Suffixes

Front 1

-aco
-ejo
-ote,-ota

Back 1

is a pejorative suffix: pajarraco ‘ugly bird’ (from pájaro ‘bird’), libraco ‘large, bulky book’ (libro ‘book’)
is a pejorative suffix: librejo ‘worthless book’ (libro ‘book’), lugarejo ‘dive’ (lugar ‘place’)
is an augmentative and pejorative suffix attached to nouns: discursote ‘long, boring speech’ (discurso ‘speech’), narizota ‘big ugly nose’ (nariz ‘nose’)

Front 2

-ada

Back 2

a. attaches to verbal stems to indicate an action: mirada ‘look’ (mirar ‘to look’), empujada ‘push’ (empujar ‘to push’)
b. attaches to noun stems to indicate a blow: cachetada ‘blow on the cheek’ (cachete ‘cheek’), puñalada ‘stab with a dagger’ (puñal ‘dagger’)
c. attaches to nominal stems to indicate an action characteristic of a person or group: bobada ‘foolish act’ (bobo ‘fool’), niñada ‘childish act’ (niño ‘child’)

Front 3

-al,
-ar

Back 3

attach to nouns indicating trees to form nouns that denote a grove: naranjal ‘orange grove’ (from naranjo ‘orange tree’), pinar ‘pine grove’ (pino ‘pine tree’)

Front 4

-azo

Back 4

attaches to noun stems, forming nouns that indicate
a. augmentation: hombrazo ‘big man’ (hombre ‘man’), marranazo ‘large hog’ (marrano ‘hog’)
b. a blow or explosion: porrazo ‘blow with a club’ (porra ‘club’), cañonazo ‘cannon shot’ (cañón ‘cannon’)

Front 5

-cito
-ico
-illo
-ito

Back 5

is a diminutive suffix: cochecito ‘a little car’ (coche ‘car’), mujercita ‘little woman’ (mujer ‘woman’)
is a diminutive suffix: ratico ‘little while’ (rato ‘while’), momentico ‘brief moment’ (momento ‘moment’)
is sometimes a diminutive suffix: politiquillo ‘insignificant politician’ (político ‘politician’), chiquillo ‘little kid’ (chico ‘child’)
is a diminutive suffix: librito ‘small book’ (libro ‘book’), casita ‘little house’ (casa ‘house’)

Front 6

-dor
-anza

Back 6

forms agent nouns from verbs: hablador ‘talker’ (hablar ‘to talk’), regulador ‘regulator’ (regular ‘to regulate’), which are sometimes used as adjectives: hablador ‘talkative’, regulador ‘regulating’
— makes noun forms of some verbs — enseñanza, education

Front 7

-ería
->or, -ora
->-ario

Back 7

attaches to noun stems to denote
a. a place where something is made or sold: zapatería ‘shoestore’ (zapato ‘shoe’), pastelería ‘pastry shop’ (pastel ‘pastry’)
b. a profession: carpintería ‘carpentry’ (carpintero ‘carpenter’), ingeniería ‘engineering’ (ingeniero ‘engineer’)
c. a group: chiquillería ‘bunch of children’ (chiquillo ‘little kid’)
->-er — pintor (painter)
->indicates profession or place — bibliotecario, librarian

Front 8

-ero

Back 8

a. attaches to nouns to indicate a person who makes, sells, or is in charge of something: librero ‘bookseller’ (libro ‘book’), zapatero ‘shoemaker’ (zapato ‘shoe’), carcelero ‘jailer’ (cárcel ‘jail’)
b. attaches to nominal stems to form adjectives: guerrero ‘warlike’ (guerra ‘war’), conejero ‘for hunting rabbits’ (conejo ‘rabbit’)

Front 9

-ez,
-eza

Back 9

are used to make abstract nouns from adjectival bases: vejez ‘old age’ (viejo ‘old’), niñez ‘childhood’ (niño ‘child’), grandeza ‘greatness’ (grande ‘large, great’), rareza ‘rarity’ (raro ‘rare’)

Front 10

-ía

Back 10

forms adjective abstracts: valentía ‘courage’ (valiente ‘brave’), cobardía ‘cowardice’ (cobarde ‘coward’)

