Grammar
Esperanto suffixes: all 31 official with examples
Thirty-one suffixes turn one root into a whole family: place, tool, person, small, big, female and more.
Esperanto has 31 official suffixes. Each one goes between the root and the ending and adds one meaning: lern·ej·o "school" is "learn + place". Twenty-eight come from the Fundamento de Esperanto (1905); -aĉ- was added in 1909, -ism- in 1919 and -end- in 1953.
Six further suffixes form participles (-ant-, -int-, -ont-, -at-, -it-, -ot-). Together with the 10 prefixes, that makes 47 official affixes.
All 31 official suffixes
| Suffix | Meaning | Examples | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| -aĉ- | poor quality, contempt | domaĉo, babilaĉi | "hovel, to chatter foolishly" |
| -ad- | continuous or repeated action | martelado, legadi | "hammering, to keep reading" |
| -aĵ- | concrete thing; meat of an animal | trinkaĵo, dolĉaĵo, porkaĵo | "a drink, a sweet, pork" |
| -an- | member, inhabitant, follower | klubano, vilaĝano | "club member, villager" |
| -ar- | collection of the same things | arbaro, vortaro | "forest, dictionary" |
| -ĉj- | male pet name | Joĉjo (from Johano), paĉjo | "Johnny, daddy" |
| -ebl- | can be done | manĝebla, videbla | "edible, visible" |
| -ec- | quality, abstract state | beleco, infaneco | "beauty, childhood" |
| -eg- | bigger, more intense | domego, varmega | "mansion, hot" |
| -ej- | place for | lernejo, kuirejo | "school, kitchen" |
| -em- | tendency, inclination | timema, laborema | "timid, hard-working" |
| -end- | must be done | pagenda | "payable, to be paid" |
| -er- | one unit of a mass | neĝero, monero | "snowflake, coin" |
| -estr- | leader, head | urbestro, ŝipestro | "mayor, ship's captain" |
| -et- | smaller, weaker | dometo, rideti | "cottage, to smile" |
| -id- | offspring, young | katido, reĝido | "kitten, prince" |
| -ig- | to make, to cause | purigi, sidigi | "to clean, to seat (someone)" |
| -iĝ- | to become, to get | ruĝiĝi, sidiĝi | "to blush, to sit down" |
| -il- | tool, means | tranĉilo, ŝlosilo | "knife, key" |
| -in- | female | patrino, reĝino | "mother, queen" |
| -ind- | worthy of | leginda, fidinda | "worth reading, trustworthy" |
| -ing- | holder a thing is partly put into | kandelingo, glavingo | "candlestick, scabbard" |
| -ism- | doctrine, system, movement | komunismo, anglismo | "communism, anglicism" |
| -ist- | professional, adherent | instruisto, esperantisto | "teacher, Esperantist" |
| -nj- | female pet name | Manjo (from Mario), panjo | "Mary (pet form), mummy" |
| -obl- | multiple | duobla, trioble | "double, three times as much" |
| -on- | fraction | duono, kvarono | "half, quarter" |
| -op- | group of | duope, triopo | "in pairs, trio" |
| -uj- | container | monujo, sukerujo | "purse, sugar bowl" |
| -ul- | person with a quality | junulo, riĉulo | "young man, rich person" |
| -um- | no fixed meaning | kolumo, plenumi | "collar, to fulfil" |
Suffixes grouped by meaning
Learning the suffixes in groups makes them easier to remember:
- People: -an- (member), -ist- (professional), -ul- (person with a quality), -estr- (leader), -id- (offspring), -in- (female), -ĉj- and -nj- (pet names)
- Places and holders: -ej- (place), -uj- (container), -ing- (holder)
- Things and sets: -aĵ- (concrete thing), -il- (tool), -er- (one piece), -ar- (collection)
- Degree and attitude: -et- (small), -eg- (big), -aĉ- (bad), -ec- (quality), -em- (tendency)
- Action: -ad- (ongoing), -ig- (cause), -iĝ- (become), -ebl- (possible), -ind- (worthy), -end- (required)
- Numbers: -obl-, -on-, -op- (see numbers)
- Other: -ism- (doctrine), -um- (no fixed meaning)
Suffixes are also words
Every suffix can take an ending and work as an ordinary root: ejo "place", ilo "tool", ano "member", aro "group", ero "particle", estro "leader", eta "tiny", ega "huge", ege "very", ebla "possible", inda "worthy", aĉa "lousy", igi "to cause", iĝi "to become".
Stacking suffixes
Several suffixes can follow one root, which is the core of Esperanto word building. Each one applies to everything before it:
| Word | Parts | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| malsanulejo | mal·san·ul·ej·o | sick + person + place = "hospital" |
| lernejestro | lern·ej·estr·o | learn + place + leader = "head teacher" |
| nekredebla | ne·kred·ebl·a | not + believe + possible = "unbelievable" |
| bopatrino | bo·patr·in·o | in-law + father + female = "mother-in-law" |
lernejestrohead teacher
malsanulejohospital
Notes on tricky suffixes
-ig- and -iĝ-. -Ig- makes a verb that takes an object; -iĝ- makes one that does not. The result depends on the root: morti "to die" → mortigi "to kill"; fermi "to close (something)" → fermiĝi "to close (by itself)". More on this under verbs.
