День 25 из 40: Кот, ко́шка, ки́са, ки́сонька
📚 Слова́ дня · Words of the day: 4 – ко́тик, ки́са, ки́сонька, котёнок. (Old friends: кот, ко́шка.)
🗣️ Су́ффикс дня · Suffix of the day: кот → котик · ко́шка · ки́сонька – a small part after the root
⏱ Part 1 = 15 minutes – everybody finishes it. Part 2 = more, only if you want. · 🗺️ All days
Your homework from День 24: you called a cat in three ways: «Кот! Ко́шка! Ки́са!» 🐈 – and the riddle: «Что мо́жно уви́деть с закры́тыми глаза́ми?» – Сон! 😴
You remembered it – that is your first win today. ✅
- Tap and listen. Say the words softer and softer, and make your hands smaller each time: кот 🙌 → ко́тик 🤲 → ки́сонька 🤏
- A suffix (су́ффикс) is a small part after the root. It makes a word small, dear, a person, a thing…
Say every word aloud and show it – the gesture is under the picture. Tap a picture – the dictionary opens.
👂 Listen first. Say it softer and softer, hands smaller and smaller.
- Ната́ша: Кот! … Ко́тик! … Ки́са! … Ки́сонька! 🐈
Сли́нки: (jumps onto her lap) Мур-р-р… – Ната́ша: Ки́сонька моя́! 😺- Ната́ша: Ска́ффлз! Ко́шка! … Ки́са! … (very softly) Ки́сонька…
Ска́ффлз: (comes at once) Я ко́тик! Я ма́ленький ко́тик!- Ната́ша: Ко́тик – э́то он. А ты – ки́сонька!
- Ска́ффлз: Хорошо́. Я ки́сонька… больша́я ки́сонька! 😼
★ What is a suffix? – 30 seconds.
- A word has parts: приста́вка (prefix, День 17) – ко́рень (the root) – су́ффикс (suffix) – оконча́ние (ending).
- The root keeps the meaning: кот / кош / кис – a cat.
- The suffix comes after the root and adds a meaning: -ик small, dear (ко́тик) · -оньк- very dear (ки́сонька) · -ёнок a baby animal (котёнок).
- The ending shows he / she: ко́тик (he) – ки́сонька (she).
Every suffix has its own page with a picture – tap a card.
🌱 The seed of the day: Russians use these «dear» suffixes all the time – for cats, children, food, friends: «чайку?», «мину́точку!», «Ната́шенька». They make the speaker sound warm. 🤗
Say every line aloud, softer and softer. 🤲
Кот – ко́тик. 🐈
Ко́шка – ки́са – ки́сонька. 😺
Дом – до́мик. Нос – но́сик. 🏠👃
Я не ко́тик – я ки́сонька! 😼
- Call your cat (or a toy) softer and softer: «Ко́шка! Ки́са! Ки́сонька!» 🐈
- Make words «small and dear» with -ик: дом → до́мик, нос → но́сик, стол → сто́лик.
- Touch your nose: «Э́то мой но́сик!» 😄
- Speaking is optional – listening and doing count too.
Can you say it without looking? – Молоде́ц! Go to the tap quiz.
Guess, then tap. Find the root, the suffix, the ending. 😊
Хорошо́! Молоде́ц! Two small things left – two minutes.
ки́са – К before И is soft: the back of the tongue moves forward, a little smile. 😊 (Hard К in кот, ко́шка.)
- Say: ко – ки · ка – ки. Then кот – ки́са – ки́сонька.
- And at the end: ки́сонька – a soft Н (Ь).
- 30 seconds, every day. This is aerobics for the tongue.
Tomorrow, think of one man and one woman with the same job – a teacher, a doctor, a singer. How do you call them in Russian? Try: «Он учи́тель, она́ …?» 👨🏫👩🏫 And call your cat once more: «Ки́сонька!»
That is the first minute of День 26. You already know most of it – so День 26 starts with a win.
