How to Say “Small” in Spanish

“Small” in Spanish is pequeño, which becomes pequeña with feminine nouns and pequeños / pequeñas in the plural: una casa pequeña (a small house), dos perros pequeños (two small dogs). In Mexico and much of Latin America people also say chico in everyday speech, and Spanish often makes things small with an ending instead of a word: casita is “a little house”.

English uses “small” for size, height, amounts and importance. Spanish splits those meanings across several words, so this page shows which one fits, how to pronounce and place them, and the mistakes that give learners away.

Quick picker: which word for “small”?

Pequeño: the standard word

Pequeño is pronounced peh-KEH-nyoh; the ñ is the “ny” in “canyon”. It is understood everywhere and is always a safe choice. Like most Spanish adjectives it agrees with the noun in gender and number:

• Es un pueblo pequeño en la montaña. – It’s a small village in the mountains.
• Esta habitación es demasiado pequeña para dos personas. – This room is too small for two people.
• Me quedan pequeños estos zapatos. – These shoes are too small for me.
• Cuando era pequeño, me daban miedo los perros. – When I was little, I was afraid of dogs.
• Es una empresa pequeña, de solo diez empleados. – It’s a small company with only ten employees.

Notice the fourth example: cuando era pequeño means “when I was a child”. Pequeño often means “young”, and el pequeño or la pequeña can mean “the youngest child” in a family.

Before or after the noun?

Normally pequeño goes after the noun, which simply describes size: una casa pequeña. Placed before the noun it sounds more subjective or literary, and often suggests “modest” or “slight”: un pequeño problema (a slight problem), un pequeño detalle (a small detail, a little gift), una pequeña ayuda (a bit of help). Both orders are correct; after the noun is the neutral default for physical size.

Chico: everyday “small” in Latin America

In Mexico, Central America and parts of South America, chico/chica is the normal casual word for small, especially for sizes and objects: una pizza chica, un vaso chico, el cuarto más chico. In Spain, chico as an adjective sounds regional or old-fashioned; there it mostly means “boy” (un chico). The diminutive chiquito or chiquita (very small, little) is used across the Spanish-speaking world.

• Dame la caja chica, por favor. – Give me the small box, please. (Mexico)
• El departamento es chico pero bonito. – The apartment is small but nice. (Mexico, Argentina)
• Tiene una nariz chiquita. – She has a tiny nose.

In Mexican offices, la caja chica is also the term for petty cash.

Bajo, corto and poco: when “small” is not about size

Bajo/baja is for height. A person is not usually pequeño in height; they are bajo (short): Mi hermano es más bajo que yo (My brother is shorter than me). The affectionate bajito/bajita is very common and softer.

Corto/corta is for length and duration: pelo corto (short hair), una película corta (a short film), una distancia corta. Never use corto for a person’s height; that is bajo.

Poco/poca is for amount: “a small amount of” is un poco de or simply poco. Añade un poco de sal (Add a small amount of salt). Hay poca gente (There are few people / a small crowd).

• La sala era pequeña y había poca luz. – The room was small and there wasn’t much light.
• Es un hombre bajo, de pelo corto. – He’s a short man with short hair.

Diminutives: making things small with -ito / -ita

Spanish speakers often say “small” without an adjective at all, by adding -ito / -ita (or -cito / -cita) to a noun. The diminutive can mean physically small, but just as often it adds warmth or politeness.

Spelling rules apply: poco becomes poquito (c to qu), amigo becomes amiguito (g to gu), pez becomes pececito (z to c). Words ending in -e, -n or -r usually take -cito: café → cafecito, camión → camioncito, amor → amorcito. Regions add their own endings too: -illo in Andalusia (chiquillo), -ico in Costa Rica, Colombia and Aragon (chiquitico), -ín in Asturias.

A warning: some diminutives have become separate words. Bolsillo (pocket) is not just a small bolso, and mantequilla (butter) is not a small manteca.

