-et and -ette Suffix

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Les suffixes -et et -ette

The French suffixes -et (masculine) and –ette (feminine) can be added to nouns (including proper nouns), verbs, and adjectives.

1) Noun + –et  /  –ette

The suffixes –et and –ette are usually diminutives when added to nouns.

Par exemple…

Sometimes the relationship between the original noun and its suffixed counterpart is more figurative.

1½) Proper noun + –et  /  –ette

Suffixes can be added to masculine or feminine names to make diminutives:

In addition, –ette may be added to masculine names to make them feminine:

More: French names

2) Verb + –et  /  –ette

The suffixes can be added to the roots of verbs (verb minus infinitive ending) to make related nouns.

3) Adjective + –et  /  –ette

The suffixes can be added to adjectives, with one of two results.

a. The new adjective is softer, weakened form of the original, along the lines of "somewhat ____."

b. The new adjective is a stronger form of the original: "very ____."

 Note that the feminine form of the original adjective is always the starting point for both the masculine and feminine forms of the new, suffixed adjective.

Want more?

For more French words that end in –et or –ette, try the amazing Recherche par critères feature of Le Petit Robert. You can choose a catégorie grammaticale to see just nouns, for example, or leave that section blank for a complete list.

En anglais

There are a number of English words with the suffixes –et and especially –ette, which usually act as a diminutive. For example,

• booklet
• featurette
• kitchenette
• towelette

But as in French, the relationship between the original and suffixed word doesn’t always have to do with size – e.g., bachelorette and leaflet. Also, watch out for this

 Faux ami: brunette. In English, this refers to a woman with dark hair, which in French is simply une brune. So since –ette is a diminutive, une brunette in French means "a petite woman with dark hair."

 Related lessons

• Adjectives
• Infinitives
• Names
• Nouns

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