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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…
Nom | English | Français | English | |
un ballon | balloon | un ballonet | small balloon | |
une cuve | vat, tank | une cuvette | basin, bowl | |
une île | island | un îlet | small island | |
une malle | trunk | une mallette | suitcase, briefcase |
Sometimes the relationship between the original noun and its suffixed counterpart is more figurative.
Originel | English | Nouveau | English | |
une courge | squash | une courgette | zucchini | |
un noix | walnut | une noisette | hazelnut | |
une rose | rose | une rosette | rosette (rose-shaped decoration) |
1½) Proper noun + –et / –ette
Suffixes can be added to masculine or feminine names to make diminutives:
Prénom | Diminutif | |
Jacques | Jacquet | |
Julie | Juliette | |
Michel | Michelet |
In addition, –ette may be added to masculine names to make them feminine:
Masculin | Féminin | |
Antoine | Antoinette | |
Henri | Henriette | |
Yves | Yvette |
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.
Verbe | English | Nom | English | |
allumer | to light | une allumette | match | |
jouer | to play | un jouet | toy | |
siffler | to whistle | un sifflet | whistle | |
trottiner | to trot along | une trottinette | scooter |
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 ____."
Adjectif | English | Adjectifs | English | |
(fou) folle | crazy | follet, follette | scatterbrained | |
(mou) molle | soft | mollet, mollette | fairly soft | |
(long) longue | long | longuet, longuette | a bit (too) long |
b. The new adjective is a stronger form of the original: "very ____."
Adjectif | English | Adjectifs | English | |
jeune | young | jeunet, jeunette | very young (pejorative) | |
propre | clean | propret, proprette | sparkling clean |
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

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