"-chen" meaning in German

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "gmh",
        "3": "-echen"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle High German -echen",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "goh",
        "3": "*-ihīn"
      },
      "expansion": "Old High German *-ihīn",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*-ukīn"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *-ukīn",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nds-de",
        "2": "-ken"
      },
      "expansion": "German Low German -ken",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "-tje"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch -tje",
      "name": "cog"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Middle High German -echen, -ichen, from Old High German *-ihīn, *-uhīn, from Proto-West Germanic *-ukīn.\nNative 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.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "-chens",
      "tags": [
        "genitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "-chen",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "-erchen",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "suffix",
        "3": "genitive",
        "4": "-chens",
        "5": "plural",
        "6": "-chen",
        "7": "or",
        "8": "-erchen",
        "cat2": "noun-forming suffixes",
        "cat3": "diminutive suffixes",
        "g": "n"
      },
      "expansion": "-chen n (genitive -chens, plural -chen or -erchen)",
      "name": "head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "German",
  "lang_code": "de",
  "pos": "suffix",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "German entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 4 entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Hund (“dog”) + -chen → Hündchen (“little dog”)",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "Backe (“cheek”) + -chen → Bäckchen (“little cheek”)",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "Nicker (“nap”) + -chen → Nickerchen (“catnap”)",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "nowadays the most common suffix to create a diminutive form"
      ],
      "id": "en--chen-de-suffix-ZnVM~0iJ",
      "links": [
        [
          "diminutive",
          "diminutive#English"
        ]
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "-lein"
        },
        {
          "word": "-erl"
        },
        {
          "word": "-i"
        }
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "raw_tags": [
            "in northern Germany"
          ],
          "tags": [
            "colloquial"
          ],
          "word": "-ken"
        },
        {
          "word": "-gen"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "morpheme",
        "neuter"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/çən/"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "[çən]"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "[çn̩]"
    },
    {
      "other": "[n̩]"
    },
    {
      "other": "[çɪn]"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/jən/",
      "note": "after fricatives like s. Never after a vowel or sonorant.",
      "tags": [
        "especially",
        "variant"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "De--chen.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/4/4e/De--chen.ogg/De--chen.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/De--chen.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "-chen"
}

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "gmh",
        "3": "-echen"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle High German -echen",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "goh",
        "3": "*-ihīn"
      },
      "expansion": "Old High German *-ihīn",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*-ukīn"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *-ukīn",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nds-de",
        "2": "-ken"
      },
      "expansion": "German Low German -ken",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "-tje"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch -tje",
      "name": "cog"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Middle High German -echen, -ichen, from Old High German *-ihīn, *-uhīn, from Proto-West Germanic *-ukīn.\nNative 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.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "-chens",
      "tags": [
        "genitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "-chen",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "-erchen",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "suffix",
        "3": "genitive",
        "4": "-chens",
        "5": "plural",
        "6": "-chen",
        "7": "or",
        "8": "-erchen",
        "cat2": "noun-forming suffixes",
        "cat3": "diminutive suffixes",
        "g": "n"
      },
      "expansion": "-chen n (genitive -chens, plural -chen or -erchen)",
      "name": "head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "German",
  "lang_code": "de",
  "pos": "suffix",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "-lein"
    },
    {
      "word": "-erl"
    },
    {
      "word": "-i"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "German diminutive suffixes",
        "German entries with incorrect language header",
        "German lemmas",
        "German neuter suffixes",
        "German noun-forming suffixes",
        "German suffixes",
        "German terms derived from Middle High German",
        "German terms derived from Old High German",
        "German terms derived from Proto-West Germanic",
        "German terms inherited from Middle High German",
        "German terms inherited from Old High German",
        "German terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic",
        "Pages with 4 entries",
        "Pages with entries"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Hund (“dog”) + -chen → Hündchen (“little dog”)",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "Backe (“cheek”) + -chen → Bäckchen (“little cheek”)",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "Nicker (“nap”) + -chen → Nickerchen (“catnap”)",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "nowadays the most common suffix to create a diminutive form"
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "diminutive",
          "diminutive#English"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "morpheme",
        "neuter"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/çən/"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "[çən]"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "[çn̩]"
    },
    {
      "other": "[n̩]"
    },
    {
      "other": "[çɪn]"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/jən/",
      "note": "after fricatives like s. Never after a vowel or sonorant.",
      "tags": [
        "especially",
        "variant"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "De--chen.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/4/4e/De--chen.ogg/De--chen.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/De--chen.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "raw_tags": [
        "in northern Germany"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "colloquial"
      ],
      "word": "-ken"
    },
    {
      "word": "-gen"
    }
  ],
  "word": "-chen"
}