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Study Resource: German diminutives reference sheet

By: Babsi Cabrera

Associated Articles

These activities are part of our German Grammar series. The skills we are practicing here are covered in our article:

German words ending in ‘-chen’ that are not diminutives

German	English
der Kuchen	cake
das Verbrechen	crime
das Lachen	laughter
der Drachen	dragon; kite
die Sachen	things
der Rochen	stingray
das Veilchen	violet
der Knochen	bone
die Kirchen	churches
die Lerchen	larks
das Abzeichen	emblem
der Rechen	rake
das Versprechen	promise
der Rachen	jaw

German diminutives that have taken on specialized meanings

German	English
das Plätzchen	cookie
das Brötchen	bread roll
das Mädchen	girl
das Hühnchen	chicken
das Brathähnchen	rotisserie chicken
ein bisschen	a little bit
das Eichhörnchen	squirrel
das Erdmännchen	meerkat
das Märchen	fairytale
das Rotkehlchen	red robin
das Glühwürmchen	firefly
das Leibchen	cami
das Würstchen	sausage

German adjectives that are often used with diminutives

German	English
klein	small
niedlich	cute
süß	sweet
putzig	adorable
klitzeklein	miniscule
winzig	tiny
zierlich	dainty
knuffig	cute
schnuffig	cuddly
herzig	lovely

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