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Suffix -y / -ie in English
Makes affectionate or informal forms of a word: dog becomes doggy, a cute word for a dog.
Used to make new words. In informal speech it keeps making new words, but it cannot make any noun small: a small house is a little house.
What it does
Makes affectionate or informal words
On a noun: animals
- piggivespiggy
- duckgivesducky
On a noun: people
- auntgivesauntie
- techgivestechie
On an adjective
- oldgivesoldie
- softgivessoftie
- badgivesbaddie
Some words have two spellings (granny or grannie) and others only one (selfie). It sounds childish or very casual, so keep it out of work emails.
How it is formed
It usually attaches as it is. Spelling changes in two cases:
- momgivesmommyshort vowel + one consonant: double the consonant
- TomgivesTommy
- AustraliangivesAussielong word: cut it and add -ie
Examples 9
doggy
The children were thrilled when they saw the little doggy in the park.
daddy
She called out for her daddy the moment she woke up.
mommy
The little boy ran to his mommy after school.
sweetie
"Come here, sweetie," she said, kneeling down to hug the child.
birdie
The golfer celebrated after making a birdie on the last hole.
Practice -y / -ie
1 of 4Common mistakes
cookie = cook + ie
cookie comes from Dutch koekje (little cake)
It looks like cook + -ie, but it arrived already formed: it has nothing to do with cooking.
My daddy works at a bank. (said by an adult)
My dad works at a bank.
An adult who says daddy sounds childish; in normal conversation people say dad and mom.
-y or -y
Adjectives are also made with -y (rain, rainy). That -y is not affectionate, it describes: a kitty is a little cat and a rainy day has rain.
See -yFrequently asked questions
What does the suffix -y / -ie mean in English?
The suffix -y / -ie makes affectionate or informal forms of a word: dog becomes doggy, a cute word for a dog.
Can you use -y / -ie to make new words?
Used to make new words. In informal speech it keeps making new words, but it cannot make any noun small: a small house is a little house.
What is -y / -ie confused with?
Adjectives are also made with -y (rain, rainy). That -y is not affectionate, it describes: a kitty is a little cat and a rainy day has rain.