Word-building

Esperanto does not ask you to memorise a warehouse of unrelated forms. It stores roots. Affixes are withheld until simple words are familiar — then they multiply what you know. mal- alone cuts the list in half.

Take a word apart

Type any Esperanto word. Prefixes, roots, suffixes, and endings come apart.

One root, many words

Esperanto stores roots, not a warehouse of unrelated forms. From san- (health) you can build the hospital without memorising a new stem: mal-san-ul-ej-o — the place of unwell people.

  1. sano health
  2. malsano illness
  3. malsanulo a sick person
  4. malsanulejo hospital

Prefix

mal-

opposite

granda → malgranda
big → small
fermi → malfermi
to close → to open
ge-

both sexes together

patro → gepatroj
father → parents
re-

again / back

veni → reveni
to come → to come back
ek-

sudden start

iri → ekiri
to go → to set off
bo-

in-law

patro → bopatro
father → father-in-law
sen-

without

laboro → senlabora
work → unemployed
dis-

apart / in all directions

doni → disdoni
to give → to distribute
eks-

former / ex-

prezidanto → eksprezidanto
president → former president
pra-

ancient / great- (kinship)

avo → praavo
grandfather → great-grandfather
mis-

wrongly

kompreni → miskompreni
to understand → to misunderstand
ĉef-

chief / main

urbo → ĉefurbo
city → capital city
vic-

vice- / deputy

prezidanto → vicprezidanto
president → vice-president
for-

away

iri → foriri
to go → to leave
fi-

shameful / nasty

vorto → fivorto
word → swearword

Suffix

-aĉ-

pejorative / poor quality

domo → domaĉo
house → a dump of a house
-in-

female

frato → fratino
brother → sister
bovo → bovino
bull / ox → cow
-et-

small / milder

domo → dometo
house → cottage
-eg-

very large / intense

varma → varmega
warm → hot
-il-

tool

skribi → skribilo
to write → pen
-ej-

place

lerni → lernejo
to learn → school
-uj-

container (also older country names)

mono → monujo
money → purse
-ar-

collection / group

arbo → arbaro
tree → forest
vorto → vortaro
word → dictionary
-ul-

person characterised by…

juna → junulo
young → a youth
-ist-

profession / adherent

instru → instruisto
teach → teacher
-an-

member / inhabitant

klubo → klubano
club → club member
-estr-

leader / head

urbo → urbestro
city → mayor
-id-

offspring

kato → katido
cat → kitten
-aĵ-

concrete thing made from…

manĝi → manĝaĵo
to eat → food
-ec-

abstract quality

bona → boneco
good → goodness
-ad-

continued action

paroli → parolado
to speak → a speech
-ig-

to make / cause

blanka → blankigi
white → to whiten
-iĝ-

to become

ruĝa → ruĝiĝi
red → to blush / turn red
-ebl-

possible

vidi → videbla
to see → visible
-ind-

worthy of

vidi → vidinda
to see → worth seeing
-em-

inclined to

labori → laborema
to work → hard-working
-obl-

multiple (times)

du → duobla
two → double
-on-

fraction

du → duono
two → a half
-op-

group of

du → duope
two → in twos / as a pair
-um-

undefined related action (irregular)

plena → plenumi
full → to fulfil
-ing-

holder for one

kandelo → kandelingo
candle → candlestick
Next: First words in Esperanto