Very small: diminuto, minúsculo, enano

• diminuto/a – tiny, neutral: letras diminutas (tiny letters).
• minúsculo/a – minute; also “lowercase” for letters: escribe tu nombre en minúsculas.
• chiquitito/a – teeny-tiny, conversational and affectionate.
• enano/a – as an adjective, “tiny” in casual speech (un piso enano); as a noun it means “dwarf” and is offensive about a person, so avoid it.
• mínimo/a – minimal, the smallest: el precio mínimo, no tengo la mínima idea (I haven’t the slightest idea).

Smaller and smallest

“Smaller” is más pequeño, and “the smallest” is el más pequeño / la más pequeña. Menor also means “smaller”, but it is used mainly for age (mi hermano menor, my younger brother) and for abstract size (un riesgo menor, a smaller risk). For physical objects, más pequeño is the natural choice.

• Esta maleta es más pequeña que la tuya. – This suitcase is smaller than yours.
• Es el país más pequeño de Centroamérica. – It’s the smallest country in Central America. (El Salvador)
• Soy la menor de cuatro hermanos. – I’m the youngest of four siblings.

Our page on Spanish comparatives and superlatives covers the full pattern, including pequeñísimo (extremely small).

Useful phrases with “small”

• el mundo es un pañuelo – it’s a small world (literally “the world is a handkerchief”)
• una charla trivial, hablar del tiempo – small talk (there is no single fixed word)
• la letra pequeña – the small print
• de pequeño / de pequeña – as a child
• poco a poco – little by little, in small steps
• la pequeña empresa / las pymes – small business(es)
• la madrugada – the small hours (after midnight); Spanish does not use pequeño here

“Small” around the Spanish-speaking world

• Spain: pequeño is the everyday word; chico as an adjective is rare. Diminutives in -ito are common, and in the south -illo (un ratillo, a little while).
• Mexico: chico and chiquito are everywhere in speech (un refresco chico), and diminutives are used heavily for politeness: ¿me da un vasito de agua?
• Argentina, Uruguay: both chico and pequeño are normal; chiquito is affectionate.
• Colombia, Costa Rica, Venezuela: the -ico ending turns up after t: chiquitico, momentico.
• Chile: chico is common, and you will hear chiquitito for something really tiny.

If you are unsure, pequeño is correct in every country, even where people more often say chico.

Common mistakes

• No agreement: una casa pequeño is wrong. It must be una casa pequeña.
• Using pequeño for a short adult: Mi padre es pequeño is understood, but Mi padre es bajo is what people say.
• Using corto for height: Es un hombre corto is wrong; say bajo.
• Forgetting the tilde on the ñ: pequeno is a misspelling. On a keyboard without ñ, use the Spanish layout or type it from the character map.
• Saying chico in Spain for an object: un café chico will sound Mexican in Madrid, where un café pequeño or un café solo is usual.
• “A small amount” with pequeño: una pequeña cantidad is correct but formal; in conversation un poco is far more natural.

Practice

Choose pequeño/a, bajo/a, corto/a or poco/a, and make it agree.

1. Mi hermana mide 1,50 m. Es muy ___.
2. Vivimos en un apartamento ___.
3. La reunión fue ___: solo diez minutos.
4. Hay ___ leche en la nevera.
5. Estas camisetas son demasiado ___ para mí.
6. Escribe la palabra “casa” en diminutivo: ___.

Answers: 1. baja. 2. pequeño. 3. corta. 4. poca. 5. pequeñas. 6. casita.

Quick answers

How do you say “small” in Spanish?

Pequeño (masculine) or pequeña (feminine). In Latin America, chico/chica is common in casual speech.

What is the opposite of pequeño?

Grande (big). Before a singular noun it shortens to gran and usually means “great”: un gran hombre. See how to say big in Spanish.

How do you say “little girl” or “little boy”?

Niña pequeña / niñita and niño pequeño / niñito. More on these in how to say girl in Spanish and how to say boy in Spanish.