Word-Building

Esperanto Grammar 1

Chapter 5 · Word-Building

🔧 Word-Building — Vortfarado

This is where Esperanto saves you the most work. A few dozen small prefixes and suffixes can be attached to any root, and each keeps its meaning wherever it goes. Learn one root and you get a family of words for free. This chapter lists the most useful affixes, shows how compound words are joined, and ends with a method for reading a word you have never seen.

The rule in one box A word is a root with optional prefixes before it and suffixes after it, then a grammatical ending (-o, -a, -e, -i, -as and so on). Every affix has one fixed meaning, so you can build and take apart words without a dictionary. In a compound, the main word comes last.

Prefixes

Prefix	Meaning	Example	English
mal-	the opposite	malbona · malamiko	bad · enemy
re-	again, back	relegi · reveni	to re-read · to come back
ek-	the start of an action, a sudden action	ekkanti · ekdormi	to burst into song · to fall asleep
for-	away	foriri	to go away
dis-	apart, in all directions	disdoni	to hand out
mis-	wrongly	miskompreni	to misunderstand
ge-	both sexes together	gepatroj · gefratoj	parents · brothers and sisters
bo-	related by marriage	bopatro	father-in-law
eks-	former	eksedzo	ex-husband
pra-	remote in time or relation	praavo	great-grandparent

Suffixes

People, places and things

Suffix	Meaning	Example	English
-ul-	a person with the quality	bonulo · riĉulo	a good person · a rich person
-in-	female	patrino	mother
-ist-	a person with the profession	instruisto · kuracisto	teacher · doctor
-an-	member, inhabitant	eŭropano · edinburgano	a European · a resident of Edinburgh
-id-	young offspring	hundido · katido	puppy · kitten
-ej-	place for	lernejo · trinkejo	school · bar, pub
-ar-	a collection, group	arbaro · vortaro	forest · dictionary
-il-	tool, instrument	skribilo · komputilo	pen · computer
-uj-	container	monujo · sukerujo	purse · sugar bowl

Size, quality and feeling

Suffix	Meaning	Example	English
-et-	small, slight	dometo · rideti	little house · to smile
-eg-	big, strong	domego · ventego	mansion · gale
-ec-	the quality itself	boneco · amikeco	goodness · friendship
-ind-	worthy of	ŝatinda · vizitinda	likeable · worth visiting
-ebl-	can be done	legebla · manĝebla	legible · edible
-ad-	continued or repeated action	kantado · paroladi	singing · to go on talking
-aĉ-	bad, contemptible	domaĉo	hovel

Pet names with -ĉj- and -nj- For affectionate short names, cut the name short and add -ĉj- (male) or -nj- (female): Paĉjo (Dad), Panjo (Mum), and for a name like Filipo, Filĉjo (check). They are as informal as English Dad or Phil.

Transitive and intransitive: -ig- and -iĝ-

Two suffixes make verbs. -ig- means make, cause to be and always takes an object. -iĝ- means become and takes none:

Root	-ig- (make … )	-iĝ- (become … )
bon-	bonigi to improve (make good)	boniĝi to get better
ruĝ-	ruĝigi to redden (something)	ruĝiĝi to go red
fermi	Mi fermas la pordon. I close the door.	La pordo fermiĝas. The door closes (by itself).
pur-	purigi to clean	puriĝi to become clean

This pair removes a whole family of English verbs that differ only in whether they take an object, such as I break the cup and the cup breaks. It is the same kind of switch as the Hungarian causative and passive suffixes.

Compound words

Two roots can be joined directly, and the last one is the main word. The grammatical ending goes at the very end:

Parts	Compound	English
fero iron + vojo road	fervojo	railway
flugi fly + haveno harbour	flughaveno	airport
vorto word + libro book	vortlibro	dictionary (also vortaro)
bona good + gusto taste	bongusta	tasty
sun- sun + brili shine	sunbrili	to shine (of the sun)

Compare German (Eisenbahn, Flughafen, Wörterbuch), which builds words the same way; English prefers separate words and Latin loans. Most Esperanto roots come from Romance and Germanic languages, so many compounds are easy to recognise (check).

