Word formation in German: prefixes and suffixes

A vocabulary grows in two ways. One is learning new words — that is the slow one. The other is the 46 building blocks on this page: with one word and a few of them, you have a whole family.

The suffixes matter more than the prefixes, for a reason you rarely read: they tell you the part of speech. With them you can place an unknown word in its sentence before you know what it means.

Pieces that negate

Not, without, free of, wrongly — and German uses un- where English needs four different prefixes.

Building block	Meaning	Examples
un-	not; the opposite of	unfreundlich, unhöflich, unsicher, ungeduldig, unehrlich
English shares this job out between un-, in-, im- and dis-; German gives nearly all of it to un-: unehrlich dishonest, ungeduldig impatient, unhöflich impolite. On a noun it can mean bad rather than not: das Unwetter is a storm, das Unkraut a weed.
-los	without; lacking	kostenlos, arbeitslos, hilflos, mutlos, kabellos
The German twin of -less, and often the same word: hilflos helpless, kabellos cordless. Watch the s in arbeitslos: the word is built from die Arbeit, and the s belongs to neither part. kostenlos means free of charge, never free as in a free evening.
-frei	free of something unwanted	laktosefrei, steuerfrei, alkoholfrei, barrierefrei, rauchfrei
-los and -frei both mean without, but they look at it from opposite sides: -los reports a lack (arbeitslos, hilflos), -frei reports that something unwanted is absent (steuerfrei, rauchfrei). That is why the label on the bottle says alkoholfrei. barrierefrei is the word for step-free or accessible.
miss-	wrongly, badly; failed	missverstehen, Missverständnis, Missernte, Misserfolg, misstrauen
Close to English mis-, and like all inseparable prefixes it takes no ge-: missverstanden, misstraut. On a noun it often means failure rather than error: die Missernte is a failed harvest. Spelt with ss; older print has miß-.
nicht-	non-; a neutral category, not a judgement	Nichtraucher, Nichtschwimmer, Nichtwissen, Nichteinhaltung
This is where German says non-. It names a group without passing judgement, which un- on a noun often does: der Nichtraucher simply does not smoke, while a Unmensch is not a non-human but a brute.

Prefixes that stay on the verb

be-, ver-, er-, ent-, zer-: never split off, never stressed, and no ge- in the past participle.

Building block	Meaning	Examples
be-	makes a verb take a direct object	beantworten, bewohnen, besprechen, beschreiben, bezahlen
The prefix with the clearest job, and one English has no equivalent for. Ich antworte auf die Frage needs a preposition; ich beantworte die Frage does not. The same move turns über etwas sprechen into etwas besprechen and in einem Haus wohnen into ein Haus bewohnen. No ge- in the participle: beantwortet, bezahlt.
ver-	wrongly; used up or away; into a new state	verschlafen, verlaufen, verbrauchen, verkaufen, verlängern
Three jobs to recognise, and nothing in the word says which one it has. Something goes wrong: verschlafen (oversleep), sich verlaufen (get lost on foot). Something is used up or goes away: verbrauchen, verkaufen. Something is brought into a new state, often from a comparative: verlängern (lengthen, extend), verbessern, vergrößern. A few verbs have moved away from their stem altogether: verstehen has little to do with standing.
er-	through to a result	erreichen, erkennen, erfinden, erleben, ertrinken
er- adds an outcome to the plain verb: kennen is to know, erkennen to recognise; finden is to find, erfinden to find something that was not there before — to invent. Taken all the way to its end, the outcome can be death: trinken → ertrinken, to drown.
ent-	away, off, out of; undoing	entkalken, entfernen, entladen, entwerten, entkommen
The German answer to English de- and dis-: entkalken descale, entladen unload, entwerten devalue — and validate a ticket, because a stamped ticket cannot be used a second time. Before an f the same prefix is spelt emp-: empfehlen, empfangen.
zer-	to pieces	zerbrechen, zerreißen, zerstören, zerkleinern
Always destructive or dividing, which makes it one of the few prefixes worth learning as a meaning. Inseparable like the rest of this group: zerbrochen, zerrissen. The adjective zerbrechlich (fragile) is on every second parcel label.
wider-	against, back	widersprechen, widerlegen, widerrufen, widerspiegeln
Sounds exactly like wieder (again), and only the spelling keeps them apart: widersprechen is to contradict, wiedersehen is to see again. As a verb prefix wider- is inseparable (er widerspricht); the one common exception is widerspiegeln, which splits: Das spiegelt sich in den Zahlen wider.

