What's the format for "Crying girl, smiling girl, laughing girl" etc... with the ing and girl of boy following it?

Question

Crying girl is llorona according to my Mexican friend. She couldn't think of the format for smiling girl, but I figure there must be a format to determine each type of person using the verb + ora format, or maybe there isn't. Can anyone help me out here? Gracias.

Answer 1

Could we make the ón / ona thing work with other verbs or is llorar the only one? - jeezzle

Haha, short answer 'no'. Ok Isa I'm gone for thenight, haha - margaretbl

Yes. That's what that termination is for. Generally serves to augment either the action of the verb or the quality of some adjectives:

Reilón - someone who laughs easily / a lot

Peleón: - someone feisty

Matón: a bully, a killer.

Coquetona: a vain girl

Grandulón: big guy

Querendona: an affectionate girl / woman

Cab... Oops, no! I'd better not go into that one!

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Funny thing is, in Spanish it makes perfect sense to make a diminutive out of an augmentative (if that's the word I want):

Reiloncito

Granduloncito

Querendonita

....and so forth.

Words that have their roots in "goat" are complicated and mysterious. - Gekkosan, JUL 18, 2010

Little-big makes sense to me. I used to get these books called Little-Big books. They were of small width and height but fairly thick (for their size). - webdunce, JUL 18, 2010

little cry baby (lloronita), little bully (matonito), feisty little guy (peleonito)...right? - webdunce, JUL 18, 2010

Ok Just to clarify - Jeezle - when you asked about the 'other verbs' I thought you meant the other two that you had mentioned in your original post..... - margaretbl, JUL 18, 2010

Answer 2

Are you sure that it was not "llorona" (which also means crying girl or crybaby).

The suffix -ón/-ona is an augmentative and can be used to indicate something larger or to exaggerate (as with cry baby).

Oops, it is . My bad. - jeezzle, JUL 17, 2010

Could we make the ón / ona thing work with other verbs or is llorar the only one? - jeezzle, JUL 17, 2010

Haha, short answer 'no'. Ok Isa I'm gone for thenight, haha - margaretbl, JUL 17, 2010

Answer 3

Don't think it's llorora maybe that's something Mexican though. la niña llorona, la niña sonriente,la niña risueña is my take

Jejeje...that's two nights in a row. There's got to be flames coming off of that keyboard of yours as fast as you type ;-) - Izanoni1, JUL 17, 2010

Sooooorreee Iza, I am just sitting here thinking about whipped creammm. - margaretbl, JUL 17, 2010

jejeje - Izanoni1, JUL 17, 2010

Answer 4

Llorón/llorona: adjective: best translates to "cry-baby". I'm sorry I can't help further.

Answer 5

Hi all, Its funny how one thing leads to another.i.e. I put in the word peleón having found it in a book I was reading and you lot have taught me something else. Like the diminutive of an augmentation and the little big theory. This web site and all the characters who use it provide an informative experience. Ta!