Reading an unknown word

When you meet a word you do not know, take it apart from the right: strip the grammatical ending, then the suffixes, then the prefix, and read the root. Take malsanulejo:

Piece	Meaning
-o	noun
-ej-	a place for
-ul-	people who are …
san-	healthy
mal-	the opposite

Put it back together: a place for unhealthy people, which is a hospital. Whether the result is a real word is a separate question, and the dictionary is the final judge, but for common roots the logic nearly always works.

Watch out: build, but do not invent too freely Affixes are productive, but some combinations have settled into a particular meaning, and others sound odd. If you are not sure that a combination is used, look it up or use a simpler wording. For example, libraro is a collection of books, and the usual word for a library is biblioteko (check). Likewise mal- follows the rule (malkara, not dear, means cheap), but check whether a ready-made word exists before you build one.

🗣️ In Use — En uzo

Read each exchange aloud, then take the longer words apart.

① At work

A: Kion vi faras? What do you do?

B: Mi estas kuracisto en malsanulejo. Kaj vi? I'm a doctor in a hospital. And you?

A: Mi estas instruisto en lernejo. I'm a teacher in a school.

② Why are you smiling?

A: Kial vi ridetas? Why are you smiling?

B: Ĉar la kuko estas bongusta! Because the cake is tasty!

③ What does it mean?

A: Kion signifas "librejo"? What does "librejo" mean?

B: Libro plus -ejo: loko por libroj. Ĝi estas vendejo de libroj. Book plus -ejo: a place for books. It's a shop for books.

📋 Quick Reference — Rapida referenco

Kind	Affixes
Prefixes	mal- re- ek- for- dis- mis- ge- bo- eks- pra-
People	-ul- -in- -ist- -an- -id-
Places, groups, tools	-ej- -ar- -il- -uj-
Size, quality	-et- -eg- -ec- -ind- -ebl- -ad- -aĉ-
Make / become	-ig- / -iĝ-
Compounds	main word last, ending at the end

✏️ Try It Yourself — Ekzercoj

Say the answer first, then click to check.

1. Make the opposite of granda.

Show answer

malgranda.

2. How do you say "to read again"?

Show answer

relegi.

3. Make "parents" and "father-in-law" from patro.

Show answer

gepatroj and bopatro.

4. What is a "place for learning" (lerni)?

Show answer

lernejo, a school.

5. Make "friendship" from amiko.

Show answer

amikeco.

6. Take apart fervojo and say what it means.

Show answer

fer- (iron) + voj- (road) + -o: a railway.

7. Choose -ig- or -iĝ-: La pordo ferm___as. (The door closes by itself.)

Show answer

La pordo fermiĝas. -iĝ- means become, with no object.

8. Say "a resident of Edinburgh" and "a little house".

Show answer

edinburgano and dometo.

9. What does vizitinda mean, and how is it built?

Show answer

Worth visiting: vizit- + -ind- (worthy of) + -a (adjective).

10. Which word is "someone who teaches": instruisto or instruejo?

Show answer

instruisto, with -ist- for the person. instruejo would be a place for teaching.

Words used in this chapter

mal- opposite · re- again · ek- start of · for- away · ge- both sexes · -ul- person · -ist- profession · -ej- place · -ar- group · -et- small · -eg- big · -ec- quality · -ig- make · -iĝ- become · -ebl- can be · -ind- worthy · -il- tool · sana healthy · lerni learn · instrui teach · kuraci treat · legi read · kanti sing · fermi close · pordo door · vojo road · fero iron · vorto word · kuko cake · kial why · ĉar because · signifi mean · vendi sell · loko place · por for

Coming up in Chapter 6: The Correlatives. Forty-five little words built from a grid: kio, tio, io, ĉio, nenio, and all their relatives.