Mandarin suffixes and prefixes

You might have found the title of this post a bit odd - Mandarin isn’t usually described as having ‘suffixes’ and ‘prefixes’. It does, however, have characters that often give you a clue about how to translate a word or phrase into English.

This is a list of ten characters that frequently translate into English suffixes and prefixes.

-们 (men): -s

This one is pretty straightforward. It functions exactly like the English plural suffix -s or -es. It also covers what would be irregular plurals in English. The only difference is that it can only be used with people and some animate nouns (such as animals).

Examples:

• 鸭子们 (yāzimen): ducks
• 孩子们 (háizimen): children
• 他们 (tāmen): they

-地 (de): -ly

This is an adverb marker in Mandarin, exactly like -ly in English. It can turn the majority of adjectives into adverbs.

Examples:

• 快地 (kuàide): quickly
• 慢地 (mànde): slowly
• 高兴地 (gāoxìngde): happily

可- (kě): -able

If something is -able in English, then it’s often 可- in Mandarin.

Examples:

• 可爱 (kěài): adorable
• 可笑 (kěxiào): laughable
• 可靠 (kěkào): reliable

重- (chóng): re-

Need to _re_do something? Chances are it’s 重- plus a verb in Mandarin.

Examples:

• 重做 (chóngzuò): redo
• 重组 (chóngzǔ): reorganise
• 重复 (chóngfù): reiterate, repeat

第- (dì): -st,_ -nd_,_ -rd_,_ -th_

For some reason, English has special markers to turn numbers one to three into ordinals, and then just uses -th for everything else. In Mandarin, they’re all marked by 第.

Examples:

• 第一 (dìyī): the first
• 第二 (dí’èr): the second
• 第九 (dìjiǔ): the ninth

-化 (huà): -ise

If you need to make something a bit more ~_adjective~_, then sticking 化 on the end will probably do the job.

Examples:

• 石化 (shíhuà): fossilise
• 戏剧化 (xìjùhuà): dramatise
• 私有化 (sīyǒuhuà): privatise

-学 (xué): -logy

Specialist fields of study usually have -logy on the end in English, and -学 in Mandarin.

Examples:

• 生物学 (shēngwùxué): biology
• 神学 (shénxué): theology
• 社会学 (shèhuìxué): sociology

-家 (jiā): -ist,_ -er_

Generic job titles and occupations often include 家 in Mandarin. It’s often the equivalent of -er or -ist in English: “one who does…”

Examples:

• 画家 (huàjiā): painter
• 作家 (zuòjiā): writer
• 科学家 (kēxuéjiā): scientist (two suffixes here!)

-着 (zhe): -ing

Where English uses verbs ending -ing, Mandarin often uses -着.

Examples:

• 站着 (zhànzhe): standing
• 坐着 (zuòzhe): sitting
• 等着 (děngzhe): waiting

-性 (xìng): -ness,_ -ability_

This is used to describe properties and qualities, but it’s a bit more versatile in Mandarin than -ness or -ability in English. It converts adjectives into nouns.

• 可靠性 (kèkàoxìng): reliability
• 实用性 (shíyòngxìng): utility, usability
• 可理解性 (kělǐjiěxìng): understandability

-主义 (zhǔyì): -ism

This can be used to describe various ideologies and movements. Literally it’s something like ‘primary meaning’, so it’s about what’s central to a system of thought.

• 女性主义 (nǚxìngzhǔyì): feminism
• 社会主义 (shèhuìzhǔyì): socialism
• 恐怖主义 (kongbùzhǔyì): terrorism