Prefixes
| Prefix | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| in- / im- / i- | not, opposite | útil → inútil, correcto → incorrecto, posible → imposible, legal → ilegal, responsable → irresponsable |
| des- | opposite, undo | afortunado → desafortunado, hacer → deshacer, conocido → desconocido, acuerdo → desacuerdo, aparecer → desaparecer |
| re- | again | abrir → reabrir, hacer → rehacer, leer → releer |
| pre- | before | ver → prever, historia → prehistoria |
| anti- | against | simpático → antipático, virus → antivirus |
| contra- | against, opposite | decir → contradecir, ataque → contraataque |
| sub- | under | suelo → subsuelo, rayar → subrayar |
| super- / hiper- | very, above | cansado → supercansado, mercado → supermercado / hipermercado |
| bis- / biz- | twice (family: one generation further) | abuelo → bisabuelo, nieto → bisnieto |
Todos los compuestos tienen la misma irregularidad — deshacer → deshecho, contradecir → contradicho, reabrir → reabierto. Prefixed verbs conjugate like their base verb in every tense: deshago, contradije, mantendré, compuse.
Suffixes
| Suffix | Forms | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| -ería / -ero | shop / person | panadería, panadero (V12) |
| -ción, -sión | noun from verb (action) | situar → situación, decidir → decisión, adorar → adoración |
| -miento | noun from verb | arrepentirse → arrepentimiento, sentir → sentimiento, pensar → pensamiento |
| -dad, -tad | quality (adj. → noun) | cómodo → comodidad, libre → libertad, feliz → felicidad, injusto → injusticia (-icia) |
| -eza | quality | triste → tristeza, bello → belleza, noble → nobleza |
| -ura | quality | alto → altura, dulce → dulzura, cerrar → cerradura |
| -ista | profession, follower | taxi → taxista, flor → florista, budismo → budista |
| -dor/-dora | agent | trabajar → trabajador, conducir → conductor, depredar → depredador |
| -oso | full of, having | peligro → peligroso, cariño → cariñoso, músculo → musculoso, orgullo → orgulloso |
| -ble | can be | posible, amable, comestible, increíble |
| -mente | adverb (on the feminine form) | rápida → rápidamente, diaria → diariamente, frecuente → frecuentemente, loca → locamente |
te arrepentirás — el arrepentimiento no se limita a acciones incorrectas (verb arrepentirse → noun arrepentimiento). locamente enamorado (loca + -mente).
Diminutives and augmentatives
Spanish adds suffixes to show size and feelings (affection, irony, contempt).
| Suffix | Effect | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| -ito / -ita (-cito, -ecito) | small, dear, affectionate (most common) | poco → poquito (un poquito de chino), beso → besito, cara → carita, junto → juntito, café → cafecito, pan → panecito |
| -illo / -illa | small (sometimes slightly negative) | chico → chiquillo, cama → camilla, bombilla |
| -ico / -ica | small (Aragón, Caribbean) | momento → momentico |
| -ín / -ina | small (Asturias) | pequeño → pequeñín |
| -ón / -ona | big | casa → casona, hombre → hombretón, cabeza → cabezón (stubborn) |
| -azo / -aza | big; also a blow | coche → cochazo, gol → golazo, boca → bocaza → bocazas; puerta → portazo (slam) |
| -ote / -ota | big, often negative | grande → grandote |
| -ucho / -ucha | ugly, poor quality | casa → casucha |
Diminutives can also make a word stronger: ahora → ahorita (right now), cerca → cerquita (very close), juntito (very close together). Some diminutives became separate words: bombilla (light bulb), ventanilla (ticket window), mesilla de noche (bedside table), bocadillo (sandwich, from boca).
Words from Arabic
About 4,000 Spanish words come from Andalusian Arabic, the result of eight centuries of al-Ándalus (711–1492). Many start with al- (the Arabic article ).
| Spanish | Arabic origin | Spanish | Arabic origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| aceite | almohada | ||
| azúcar | alfombra | ||
| arroz | almacén | ||
| aceituna | alcalde | ||
| naranja | aldea | ||
| algodón | ojalá | ||
| jarabe | hasta | ||
| taza | alcohol | ||
| azul | ajedrez | ||
| guitarra (via Arabic) | barrio |
Two examples: Esta camiseta es de algodón and la almohada.