Vocabulary listB1Word skills

Prefixes and Suffixes in English: Word Building, Examples and Quiz

One word you know can become five: happy, unhappy, happiness, happily, unhappiness. Learn the prefixes and suffixes that build English words, with pronunciation, Turkish translations and real examples.

54 words · By LearnLingo Team · Updated October 14, 2026

Tap to hear a word. Pronunciation is American English. Levels follow the CEFR scale. Turkish translations are given as a quick check.

Negative prefixes: un-, in-, im-, il-, ir-, dis-, non-

These prefixes mean not or the opposite of. Un- is the most common. In- changes to im- before p, b and m, to il- before l and to ir- before r, which makes the word easier to say. There is no full rule for which prefix a word takes, so learn each word whole. For more pairs like these, see opposite adjectives.

Word	Meaning and example	Turkish
unhappy ⁄ʌnˈhæpi⁄ · adjective A2	not happy; sad She was unhappy in her old job.	mutsuz
unusual ⁄ʌnˈjuːʒuəl⁄ · adjective B1	different from what normally happens It's unusual to see snow here in April.	alışılmadık
unfair ⁄ʌnˈfer⁄ · adjective B1	not right or not equal for everyone It's unfair that only some people get a bonus.	haksız, adaletsiz
uncomfortable ⁄ʌnˈkʌmftɚbəl⁄ · adjective A2	not pleasant to sit in, wear or feel These new shoes are really uncomfortable.	rahatsız
impossible ⁄ɪmˈpɑːsəbəl⁄ · adjective A2	that cannot happen or be done It's impossible to finish this by tonight.	imkânsız
impatient ⁄ɪmˈpeɪʃənt⁄ · adjective B1	not able to wait calmly Don't be so impatient. The bus will come.	sabırsız
illegal ⁄ɪˈliːɡəl⁄ · adjective B1	not allowed by law It's illegal to drive without a license.	yasa dışı
irregular ⁄ɪˈreɡjəlɚ⁄ · adjective B1	not following the usual rule or pattern Go is an irregular verb: go, went, gone.	düzensiz
incorrect ⁄ˌɪnkəˈrekt⁄ · adjective B1	not correct; wrong Two of your answers are incorrect.	yanlış, hatalı
dishonest ⁄dɪsˈɑːnɪst⁄ · adjective B1	not telling the truth; willing to cheat It was dishonest of him to hide the mistake.	dürüst olmayan, sahtekâr
disagree ⁄ˌdɪsəˈɡriː⁄ · verb A2	to have a different opinion from someone I disagree with you about the movie.	katılmamak
non-smoker ⁄ˌnɑːnˈsmoʊkɚ⁄ · noun B1	a person who does not smoke The hotel has rooms for non-smokers only.	sigara içmeyen kimse

Prefixes that change the meaning

These prefixes add an idea such as again, wrongly, too much, not enough, former or together. The main word keeps its stress, so say rewrite with the stress on write.

Word	Meaning and example	Turkish
rewrite ⁄ˌriːˈraɪt⁄ · verb B1	to write something again to make it better I had to rewrite my essay because it was too long.	yeniden yazmak
redo ⁄ˌriːˈduː⁄ · verb B1	to do something again The paint is uneven, so we need to redo the wall.	yeniden yapmak
misunderstand ⁄ˌmɪsʌndɚˈstænd⁄ · verb B1	to understand something in the wrong way Sorry, I think I misunderstood your question.	yanlış anlamak
misspell ⁄ˌmɪsˈspel⁄ · verb B2	to spell a word wrongly Many people misspell the word necessary.	yanlış yazmak (harf hatası)
oversleep ⁄ˌoʊvɚˈsliːp⁄ · verb B1	to sleep longer than you wanted to I overslept and missed the first class.	uyuyakalmak
overweight ⁄ˌoʊvɚˈweɪt⁄ · adjective B1	heavier than is healthy or allowed My suitcase was overweight, so I paid extra.	fazla kilolu, ağır
underpaid ⁄ˌʌndɚˈpeɪd⁄ · adjective B2	not paid enough for the work you do Many nurses feel underpaid.	düşük maaşlı
preview ⁄ˈpriːvjuː⁄ · noun B2	a chance to see something before other people do We watched a preview of the new series.	ön gösterim, ön izleme
coworker ⁄ˈkoʊˌwɝːkɚ⁄ · noun B1	a person you work with I had lunch with a coworker today.	iş arkadaşı
ex-boyfriend ⁄ˌeksˈbɔɪfrend⁄ · noun B1	a man who was your boyfriend in the past She's still friends with her ex-boyfriend.	eski erkek arkadaş
international ⁄ˌɪntɚˈnæʃənəl⁄ · adjective A2	between or involving different countries It's an international school with students from many countries.	uluslararası
multicultural ⁄ˌmʌltiˈkʌltʃɚəl⁄ · adjective B2	with people from many different cultures London is a very multicultural city.	çok kültürlü

Suffixes that make nouns

These endings turn verbs and adjectives into nouns. -er, -or, -ist and -ee usually mean a person. -ness, -ment, -tion, -ity, -ship and -hood usually name an idea, a state or an action.