-et- and -eg- with fixed meanings. Some words have a set meaning that goes beyond "small" or "big": rideti "to smile" (not just "to laugh a little"), pordego "gate", ŝtrumpeto "sock".
-in- and gender. -In- is used only for living beings. Many roots are neutral (amiko "friend", instruisto "teacher"), but some are male by default (patro "father", frato "brother"). PMEG describes an unofficial male suffix -iĉ- (katiĉo "tomcat"), proposed in the 1970s and used by some speakers.
-ĉj- and -nj- shorten the root. You keep the first one to five letters of a name: Johano → Joĉjo, Mario → Manjo, patrino → panjo. These are the only affixes that cut the root.
-uj- and country names. The Fundamento also used -uj- for fruit trees (pomujo "apple tree") and countries (Francujo "France"). Today pomarbo is more usual, and many speakers say Francio with the unofficial suffix -i-. The Academy confirmed in 2023 that -i- is still not official.
-um- has no meaning of its own. Learn each word separately: kolumo "collar", aerumi "to air out", plenumi "to fulfil".
Unofficial suffixes
These suffixes are not official affixes. They come neither from the Fundamento nor from an Academy decision, yet words made with them are common in medicine, science and everyday texts, and many are in dictionaries. PMEG describes 36 of them. The table follows PMEG's alphabetical order. PMEG marks the rarest, mostly experimental ones, such as -ab-, -iĉ-, -ip- and -uk-, as missing from the PIV dictionary.
Do not mix them up with the official suffixes. -ism- (Second Official Addition, 1919), -end- (Academy decision, 1953) and -aĉ- (First Official Addition, 1909) are official. -i-, -iv- and -oz- are not.
Several unofficial suffixes share their form with official elements, so check the context:
- the medical -it- "inflammation" and the participle -it-
- -al- and -en- in biology, and the prepositions al and en
- -ol- in music and the conjunction ol "than"
- -e- and the adverb ending, -i- and the infinitive ending, -j- and the plural ending
| Suffix | Meaning | Example | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| -ab- | fixed installation | trinkabo "drinking fountain" | Experimental. PMEG says to avoid it: use trinkilo or trinkfontano. |
| -ac- | plant family (Latin -aceae) | rozacoj "the rose family" | Botanical names only. |
| -al- | plant order (Latin -ales) | rozaloj "the rose order" | Botanical names only. Words like speciala "special" are single roots. |
| -anc- | physical quantity | impedanco "impedance" | PMEG prefers to see such words as single roots, like substanco "substance". |
| -ari- | number system | duaria "binary" | Not used in practice. The usual form is duuma, with -um-. |
| -ator-, -ador- | apparatus | kalkulatoro "calculator" | Words in -ator- are mostly borrowed single roots. PMEG prefers -il- or aparato. -Ador- clashes with adori "to worship". |
| -e- | plant tribe (Latin -eae); proposed: colour | asklepiadeoj "the milkweed tribe", rozea "rose-coloured" | The colour sense was proposed in 1986 and is scarcely used. Say rozkolora. |
| -ed- | animal family (Latin -idae) | cervedoj "the deer family" | Zoological names only. |
| -en- | animal subfamily (Latin -inae) | lutrenoj "the otter subfamily" | Zoological names only. |
| -enz- | substance that acts | solvenzo "solvent" | Experimental, mainly in chemistry. Normally -il- or -aĵ-. |
| -esk- | resembling, in the style of | japaneska "Japanese-style" | Rare. -ec-, ŝajn- or simil- is more usual. |
| -i- | country (from the people's name) | Francio "France", Japanio "Japan" | Very common, parallel to the official -uj- (Francujo). Still unofficial; see the note on -uj- above. |
| -iĉ- | male | katiĉo "tomcat", najbariĉo "male neighbour" | The most popular such proposal (since about 1976). Most speakers still use vira or vir-. |
| -if- | to turn into | varmifi "to turn into heat" | Proposed technical suffix, scarcely used. -Ig- is the usual. |
| -ik- | field, science, craft | matematiko "mathematics", fiziko "physics" | PMEG mostly treats such words as single roots. |
| -ilion- | very large numbers | duiliono "10¹², a million millions" | Used mostly by mathematicians. Everyday speech needs only miliono and miliardo. |
| -iliard- | a thousand times the -ilion- number | duiliardo "10¹⁵" | Same use as -ilion-. |
| -ip- | non-binary person | amikipo "non-binary friend" | Proposed in 2019 and only experimental. |
| -istan- | country (from the international -stan) | Afganistano "Afghanistan" | Use it only where an international form in -stan exists. PMEG prefers Afganujo or Afganio. |
| -it- | inflammation | bronkito "bronchitis", nefrito "nephritis" | Medicine. Outside it PMEG advises the separate word inflamo. |
