also: こ
doing; in such a state
Abbreviation of こと; attaches to verb stems to nominalize an action or state, often in casual or set phrases.
There's no way I can do that.
doing together; doing to each other; contest
Attaches to verb stems to express mutual action or competition; common in words like にらめっこ (staring contest) or かけっこ (foot race).
familiarizing suffix; diminutive
Casual suffix that adds familiarity or smallness; often used in children's language or affectionate nicknames.
Here, kitty, come here.
The children played a game of chase in the park.
He's not the type to get angry.
The children played by having a foot race.
Let's have a staring contest.
あの子はまだ小さなこどもっこだ。
That child is still a little kid.
He's a true Edo (Tokyo) native, born and raised.
The mother is holding her baby in her arms.
Derived from the noun こと (thing, matter) through phonetic reduction and gemination; the mutual-action sense may have developed from phrases like 〜合いっこ, while the diminutive sense is a separate familiarizing suffix.