Word	Meaning and example	Turkish
employer ⁄ɪmˈplɔɪɚ⁄ · noun B1	a person or company that pays people to work for them My employer pays for my English classes.	işveren
employee ⁄ɪmˈplɔɪiː⁄ · noun B1	a person who is paid to work for someone The company has about fifty employees.	çalışan, işçi
scientist ⁄ˈsaɪəntɪst⁄ · noun A2	a person who studies science as a job Scientists are testing a new medicine.	bilim insanı
actor ⁄ˈæktɚ⁄ · noun A1	a person who performs in plays or films He wanted to be an actor when he was young.	oyuncu
kindness ⁄ˈkaɪndnəs⁄ · noun B1	the quality of being kind and helpful Thank you for your kindness.	nezaket, iyilik
happiness ⁄ˈhæpinəs⁄ · noun A2	the feeling of being happy Money doesn't always bring happiness.	mutluluk
improvement ⁄ɪmˈpruːvmənt⁄ · noun B1	a change that makes something better There's been a big improvement in your writing.	gelişme, iyileşme
agreement ⁄əˈɡriːmənt⁄ · noun B1	a plan or decision that two or more people accept The two companies reached an agreement.	anlaşma
decision ⁄dɪˈsɪʒən⁄ · noun A2	a choice that you make after thinking Moving abroad was a difficult decision.	karar
education ⁄ˌedʒəˈkeɪʃən⁄ · noun A2	the process of teaching and learning Education is free in many countries.	eğitim
ability ⁄əˈbɪləti⁄ · noun B1	the skill or power to do something She has the ability to explain things clearly.	yetenek, beceri
friendship ⁄ˈfrendʃɪp⁄ · noun B1	the relationship between friends Their friendship started at school.	arkadaşlık, dostluk
childhood ⁄ˈtʃaɪldhʊd⁄ · noun B1	the time when you are a child I had a happy childhood in a small town.	çocukluk

Suffixes that make adjectives

-ful means with and -less means without, so they often make opposite pairs. -able and -ible mean that can be done. -ous, -ive, -ic, -al and -y also make adjectives. Some adjectives with these endings describe character; see personality adjectives.

Word	Meaning and example	Turkish
careful ⁄ˈkerfəl⁄ · adjective A2	giving attention to avoid mistakes or danger Be careful. The floor is wet.	dikkatli
careless ⁄ˈkerləs⁄ · adjective B1	not giving enough attention, so you make mistakes I lost points for careless mistakes.	dikkatsiz
useful ⁄ˈjuːsfəl⁄ · adjective A2	helping you do or get what you need This app is really useful for travel.	yararlı, faydalı
useless ⁄ˈjuːsləs⁄ · adjective B1	not working well or not helping at all This old map is useless now.	işe yaramaz
reliable ⁄rɪˈlaɪəbəl⁄ · adjective B1	that you can trust or depend on I need a reliable car for work.	güvenilir
affordable ⁄əˈfɔːrdəbəl⁄ · adjective B2	cheap enough for most people to buy It's hard to find affordable housing in the city.	uygun fiyatlı
dangerous ⁄ˈdeɪndʒɚəs⁄ · adjective A2	that could hurt you or cause harm It's dangerous to swim here.	tehlikeli
creative ⁄kriˈeɪtɪv⁄ · adjective B1	good at making new things or having new ideas She's very creative with food.	yaratıcı
artistic ⁄ɑːrˈtɪstɪk⁄ · adjective B1	good at art, or connected with art My brother has always been artistic.	sanatsal, sanata yatkın
cloudy ⁄ˈklaʊdi⁄ · adjective A1	with a lot of clouds in the sky It's cloudy, but it isn't raining.	bulutlu

Suffixes that make verbs and adverbs

-ize, -en and -ify turn adjectives and nouns into verbs that mean make or become. -ly turns most adjectives into adverbs. British English often spells -ize as -ise: realise, modernise.

Word	Meaning and example	Turkish
realize ⁄ˈriːəlaɪz⁄ · verb B1	to suddenly understand or notice something I didn't realize it was so late.	farkına varmak
modernize ⁄ˈmɑːdɚnaɪz⁄ · verb B2	to make something more modern The city plans to modernize its train stations.	modernleştirmek
widen ⁄ˈwaɪdən⁄ · verb B2	to make something wider They are widening the road near our house.	genişletmek
shorten ⁄ˈʃɔːrtən⁄ · verb B2	to make something shorter Can you shorten your report to one page?	kısaltmak
simplify ⁄ˈsɪmpləfaɪ⁄ · verb B2	to make something easier to understand or do The teacher simplified the instructions for us.	basitleştirmek
quickly ⁄ˈkwɪkli⁄ · adverb A1	at a fast speed She quickly packed her bag and left.	hızlıca, çabucak
suddenly ