287 Views by Admin June 23, 2024, 2:21 pm inCulture, Grammar, Spanish, Table of Expressions, Translation, Vocabulary

Buenísimo

Buenísima

The usage of “-isimo” and its variants in Romance languages originates from Classical Latin. This shows how linguistic elements can last through centuries of language evolution, even as the languages themselves diverge and develop unique characteristics.

The Latin suffix to indicate the superlative degree of adjectives “-issimus” was inherited by Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and Catalan (no French in this case).

These are 10 examples of superlative forms for each language: Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and Catalan. (masculine, singular).

English	Spanish	Italian	Portuguese	Catalan
Very good	buenísimo	buonissimo	boníssimo	boníssim
Very big	grandísimo	grandissimo	grandíssimo	grandíssim
Very small	pequeñísimo	piccolissimo	pequeníssimo	petitíssim
Very easy	facilísimo	facilissimo	facílimo	facilíssim
Very beautiful	bellísimo	bellissimo	belíssimo	bellíssim
Very fast	rapidísimo	rapidissimo	rapidíssimo	rapidíssim
Very strong	fortísimo	fortissimo	fortíssimo	fortíssim
Very difficult	dificilísimo	difficilissimo	dificílimo	dificilíssim
Very expensive	carísimo	carissimo	caríssimo	caríssim
Very rich	riquísimo	ricchissimo	riquíssimo	riquíssim

Each of these examples shows how the superlative form is constructed in these four Romance languages using the “-ísimo/-issimo/-íssimo/-íssim” suffix. The words might have slight meaning differences between languages, in Italian, you would call a dear friend carissimo.

Since Spanish adjectives ending in “o” can take 4 forms:

Masculine Singular:
- El libro es buenísimo. (The book is very good.)
Feminine Singular:
- La película es buenísima. (The movie is very good.)
Masculine Plural:
- Los libros son buenísimos. (The books are very good.)
Feminine Plural:
- Las películas son buenísimas. (The movies are very good.)

Sure, you also have the option to say muy bueno, muy fácil, muy caro, muy rico instead. I would say buenísimo is used more in spoken form, for example, in TV commercials.

Evolution of the “-ísimo” Latin suffix

Latin Origin:

In old Latin, they used the endings “-issimus” for masculine, “-issima” for femenine, and “-issimum” for things.
- For example: “altus” (high) becomes “altissimus” (highest).
- “Pulcher” (beautiful) becomes “pulcherrimus” (most beautiful).

Transition to Romance Languages:

When Latin changed into languages like Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and Catalan, they kept using this way to say “very” or “extremely.”
- In Spanish, it turned into “-ísimo.”
- In Italian, it became “-issimo.”
- In Portuguese, it changed to “-íssimo.”
- In Catalan, they use “-íssim.”

Again, what is this for?

This ending is added to adjectives to make them stronger.
- Example: In Spanish, “bueno” (good) becomes “buenísimo” (very good).
- In Italian, “buono” becomes “buonissimo.”

It works for many adverbs too:

Language	Adverb (Late)	Superlative (Very Late)
Spanish	tarde	tardísimo
Italian	tardi	tardissimo
Portuguese	tarde	tardíssimo
Catalan	tard	tardíssim

I found an example in Italian, better than nothing.

Origen y Evolución del Sufijo “-ísimo”

Origen en Latín:

En latín antiguo, usaban los finales “-issimus” para masculino, “-issima” para femenino y “-issimum” para neutro.
- Ejemplo: “altus” (alto) se convierte en “altissimus” (altísimo).
- “Pulcher” (hermoso) se convierte en “pulcherrimus” (hermosísimo).

Transición a las Lenguas Romances:

Cuando el latín cambió a idiomas como español, italiano, portugués y catalán, siguieron usando esta forma de decir “muy” o “extremadamente”.
- En español, se convirtió en “-ísimo.”
- En italiano, se volvió “-issimo.”
- En portugués, cambió a “-íssimo.”
- En catalán, usan “-íssim.”

Uso:

Este sufijo se añade a los adjetivos para hacerlos más fuertes.
- Ejemplo: En español, “bueno” se convierte en “buenísimo” (muy bueno).
- En italiano, “buono” se convierte en “buonissimo.”