Front 11

-(i)ento

Back 11

attaches to adjectives to indicate attenuation, as in amarillento ‘yellowish’ (amarillo ‘yellow’), or an undesirable quality, as in hambriento ‘hungry’ (hambre ‘hunger’)

Front 12

-ísimo

Back 12

attaches to adjectives to indicate an extreme degree of a quality: hermosísimo ‘very beautiful’ (hermoso ‘beautiful’)

Front 13

-izo

Back 13

forms adjectives from nominal stems, indicating a tendency or attenuation: rojizo ‘reddish’ (rojo ‘red’), olvidadizo ‘forgetful’ (olvidar ‘to forget’)

Front 14

-mente

Back 14

is the adverbial ending attached to the feminine form of the adjective: generosamente ‘generously’ (generoso ‘generous’), claramente ‘clearly’ (claro ‘clear’)

Front 15

-ón
-ote,-ota

Back 15

a. is an augmentative adjectival suffix: barrigón ‘pot-bellied’ (barriga ‘belly’), cabezón ‘large-headed’ (cabeza ‘head’)
b. attaches to verb stems to denote sudden actions: tirón ‘pull, jerk’ (tirar ‘to pull’), apretón ‘push’ (apretar ‘to push’)
is an augmentative and pejorative suffix attached to nouns: discursote ‘long, boring speech’ (discurso ‘speech’), narizota ‘big ugly nose’ (nariz ‘nose’)

Front 16

-oso
-udo

Back 16

forms adjectives from nouns, indicating abundance or character: rocoso ‘rocky’ (roca ‘rock’), tormentoso ‘stormy’ (tormenta ‘storm’)
forms adjectives from nouns, indicating an excess: peludo ‘hairy’ (pelo ‘hair’), panzudo ‘big-bellied’ (panza ‘belly’)

Front 17

-ura

Back 17

forms abstract nouns from adjectives: negrura ‘blackness’ (negro ‘black’), altura ‘height’ (alto ‘high’)

Front 18

-uzco
-izo

Back 18

forms adjectives from other adjectives, indicating attenuation: blancuzco ‘whitish’ (blanco ‘white’), negruzco ‘blackish’ (negro ‘black’)
-ish — rojizo (reddish)

Front 19

-aje

Back 19

-age — kilometraje (like mileage, but in

Front 20

-ancia

Back 20

-ancy — discrepancia (discrepancy)

Front 21

-arquía

Back 21

-archy — monarquía (monarchy)

Front 22

-ático

Back 22

-atic — -lunático (lunatic)

Front 23

-ble

Back 23

-ble — manejable (manageable)

Front 24

-cida, cidio

Back 24

-cide — insecticida (insecticie)

Front 25

-ción

Back 25

-tion — agravación (aggravation)

Front 26

-cracia

Back 26

-cracy — democracia (democracy)

Front 27

-crata

Back 27

-crat — burócrata (bureaucrat)

Front 28

-dad

Back 28

-ity — pomposidad (pomposity)

Front 29

-esa, -iz, -isa

Back 29

-ess — actriz (actress)

Front 30

-fico, -fica

Back 30

-fic — horrífico (horrific)

Front 31

-filo, -filia

Back 31

-file — pedófilo (pedophile)

Front 32

-fobia

Back 32

-phobia — claustrofobia (claustrophobia)

Front 33

-fono

Back 33

-phone — teléfono (telephone)

Front 34

-icio, -icia

Back 34

-ice — avaricia (avarice)

Front 35

-íficar

Back 35

-ify — dignificar (dignify)

Front 36

-ismo

Back 36

-ism — budismo (Buddhism)

Front 37

-ista

Back 37

-ist — dentista (dentist)

Front 38

-tud

Back 38

-tude — latitud (latitude)

Front 39

-osa, -oso

Back 39

-ous — maravilloso (marvelous)

Front 40

-dero

Back 40

indicates instrument, means, or capacity — lavandero, laundry (from lavar, to clean)

Front 41

-dura

Back 41

indicates the effect of an action — picadura, puncture (from picar, to pick)

Front 42

-ense
-és

Back 42

indicates place of origin — estadounidense, of or from the United States, American
indicates place of origin — holandés, Dutch