Grammatica - loco

7
Nouns
60
7.5.1.5
-kje
Nouns ending in -ing change the g to k before adding -je, but nouns
ending in -ling and -ening take -etje:
koning – koninkje leerling – leerlingetje
regering – regerinkje rekening – rekeningetje
wandeling – wandelingetje tekening – tekeningetje
7.5.1.6
Spelling peculiarities
Nouns ending in long vowels (i.e. an open syllable) need to double the
vowel when the diminutive ending is added (i.e. making a closed syllable)
to preserve the long sound:
oma – omaatje (stress on first syllable)
auto – autootje (stress on first syllable)
paraplu – parapluutje (stress on second last syllable)
café – cafeetje (stress on second last syllable)
7.5.1.7
Variant forms of the diminutive
In the west of The Netherlands a colloquial variant of the diminutive
exists which is sometimes also used in cultured speech for humorous effect.
The ending is -ie, e.g.:
huisie, jochie, koekie, lichie (from licht), meisie
In the south of The Netherlands and in Belgium the -je form is often
colloquially replaced by -ke, with the phonetic variants -eke and -ske:
huiske, vrouwke, manneke, slakske
This ending is common in female first names, even in the north:
Anneke, Aafke
Note: In Frisian first names the -ke ending can indicate a male, e.g. Bouke,
Jelke, Pierke.
An archaic variant of -ke found in some historical names is -ken:
Manneken Pis (famous statue in Brussels), Duyfken (‘Little Dove’,
name of a famous seventeenth century sailing ship)