kicsinek

Kicsinek is a grammatical form in Hungarian, not a standalone word with a fixed meaning. It is the dative singular inflection of the adjective kicsi (small) when used to indicate the indirect object of a sentence, typically referring to a recipient described as “the little one” or “the small one.” In use, kicsinek answers questions like “to whom?” or “for whom?” in contexts involving someone small, such as a child or a small animal.

Morphology and use: The dative suffix -nak/-nek is added to the stem kicsi to produce kicsinek. This form appears with definite or indefinite nouns and is common in everyday Hungarian when emphasizing something given, shown, or prepared for a small person or creature. It often occurs with a definite article or possessive determiner: a kicsinek, a kicsineknek is less common but possible in extended phrases.

Typical contexts: The form is most often found in sentences where an action is directed toward a young person or a small animal. Examples include: A kicsinek adtam egy játékot. (I gave a toy to the little one.) Az anyuka a kicsinek szánt könyvet kereste. (The mother was looking for the book intended for the little one.)

Notes: Kicsinek functions as a recipient marker rather than as an independent lexical item. It is chiefly encountered in everyday language, child-directed speech, and literature. When referring to the little one in a general sense, other expressions such as a kicsi or a gyermek may be used.

See also: kicsi, gyerek, nyelvtan a dative esetben.