Word formation in Spanish: prefixes and suffixes

A vocabulary grows in two ways. One is learning new words — that is the slow one. The other is the 32 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.

Prefixes that negate

Not, against, badly — and des-, which undoes something.

Building block	Meaning	Examples
in-/im-/i-	not; English in-, im-, il-, ir-, and often un-	imposible, incómodo, informal, increíble, inútil
Before p and b the n becomes m, as in English: imposible, imperfecto. Before l it drops out, and Spanish writes one l where English writes two: ilegal. Before r the r is doubled to keep it rolled: irreal, irregular. Many English un- words take in- here — incómodo «uncomfortable», increíble «unbelievable».
des-	undoes or reverses; English un-, dis-	deshacer, desaparecer, descansar, desayuno, desconocido
Not always a negative: descansar is «to rest», and desayuno is «breakfast» — des- plus ayuno, a fast, so the same picture as the English word.
anti-	against; English anti-	antipático, antivirus, anticuado
antipático is the everyday word for «unpleasant» or «unfriendly», far commoner than English «antipathetic». Careful with look-alikes: antiguo means «old» and has nothing to do with «against», and neither has anticuado, «out of date», which is built on it.
mal-	badly, wrongly; English mal-, ill-	maleducado, malestar, maltratar
maleducado is «rude», not «uneducated»: educación covers manners and upbringing as well as schooling.

Prefixes that add something

Again, before, between, over, under.

Building block	Meaning	Examples
re-	again; English re-	releer, rehacer, repetir, reunión
una reunión is the ordinary word for a «meeting» at work, not only for a «reunion».
pre-	before, in advance; English pre-	prever, preparar, preocupar
preocupar is the everyday verb for «to worry» — no te preocupes, «don’t worry» — where English «preoccupy» is formal and means something else.
entre-	between, in between	entretener, entresuelo, entretanto
Floors are counted the British way: la planta baja is the «ground floor» and el primero the one above it. entretener is a cousin of «entertain» and also means «to hold someone up»: no te entretengo más, «I won’t keep you any longer».
sobre-	over, above; too much — English over-, sur-	sobremesa, sobrevivir, sobrepasar
la sobremesa has no English word: it is the time spent talking at the table once the meal is over. sobrevivir is «survive», whose sur- is the French form of the same prefix.
sub-	under, below; English sub-	subrayar, submarino, subterráneo
Do not read subir as part of this family: it means «to go up» or «to take something up» — the opposite direction.

Suffixes that make nouns

How to spot a noun — and, more often than not, its gender.

Building block	Meaning	Examples
-ción	turns a verb into a feminine noun; English -tion	información, formación, aplicación, reunión, contaminación
Almost every English -tion word has a twin in -ción, and all of them are feminine. The written accent is there only in the singular: informaciones. formación is usually «training» or «education».
-dad/-idad	turns an adjective into a noun; English -ty, -ity	ciudad, felicidad, facilidad, realidad, seguridad
Always feminine, and usually easy to match: «reality» is realidad, «security» seguridad. facilidad, though, is mostly «ease»; the «facilities» of a building are las instalaciones.
-miento	turns a verb into a masculine noun; English -ment	movimiento, conocimiento, sentimiento, aparcamiento
Always masculine: el movimiento, el conocimiento. aparcamiento is the word for a «car park» in Spain.
-ador/-edor	the person who does it, or the thing you do it with; English -er	trabajador, ordenador, cargador, comedor, probador
Like English -er, one ending makes people and machines: un trabajador is a «worker», un cargador a «charger», un ordenador a «computer». It can name a place, too: el comedor is the «dining room», el probador the «fitting room».
-ero/-era	the trade, or the thing that holds it	camarero, enfermero, panadero, cajero, cocinero
The same ending names the container: el cenicero is an «ashtray», from ceniza, «ash». And la carta is the «menu»; el menú del día is the «set lunch».
-ería	the shop that sells it; English -ery, or the baker’s, the butcher’s	panadería, carnicería, frutería, librería
The safest piece on the page: know the goods and you know the shop. One trap: la librería is a «bookshop», and a «library» is la biblioteca.
-ista	someone who works with it or holds to it; English -ist	periodista, artista, turista, egoísta
The word does not change with gender, only the article does: el periodista, la periodista. It still ends in -a when it describes a man.
-ista (noun)	someone who does it for sport or for a living	deportista, futbolista, taxista
English often has no -ist here: un taxista is a «taxi driver», un futbolista a «footballer», and un deportista simply someone who does sport.
-ez/-eza	turns a quality into a noun; English -ness	vejez, tristeza, limpieza, riqueza
All feminine: la vejez, la tristeza. limpieza is «cleanliness», but far more often the job of cleaning.
-anza	the result of an action, or the action itself; English -ance	enseñanza, esperanza, confianza
confianza is both «trust» and «confidence», and the English word often has no -ance at all: esperanza is «hope», enseñanza «teaching».
-aje	the process, or a set of things; English -age	viaje, equipaje, aprendizaje, garaje
Always masculine, even though the words end in -e: el viaje, el garaje, el aprendizaje.

