pequeña

Pequeña is a Spanish adjective that functions as the feminine singular form of pequeño, meaning “small” or “little.” It is used to describe nouns that are feminine and singular in gender and number, such as una casa pequeña (a small house) or una niña pequeña (a little girl). The masculine form of the adjective is pequeño. When the adjective modifies a plural noun, the plural adjective changes to pequeños or pequeñas depending on gender, e. g. casas pequeñas.

The word derives from the Latin root par, meaning “small,” which is also the source of many related terms in Romance languages such as petite in French and poco in Italian. In Spanish, the suffix -e has historically transformed classical Latin adjectives into modern Spanish forms. Pequeña goes through the same phonological development as other masculine/feminine paired adjectives in Spanish, with the feminine form typically ending in -a when the masculine ends in -o.

Pequeña appears in a range of cultural contexts. It is the title of a 2002 Spanish-language television series that focuses on the daily lives of a small family, and it is the name of a 2016 album by Mexican pop singer Natalia Suarez. In literature, the term is often used metaphorically to convey fragility or intimacy, as seen in Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s descriptions of characters’ inner worlds. In everyday speech, the adjective is frequently employed to express affection, as in “una pequeña sorpresa” (a little surprise) or “un niño pequeño” (a little child).