| -iv- | able to, capable of | produktiva "productive", kreiva "creative" | Fairly common. It means active ability, unlike -ebl-. PMEG suggests -em-, -pov- or -kapabl- where clarity matters. |
| -iz- | to cover with; to treat by a method | kuprizi "to coat with copper", pasteŭrizi "to pasteurise" | PMEG treats most such words as single roots. Simple verbs are often better. |
| -j-, -pj- | pet name without gender; pet name for a non-binary person | Alejo, Alepjo (from Alekso) | Experimental. They work like the official -ĉj- and -nj-. -J- dates from 1932 and was revived around 2010; -pj- from 2019. |
| -nomial- | expression with n terms | dunomialo "binomial" | Avoid it. Say dutermo. |
| -ofon- | speaker of a language | esperantofono "Esperanto speaker" | Superfluous. The word is esperantisto. |
| -oid-, -ojd- | similar to | asteroido "asteroid", elipsoido "ellipsoid" | Science. Most such words are single roots. |
| -ol- | musical rhythm group | triolo "triplet" | Music only. |
| -olog- | specialist | psikologo "psychologist" | Only when a matching international word exists. Otherwise -ist-. |
| -ologi- | science, field of study | psikologio "psychology", kancerologio "cancer studies, oncology" | Same rule as -olog-. |
| -ometr- | measuring instrument | barometro "barometer" | Often single roots. New words risk clashing with metro, so PMEG prefers mezurilo: pluvomezurilo "rain gauge". |
| -ometri- | scientific measurement | fotometrio "photometry" | For new words PMEG prefers mezurado: altomezurado "height measuring". |
| -otek- | collection, place for a collection | biblioteko "library" | Real words like this are single roots, and biblioteko has nothing to do with Biblio. For new ones say kolekto: librokolekto. |
| -oz- | disease, disorder; "full of" | sklerozo "sclerosis", mikozo "fungal infection" | Medicine and botany. The "full of" sense is less standard. PMEG prefers malsano compounds such as virusmalsano. |
| -t- | musical interval | kvinto "fifth", okto "octave" | Music. It follows a number word. |
| -tet- | piece for n musicians | kvarteto "quartet" | Many such words exist as single roots. PMEG prefers -op- for the group (kvaropo) and -aĵ- for the piece (kvaropaĵo). |
| -uk- | castrated male animal | bovuko "steer" | Little used. Normally eks-: eksvirkato "neutered tomcat". |
Examples in sentences
- La lernejo troviĝas apud la preĝejo. – "The school is next to the church."
- Mia fratino estas instruistino. – "My sister is a teacher."
- Tio estis vera domego! – "That was a real mansion!"
- Ni loĝas en dometo apud la lago. – "We live in a little house by the lake."
- Ĉi tiu akvo ne estas trinkebla. – "This water is not drinkable."
- Mi ne manĝas dolĉaĵojn. – "I don't eat sweets."
- La pluvo malsekigis niajn vestojn. – "The rain made our clothes wet."
- La akvo varmiĝas. – "The water is getting warm."
- Ŝia beleco surprizis ĉiujn. – "Her beauty surprised everyone."
- La kantado de la birdoj vekis min. – "The singing of the birds woke me up."
Common questions
How many suffixes does Esperanto have?
31 official suffixes, plus six participle suffixes (-ant-, -int-, -ont-, -at-, -it-, -ot-). PMEG also describes 36 unofficial ones.
What does -ej- mean in Esperanto?
-Ej- means "a place for": lernejo "school", kuirejo "kitchen", preĝejo "church" (place for prayer).
What is the difference between -ig- and -iĝ-?
-Ig- means "to make something happen to something": purigi la ĉambron "to clean the room". -Iĝ- means "to become": la ĉambro puriĝis "the room became clean".
Which suffixes were added after 1905?
Three: -aĉ- (First Official Addition, 1909), -ism- (Second Official Addition, 1919) and -end- (Academy decision, 1953).
Is -i- in Francio an official suffix?
No. It is widely used for country names, but the Academy has not made it official and repeated this in 2023.
Is -iv- an official Esperanto suffix?
No. -iv- "able to" (produktiva "productive", kreiva "creative") is unofficial but fairly common. PMEG suggests -em-, -pov- or -kapabl- where clarity matters.
What do -oz- and -it- mean in medical words?
-oz- marks a disease or disorder (sklerozo "sclerosis") and -it- an inflammation (bronkito "bronchitis"). Both are unofficial and used mainly in technical language. The medical -it- is not the participle -it-.
Sources
- PMEG – Suffixes (list of 31)
- PMEG – AĈ (official since 1909)
- PMEG – ISM (official since 1919)
- PMEG – END
- PMEG – IG and IĜ
- PMEG – Unofficial affixes
- PMEG – Unofficial suffixes (list of 36)
- PMEG – IV, OZ, IT and IĈ
- ReVo – -iv-
- ReVo team – Official and unofficial affixes
- Akademio de Esperanto – Akademia Vortaro, explanations (END 1953)
- Akademio de Esperanto – 10th Official Addition (on -io and -ujo)
- Universala Vortaro (Fundamento)
- lernu – Sufiksoj
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