Suffixes that make adjectives

Full of it, can be done, belongs to it — and two endings that change the tone rather than the meaning.

Building block	Meaning	Examples
-oso/-osa	full of it; English -ous, -y	peligroso, famoso, ruidoso, generoso, nervioso
The Spanish twin of -ous, and often of -y: «famous» is famoso, «noisy» ruidoso. nervioso is «nervous», but also «wound up» or «restless».
-able/-ible	can be done; English -able, -ible	amable, posible, increíble, comestible, lavable
-able goes on verbs in -ar, -ible on those in -er and -ir: lavar → lavable, comer → comestible. amable is simply «kind», and you will hear es usted muy amable every day.
-al	belonging to it; English -al	nacional, personal, normal, local, final
Spelt as in English, stressed differently: always on the last syllable — nacional, personal, normal.
-ivo/-iva	which does or causes something; English -ive	activo, positivo, creativo, deportivo
deportivo is about sport: unas zapatillas deportivas are «trainers», un coche deportivo a «sports car».
-ante/-ente	doing it; English -ant, -ent, and often -ing	importante, interesante, diferente, estudiante
Where English says «interesting», Spanish says interesante. The same ending makes nouns: un estudiante is a «student».
-ísimo	very, extremely	guapísimo, buenísimo, carísimo, facilísimo
English needs an extra word — «very», «really» — where Spanish adds an ending. It compares with nothing, so it is not a superlative in the English sense. The last vowel goes before the ending (caro → carísimo), and the stress is always on the í.
-ito/-ita	small — or said kindly	poquito, ratito, cafecito, momentito
Usually about tone rather than size: un momentito is not a shorter moment but a friendlier one. Latin America uses it even more than Spain does.

Suffixes that make verbs

From a thing or a quality to something you do.

Building block	Meaning	Examples
-ear	turns a noun into a verb	pasear, telefonear, golpear, bloquear
Regular -ar verbs, and the e stays in every form: paseo, paseas, paseó.
-izar	makes it into something; English -ise, -ize	organizar, realizar, utilizar, analizar
Always with z, whichever spelling you use in English. realizar is «to carry out», not «to realise» — for that, Spanish says darse cuenta.
-ificar	makes it into something (formal); English -ify	clasificar, identificar, simplificar
«Simplify» is simplificar, «classify» clasificar. The c turns into qu before an e: identifiqué.
-ecer	a state comes about; English get, grow, -en	aparecer, oscurecer, agradecer, crecer
All of these have a first person in -zco: crezco, aparezco, agradezco. English often needs «get» for it: oscurecer is «to get dark».

The suffix that makes adverbs

Just one — and the most regular piece on the page.