎᐦᒌ | mitihchii | a hand | |
ᒥᑎᐦᒌᔥ | mitihchiish | a little hand | |
ᐊᑎᒻ | atim | a dog | |
ᐊᑎᒧᔥ | atimush | a little dog |
For words that contain a -t-, the -t- sometimes becomes -ch-:
ᐊᑎᒻ | atim | a dog | |
ᐊᒋᒧᔥ | achimush | a little dog | |
ᐅᑖᐹᓈᔅᒄ | utaapaanaaskw | a sled | |
ᐅᒑᐹᓈᔅᑯᔥ | uchaapaanaashkush | a little sled | |
ᒦᒋᓲᓈᐦᑎᒄ | miichisuunaahtikw | a table | |
ᒦᒋᓲᓈᐦᒋᑯᔥ | miichisuunaahchikush | a little table |
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