You may stop here – see you tomorrow: День 26 · Учи́тель и учи́тельница ▶
- Softer and softer. One says a word, the next makes it «smaller and dearer» with -ик: «дом!» – «до́мик!» · «нос!» – «но́сик!» · «стол!» – «сто́лик!» · «кот!» – «ко́тик!». Hands smaller each time. 🤲
- Calling the cat. One person is the cat and comes only to the dearest word: «Кот!» – no… «Ко́тик!» – no… «Ки́сонька!» – yes! 😺
- Cut the word. Clap the parts: кот | ик · кош | к | а · кис | оньк | а. 👏
Natasha's lesson with the same name: all the ways to call a cat, and what cats do. The bar at its top brings you back here.
A Polish children's song in Russian: a little kitten climbs onto a fence – ко́тик with the suffix -ик! The bar at its top brings you back here.
Who has a cat, a dog, a fish? «У меня́ есть ко́шка!» – and the dear names for pets. The bar at its top brings you back here.
The cat is out of the house – the mice start dancing.
When the cat's away, the mice will play. «кот» and «мы́ши» – no suffixes, the proverb is short and strong! 🐈🐭 🤸 Gesture: a cat walks out of the door 👋 – then dance with little mouse steps!
Read every line aloud, slowly. Every word is one you know. Tap a word to check. ✋
ки́са, ки́ска, ки́сонька – the root кис-: from «кис-кис-кис!» – how Russians call a cat! 😺
Just look and smile – you don't have to learn these now. 😊
Кот! Ко́тик! Ки́са! Ки́сонька! – Мур-р-р… – Ки́сонька моя́! – Ска́ффлз! Ко́шка! Ки́са! Ки́сонька… – Я ко́тик! Я ма́ленький ко́тик! – Ко́тик – э́то он. А ты – ки́сонька! – Хорошо́. Я ки́сонька… больша́я ки́сонька!
Cat! Kitty! Puss! Pussycat! – Purrr… – My little pussycat! – Scuffles! Cat! Puss! Pussycat… – I'm a «ко́тик»! I'm a little «ко́тик»! (Scuffles's mistake: ко́тик is a he) – «Ко́тик» is a he. And you are a «ки́сонька»! – All right. I'm a pussycat… a big pussycat!
- ★ word parts: приста́вка + ко́рень + су́ффикс + оконча́ние (pre-fix + root + suffix + ending)
- -ик – small, dear (he): ко́тик, до́мик, но́сик, сто́лик
- -к- + -а – often a «she» word: ко́шка, ру́чка (День 27)
- -оньк- / -еньк- – very dear: ки́сонька, Ната́шенька
- -ёнок – a baby animal: котёнок, утёнок
ударе́ние – stress – shows the syllable you say louder and longer, just like in English: LUN-dun (London), TEL-ih-fohn (telephone).
ЛО́НДОН – the stress is on the first syllable, as in English. But Russians say a real, round о: LON-d’n, not LUN-dun. The second о comes after the stress, so it is short and weak (like the a in sofa).
ТЕЛЕФО́Н – not like the English TEL-ih-fohn: the stress is on the last syllable: ti-li-FON (е without stress sounds like a short и). That is why we mark the stress.
🎯 Why does о sound like а?
English has a few: cat → kitty, dog → doggy. Russian has dozens of «dear» suffixes, and uses them everywhere – even for tea and minutes: «Чайку́?» «Мину́точку!» So when a Russian calls you «Ри́чардик» or «Ната́шенька», it means they like you! 🤗
🔬 Почему́ так · Why this way
- The prefix first, now the suffix. The parts of a word are learned one at a time: prefix (День 17), suffix (today), root (День 28), all together (День 31).
- Colours for the parts. Root, suffix and ending in three colours make the structure visible (Schmidt 1990, the noticing hypothesis).
- A word everyone loves. The cat words come from real life with Slinky and Scuffles – feelings help memory.
- Natasha's suffix pictures. Every suffix page has its own drawing – the card links to it.
- The cat makes the mistakes. Scuffles, a she-cat, says «Я ко́тик!». The student laughs and is never the one who is wrong.
