pequeño

Pequeño is a Spanish adjective meaning "small" or "little." It describes size, extent, or degree and can apply to people, objects, quantities, or abstract concepts. The term appears in everyday speech and formal writing, and its equivalents in English vary by context, such as small, little, or tiny.

Forms and placement: The masculine singular form is pequeño; feminine singular is pequeña; masculine plural pequeños; feminine plural pequeñas. In Spanish, adjectives commonly follow the noun, but pequeño often precedes the noun to convey nuance, affection, or emphasis, as in un pequeño detalle (a small but meaningful detail). In other cases, the usual order is noun + adjective, for example una casa pequeña or un niño pequeño.

Diminutives and usage: Pequeño has productive diminutive forms such as pequeñito/pequeñito and the intensified form pequeñísimo. These variants express increased smallness or endearment. The word is versatile in phrases describing size, quantity, or intensity, for instance, una cantidad pequeña, un negocio pequeño, or un problema pequeño.

Etymology and related terms: Pequeño originates from the Iberian Romance linguistic tradition and has cognates in related languages, notably Portuguese pequeno and Galician pequeno. It participates in common comparative and superlative constructions (más pequeño, el más pequeño) and appears in numerous idiomatic expressions across Spanish-speaking regions.