Particles that come off the verb

Stressed, sent to the end of a main clause, and the place where ge- and zu go in.

Building block	Meaning	Examples
an-	towards, onto; starting	ankommen, anrufen, anfangen, anziehen, anmachen
Separable: in a main clause the particle goes to the very end — Der Zug kommt um acht an. In a subordinate clause the verb stays in one piece: …, wann der Zug ankommt. The participle takes ge- in the middle, angekommen, and so does zu: anzurufen. The stress is always on the particle.
mit-	along, with you	mitkommen, mitnehmen, mitbringen, mitmachen, mitsingen
Where English adds along or with me at the end of the sentence, German puts mit- on the verb: Kommst du mit? — are you coming too? Ich nehme den Schirm mit. — I’ll take the umbrella with me.
auf-	up; open; completely	aufstehen, aufmachen, aufräumen, aufhören, aufschreiben
Often up (aufstehen) or open (aufmachen), and then its opposite is usually zu-: aufmachen / zumachen. In aufräumen and aufessen it means finishing the job — tidy up, eat up — much as English up does.
ab-	off, away, down	abholen, abfahren, absagen, abnehmen, abschließen
Many ab- verbs answer to English off or away: abfahren set off, absagen call off. Others have to be learnt one by one: abnehmen is to take off and to lose weight, and abschließen is to lock a door and to complete a course.
aus-	out; off; to the end	aussteigen, ausgehen, aussuchen, ausmachen, ausziehen
Learn it in pairs of opposites: einsteigen / aussteigen, anmachen / ausmachen (switch on / off), anziehen / ausziehen (put on / take off clothes). ausziehen is also moving out of a flat; moving house is umziehen.
ein-	in, into	einladen, einsteigen, einkaufen, einschlafen, einziehen
The preposition is in, the particle is ein-: in den Bus, but einsteigen. einschlafen is falling asleep — the moment of going in, not the sleep itself.

Prefixes that can do both

um-, über-, unter-: separable when stressed, inseparable when not — and the meaning changes with it.

Building block	Meaning	Examples
um-	separable: changing, over; inseparable: around	umsteigen, umziehen, umtauschen, umfahren, umgeben
Stressed and separable, um- usually means a change: umsteigen change trains, umziehen move house, umtauschen exchange goods. Unstressed and inseparable, it means around: umgeben, to surround. umfahren is both. Separable, it is to knock over: Er hat das Schild umgefahren. Inseparable, it is to drive round: Wir haben den Stau umfahren.
über-	over, across; mostly inseparable	übersetzen, überweisen, übernachten, überholen, übertreiben
Mostly inseparable and unstressed: übersetzen, überweisen, übernachten, with no ge- in the participle — übersetzt, überwiesen. A few verbs exist twice. Stressed on über and separable, übersetzen is to ferry across: Die Fähre setzt uns über.
unter-	under; often no longer literal	unterschreiben, unterbrechen, unterhalten, untersuchen, unterstützen
Inseparable unter- has mostly moved away from under: sich unterhalten is to have a conversation, unterbrechen to interrupt, unterstützen to support. Separable unter- keeps the literal sense: Die Sonne geht unter. Das Schiff ist untergegangen.

Suffixes that make nouns

They tell you the word class, and most of them tell you the gender as well.

