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Cafelito, cervecita, tapitas: diminutivos en el bar

Tarjeta vocab: diminutivos cariñosos en bares y su matiz.
🇺🇸EN-US🇷🇺RU
DannisDannis
2 min reading time
Colloquialisms and slangFood and cookingVocabularyArticles

Keywords:

cafelitocervecitatapitasun momentito
(Illustration)

Vocab card: diminutives in a bar (affectionate tone). Words: cafelito, cervecita, tapitas, un momentito. In English: they add a warm, friendly nuance.

-ito/-ita = nuance of affection and closeness. In bars it sounds friendly; it doesn’t always refer to size. In English: it’s often “to sound sweet/friendly,” not literally “small.”

Articles + diminutive: un cafelito (m.), una cervecita (f.), unas tapitas (f. pl.), un momentito (m.). In English: the article is the same as for the base word.

At the bar you hear: "¿Qué te pongo?" Answer: "¿Me pones un cafelito, por favor?"

(Illustration)

Tapitas = tapas in a smaller / more friendly way. To share: "Unas tapitas para picar, porfa." Tapas culture: sharing and chatting.

Extra: "La hora del cafelito" = a relaxed coffee break at work; it sounds friendly and informal. In English: it’s about the atmosphere, not the size.

Comprehension check:

Elige el artículo correcto: ___ cervecita.
un
una
unas
The word "cerveza" is feminine, so we say: "una cervecita".
Remember the gender of the base word: cerveza → feminine.
En el bar, el diminutivo (-ito/-ita) suele expresar...
cariño o cercanía
tamaño exacto
que es gratis
Most of the time it adds a sweet/friendly tone, rather than indicating size.
Think about the tone of how you treat someone, not about measurements.
Completa: «¿Me ____ un cafelito, por favor?»
pones
pon
pongo
This is how you order in a bar, using "poner" in the 2nd person: "¿Qué te pongo? / ¿Me pones…?"
It’s the form commonly used with waiters in Spain.

Discover next:

☑️ Hábitos de comida: adverbios de frecuencia (A2)
AdverbsVocabularyFood and cooking
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