-chen

Meaning

nowadays the most common suffix to create a diminutive form

Concepts

-ling

small

-y

little

et

le

-let

Synonyms

-lein

-erl

-ling

-i

Translations

-ette

-ita

-ito

-illa

-inha

-ine

-tje

-et

-je

-pje

-etto

-ino

-etta

-ina

-inho

Pronounced as (IPA)

/çən/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle High German: -echen

Inherited from Old High German: *-ihīn

Cognate with Dutch: -tje

In summary

From Middle High German -echen, -ichen, from Old High German *-ihīn, *-uhīn, from Proto-West Germanic *-ukīn.
Native to the Central German dialects, -chen has widely replaced the southern-based -lein in standard usage. Cognate with German Low German -ken, -ke as well as Dutch -tje and -ken. More at -kin.