Building block	Meaning	Examples
-er	the person or thing that does it	Lehrer, Fahrer, Spieler, Bäcker, Drucker
Masculine, and the plural adds nothing: der Lehrer, die Lehrer. Machines get it too: der Drucker, der Rechner. Some stems take an umlaut: backen → der Bäcker. For a woman add -in.
-in	the female form	Lehrerin, Ärztin, Freundin, Kollegin, Köchin
German marks a woman in the job title itself, and leaving it off sounds odd in everyday speech: Sie ist Lehrerin. The plural doubles the n: die Lehrerinnen. Some take an umlaut: der Arzt → die Ärztin. And no article before a job after sein: Sie ist Ärztin, not eine Ärztin.
-ung	noun from a verb: the act or its result	Einladung, Rechnung, Lieferung, Wohnung, Bestellung
Every noun made with -ung is feminine: die Einladung, die Rechnung, die Wohnung. The plural is always -ungen. It is the busiest noun suffix in German and covers much of what English does with -ing and -tion: die Lieferung delivery, die Bestellung order.
-chen	small, and often fond	Brötchen, Kätzchen, Mädchen, Päckchen, Häuschen
Always neuter, whatever the noun it comes from: die Katze → das Kätzchen. That is why das Mädchen is neuter. The stem usually takes an umlaut and drops a final -e: das Brot → das Brötchen. The plural does not change: die Brötchen. The older twin -lein does the same job and sounds southern or like a fairy tale: das Büchlein.
-heit	noun from an adjective: the quality	Freiheit, Krankheit, Sicherheit, Wahrheit, Schönheit
Feminine, like -ung and -keit; between them the three settle the gender of thousands of nouns. Plural -heiten. It does the work of English -ness, -ity and -dom: die Krankheit illness, die Sicherheit safety, die Freiheit freedom.
-keit	the same as -heit, after certain endings	Pünktlichkeit, Möglichkeit, Fähigkeit, Dankbarkeit, Einsamkeit
Also feminine. Which of the two a word takes is mostly predictable: -keit after -ig, -lich, -bar and -sam, so die Fähigkeit, die Möglichkeit, die Dankbarkeit. A few plain adjectives take -igkeit: genau → die Genauigkeit, hell → die Helligkeit.
-schaft	a relationship, a state, or a group	Freundschaft, Mannschaft, Nachbarschaft, Mitgliedschaft, Wissenschaft
Feminine. It covers both English -ship (die Mitgliedschaft membership) and -hood (die Nachbarschaft neighbourhood), and it can gather people into a group, which -ship cannot: die Mannschaft is a team.
-ei	the place where a trade is carried on	Bäckerei, Metzgerei, Brauerei, Käserei, Druckerei
Added to the person, not to the verb: der Bäcker → die Bäckerei, der Metzger → die Metzgerei. Always feminine and stressed on the last syllable. Added to a verb stem as -erei, it turns an activity into a tiresome habit: die Fragerei, the endless questions.
-tion / -ität	borrowed nouns: the English -tion and -ity words	Situation, Information, Qualität, Universität, Realität
The free words: most English nouns in -tion and -ity exist in German too. Three things change. All of them are feminine, the stress moves to the last syllable, and -tion is said with ts, not sh. Watch the spelling of -ität: die Qualität, die Universität.
-e	noun from an adjective, usually with umlaut	Größe, Länge, Wärme, Kälte, Nähe
Feminine, and the stem usually takes an umlaut: lang → die Länge, warm → die Wärme, groß → die Größe. These are the everyday measuring words, where English uses a different ending each time: length, warmth, size.
-nis	the result or state of an action	Ergebnis, Erlebnis, Erlaubnis, Zeugnis, Gedächtnis
The one noun suffix whose gender cannot be read off: most are neuter (das Ergebnis, das Zeugnis), a few are feminine (die Erlaubnis, die Kenntnis). The plural doubles the s: die Ergebnisse.
-tum	a state, a domain, or everything of one kind	Wachstum, Eigentum, Christentum, Reichtum, Irrtum
Neuter, with two everyday exceptions that are masculine: der Reichtum (wealth) and der Irrtum (mistake). The plural takes an umlaut: die Irrtümer.

Suffixes that make adjectives

Having it, like it, able to be done, full of it.

