Spanish Prefixes and Suffixes

Quick Answer

Learn about the origin and meaning of common Spanish prefijos(prefixes) and sufijos(suffixes) in this article!

Questions This Article Answers

What are prefixes and suffixes?

Examples of Spanish prefixes?

Examples of Spanish suffixes?

Latin and Ancient Greek Influence on Spanish

Español(Spanish) is a lengua romance(Romance language) derived from latín vulgar(Vulgar Latin). Latin itself was influenced by griego antiguo(Ancient Greek), especially in terms relating to ciencia(science) and medicina(medicine).

Spanish Prefixes and Suffixes

• Prefijos(prefixes) are afijos(affixes) which are attached to the beginning of a word.

Examples of Spanish Prefixes

biología(biology)

internacional(international)

• Sufijos(suffixes) are afijos which are attached to the end of a word.

Examples of Spanish Suffixes

honestidad(honesty)

adorable(adorable)

More Spanish Prefixes

The following list shows examples of Spanish prefixes of Greek and/or Latin origin.

Latin Origin	Ancient Greek Origin	Meaning	Examples
ante-		before	anteayer(the day before yesterday), antecámara(anteroom)
audio-		sound	audiolibro(audiobook), audiología(audiology)
de-		down, reversal	decaer(to decline), decolorar(to discolor)
equi-		equal	equidistante(equidistant), equivalente(equivalent)
ex-		out of, outside	extraer(to extract), expulsar(to expel)
inter-		among, between	internacional(international), intercultural(intercultural)
pos-, post-		after, behind	posponer(to postpone), postbélico(postwar)
pre-		before	predecir(to predict), prehistoria(prehistory)
re-		again, anew	reabrir(to reopen), reiterar(to reiterate)
ultra-		beyond, extreme	ultrasecreto(top secret), ultrasónico(ultrasonic)
	aero-	air	aeróbico(aerobic), aerodinámico(aerodynamic)
	auto-	self, same one	autobiografía(autobiography), automóvil(automobile)
	bio-	life, organism	biografía(biography), biología(biology)
	cardio-	heart	cardiología(cardiology), cardiovascular(cardiovascular)
	crono-	time	cronógrafo(chronographer), cronómetro(chronometer)
	deca-	ten	década(decade), decaedro(decahedron)
	demo-	people, population	democracia(democracy), demográfico(demographic)
	geo-	earth, ground	geología(geology), geotermal(geothermal)
	macro-	large	macrocosmos(macrocosm), macroeconomía(macroeconomics)
	micro-	small	microorganism(microorganism), microchip(microchip)
circun-, circum-	peri-	around	circumpolar(circumpolar), periferia(periphery)
contra-	anti-	against	contradecir(to contradict), antivirus(antivirus)
cuadr-	tetra-	four	cuadrúpedo(quadruped), tetracampeón(four-time champion)
dis-	a-	not, reverse	disonancia(dissonance), asocial(asocial)
multi-	poli-	many	multinacional(multinational), poligamia(polygamy)
omni-	pan-	all	omnisciente(omniscient), panteísmo(pantheism)
sub-	hipo-	under	subterráneo(subterranean), hipotermia(hypothermia)
super-	hiper-	above, excess	supermercado(supermarket), hiperinflación(hyperinflation)
tri-	tri-	three	triciclo(tricycle), tripartite(tripartite)
uni-	mono-	one	unipersonal(individual), monogamia(monogamy)

examples
Anteayer hice ejercicios aeróbicos. I did aerobic exercise the day before yesterday.
¿Cuándo reabrió el supermercado? When did the supermarket reopen?
Compré su biografía en formato audiolibro. I bought her biography in audiobook format.

Spanish Suffixes

The following list shows examples of Spanish suffixes of Greek and/or Latin origin.

Latin Origin	Ancient Greek Origin	Meaning	Examples
-ario, -aria		used to express relation	bancario(banking), secretario(secretary)
-ble		capable of, worthy of	adorable(adorable), recomendable(advisable)
-cida		killer	homicida(homicide), insecticida(insecticide)
-ción		used to express action or effect	producción(production), traducción(translation)
-dad		used to form nouns	agresividad(aggressiveness), posibilidad(possibility)
-ero, -era		used for professions	reportero(reporter), zapatero(shoemaker)
-ncia		used to form nouns	importancia(importance), independencia(independence)
-or, -ora		used to express agency	cantor(singer), diseñador(designer)
-oso, -osa		used to form adjectives	rocoso(rocky), ruidoso(noisy)
-triz		used to form feminine nous and adjectives	actriz(actress), motriz(motor)
	-bio	life, organism	aerobio(aerobe), microbio(microbe)
	-cracia	government, power	democracia(democracy), tecnocracia(technocracy)
	-erio	place	cementerio(cemetery), monasterio(monastery)
	-filia	fond of	bibliofilia(bibliophily), halterofilia(weight lifting)
	‒́filo, ‒́fila	fond of	anglófilo(Anglophile), cinéfilo(movie buff)
	-fobia	fear, rejection	agoraphobia(agoraphobia), xenofobia(xenophobia)
	-grafía	writing, description	mecanografía(mechanography), ortografía(orthography)
	‒́logo, ‒́loga	specialist	filólogo(philologist), teólogo(theologian)
	-manía	compulsion, obsession	melomanía(melomania), piromanía(pyromania)
	-teca	store place	biblioteca(library), filmoteca(film library)
-aco	-aco	relation	austríaco(Austrian), policiaco(criminal)
-ismo	-ismo	doctrine, system	capitalism(capitalism), puritanismo(puritanism)
-ista	-ista	supporter, profession	comunista(communist), dentista(dentist)
-itis	-itis	inflammation	otitis(otitis), sinusitis(sinusitis)
-sis	-sis	disease, disorder	micosis(mycosis), psicosis(psychosis)

examples
Mi dentista es austríaco. My dentist is Austrian.
El filólogo analizará la traducción. The philologist will analyze the translation.
Es cinéfilo y trabaja en una biblioteca. He's a movie buff and works at a library.

Practice more Spanish grammar with these articles!

• The 100 Most Common Spanish Verbs

• Common Mistakes in Spanish

• Word Order and Spanish Syntax

• Common Verb+Preposition Pairs in Spanish

• Latin Influence on Spanish