Dysmey Post > Projects & Stuff > Esperanto > Affixes
Greyed suffixes are unofficial
bo- | related by marriage, in-law bopatrino, mother-in-law bofrato, brother-in-law |
bon- | good (not strictly a prefix, but very common) bongusta, delicious; bonveni, welcome. |
dis- | separated, scattered disfali, fall to pieces; dissendi, broadcast |
ek- | sudden or momentary action ekvidi, catch sight of; ekbrili, flash |
eks- | ex-, former eksedzino, ex-wife eksestro, ex-boss |
fi- | lacking morally, perverse fihomo, scoundrel; filibro, porno book |
ge- | male and female together gepatroj, parents; gesinjoroj, Mr. and Mrs. |
mal- | opposite malbona, bad; malpura, dirty; malami, hate |
mis- | wrongly, in error misuzi, abuse; miskompreni, misunderstand |
pra- | ancient, German Ur- pratempo, days of yore; praarbaro, ancient forest ◊ also means great in relational names praavo, great-grandfather |
re- | again, once more reveni, come again, return; redoni, give back |
retro- | backward retroiri, go backward; retrotreni, drag backward |
ge- is defined with the plural. Occasionally, however, it is used in the singular for either one of a couple: gepatro, parent; geedzo, spouse; gefrato, sibling.
mal- is the most useful of Esperanto's affixes. However, mal- is not without its problems:
These problems have been known even to Zamenhof himself. Thus you will often find substitute opposites, usually in poetry. lanta = malrapida. A few have even made it into the official vocabulary (fini = malkomenci, morto = malvivo, milda = malsovaĝa).
sti(f)-, a prefix for relation by marriage but not by blood, never caught on: stipatro, stepfather; stifilino, stepdaughter.
-aĉ | contemptible, worthy of dislike homaĉo, jerk; domaĉo, shack |
-ad | action (for nouns) movado, movement; kurado, running; |
-ad | continuous action (for verbs) movadi, to keep on moving; kuradi, keep running |
-aĵ | thing novaĵo, novelty; bonaĵo, a good, benefit; mangaĵo, food; acetaĵo, purchase; ◊ also used for meat from a food animal: bovaĵo, beef; porkaĵo, pork; fisaĵo, fish. |
-an | member urbano, citizen; vilaĝano, villager; Usonano, American; Aziano, Asian; kristano, Christian; islamano, Muslim |
-ar | collective, set arbaro, forest; libraro, set of books; homaro, humanity |
-ator | machine (like -il but larger and more complex) lavatoro, washing machine; kalkulatoro, (tabletop) calculator |
-ebl | possible videbla, visible; legebla, legible |
-ec | abstract amikeco, friendship; boneco, goodness |
-eg | magnified bonega, excellent; varmega, hot; domego, mansion |
-ej | place lernejo, school; poŝtejo, post office; kafejo, café |
-em | tendency parolema, talkative; amena, affectionate |
-end | which must be pagenda, payable, due; farenda, which must be done |
-er | item out of collective pluvero, raindrop; monero, coin; ĉenero, link |
-estr | boss urbestro, mayor; lernejestro, principal |
-et | diminished dometo, cottage; varmeta, lukewarm; ŝtoneto, pebble |
-iĉ | masculine homiĉo, man; boviĉo, bull |
-id | offspring katido, kitten; bovido, calf |
-ig | causing to be sciigi, make known; bruligi, set on fire; blankigi, bleach |
-iĝ | becoming sciiĝi, become known; sidiĝi, sit down; ruĝiĝi, become red, blush; ◊ also works as a conversational passive: Tiu pagiĝis, that was paid for. |
-il | tool tranĉilo, knife; ludilo, toy; televidilo, television set |
-ind | worthy of aminda, loveable; laŭdinda, praiseworthy |
-ing | holder at one end kandelingo, candlestick; konektingo, socket |
-in | feminine homino, woman; bovino, cow |
-ism | movement or principle e.g., komunismo, socialismo, kristanismo |
-ist | professional kuracisto, physician; instruisto, teacher |
-iv | able to (= -ipov) legiva, literate; bruliva, combustible |
-uj | container monujo, purse; abelujo, beehive; salujo, saltshaker; lavujo, sink; banujo, bathtub; pistujo, mortar; ◊ Also used to indicate many Eurasian countries: Francujo, France; Arabujo, Arabia; Japanujo, Japan |
-ul | individual junulo, youth; mamulo, mammal; aliulo, someone else |
-um | 'stop-gap' suffix gustumi, taste (s-th); komunumo, fellowship; plenumi, fulfill |
-ĉj | masculine nickname Anĉjo, Andy; Viĉjo, Bill; Roĉjo, Bob |
-nj | feminine nickname Elinjo, Liz; Kanjo, Kate; Tinjo, Tina |