Building block	Meaning	Examples
-ig	having it; full of it	sonnig, windig, salzig, lustig, schmutzig
The nearest German comes to English -y: sonnig sunny, windig windy, salzig salty. At the end of a word the g is said like the ch in ich in standard German; in the south you will often hear a k instead.
-lich	like it, in its way; every day, week or year	freundlich, täglich, ehrlich, gefährlich, herzlich
Often the twin of English -ly on an adjective: freundlich friendly, täglich daily. It is not an adverb ending — German adverbs need none. Many stems take an umlaut: der Tag → täglich.
-isch	belonging to; of a country or language	German, typisch, praktisch, kindisch, altmodisch
Adjectives of nationality and language take it and are written small: German, italienisch. Only the language as a noun is capitalised: Sie spricht German. On people it can sound critical, exactly as in English: kindlich is childlike, kindisch is childish.
-bar	can be done	essbar, trinkbar, lesbar, bezahlbar, machbar
The German -able, and just as productive: take a verb with an object, drop -en, add -bar. The negative takes un-: unlesbar, unbezahlbar — and the second one also means priceless.
-sam	inclined to; bringing about	langsam, sparsam, einsam, aufmerksam, wirksam
Hardly ever used for new words now, but it sits in some of the commonest adjectives: langsam, einsam, sparsam. It is the same ending as English -some in lonesome.
-voll	full of	sinnvoll, wertvoll, humorvoll, rücksichtsvoll, hoffnungsvoll
English -ful in meaning, and it pairs with -los the same way: hoffnungsvoll / hoffnungslos, sinnvoll / sinnlos. Mind the linking s that many nouns bring: rücksichtsvoll, hoffnungsvoll.

Suffixes that make verbs

Borrowed verbs, small repeated actions, and verbs made from adjectives.

Building block	Meaning	Examples
-ieren	verbs from borrowed stems	reservieren, reparieren, studieren, funktionieren, diskutieren
The door through which verbs from French, Latin and English come in, and an English speaker can often guess them. Two rules: the stress is always on -ie-, and the participle has no ge- — reserviert, repariert. And studieren means studying at university; revising for a test is lernen.
-igen	a verb from an adjective or a noun	reinigen, beruhigen, befestigen, beschädigen, sättigen
Very often together with be-: ruhig → beruhigen (calm down), fest → befestigen (fasten), der Schaden → beschädigen (damage). rein → reinigen is why the dry cleaner’s is die Reinigung.
-eln	a small, repeated or weakened action	lächeln, hüsteln, tröpfeln, kränkeln, tänzeln
Set the pairs side by side: lachen laugh and lächeln smile, husten cough and hüsteln give a little cough, tropfen drip and tröpfeln trickle. The umlaut and the -eln make the action smaller, much as -le does in English sparkle.

Endings that make adverbs

Most German adverbs need no ending at all. These are the exceptions.

Building block	Meaning	Examples
-s	at this time, as a habit	abends, morgens, nachts, montags, sonntags
der Abend is the evening, abends is in the evening, every evening. Written small although it comes from a noun: montags, but am Montag. nachts takes the s even though die Nacht is feminine.
-weise	in this manner; by the piece	ausnahmsweise, glücklicherweise, teilweise, schrittweise, beispielsweise
The nearest thing to -ly, and used far less, because most German adjectives already work as adverbs with no ending: Sie fährt schnell. On a noun it means by the unit — schrittweise step by step, teilweise partly. On an adjective it comments on the whole sentence and puts -er- in between: glücklicherweise, fortunately.

What goes in the join

Compounds: the last part decides the gender, and the letter in between is learnt with the word.

Building block	Meaning	Examples
-s-	a linking s between two nouns	Wohnungsschlüssel, Arbeitsplatz, Geburtstag, Zeitungsartikel, Liebesbrief
After -ung, -heit, -keit, -schaft, -tion and -ität the join is always s. Elsewhere it is learnt with the word, and it turns up even after feminine nouns, where it cannot be a genitive: die Arbeit → der Arbeitsplatz. The last part decides the gender: die Wohnung + der Schlüssel = der Wohnungsschlüssel.
-(e)n-	a linking n or en, often after a final -e	Sonnenbrille, Straßenbahn, Taschenlampe, Blumenladen, Frauenarzt
Mostly after feminine nouns in -e, and it looks like a plural without being one: die Sonnenbrille is not for several suns. The join is decided by the first part, the gender by the last: die Straße + die Bahn = die Straßenbahn, die Blume + der Laden = der Blumenladen.
-e- / -er-	older joins that look like plurals	Wörterbuch, Kinderwagen, Bilderbuch, Hundehütte, Liederabend
Some still mean more than one: das Wörterbuch is a book of words. Others no longer do: der Kinderwagen carries one child. The join cannot be worked out from the parts, so the compound is learnt as one word.