-njo

Esperanto

Etymology

From Russian -ня (-nja), an ending of Russian diminutives of personal names (male and female: Таня (Tanja), Саня (Sanja), Ваня (Vanja) etc).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /njo/

Suffix

-njo

1. (informal, endearing) forms affectionate derivatives of feminine names, after the first one to five letters of the name:

   ‎Susano (“Susan”) + ‎-njo → ‎Sunjo (“Suzy, Sue”)

   ‎Emilio (“Emily”) + ‎-njo → ‎Eminjo (“Emmy, Em”)

   ‎patrino (“mother”) + ‎-njo → ‎panjo (“mummy, mom”)

   ‎onklino (“aunt”) + ‎-njo → ‎onjo (“auntie”)

Coordinate terms

• -ĉjo (“masculine affectionate names”)
• -jo (“gender-neutral affectionate names”)

Derived terms

Esperanto terms suffixed with -njo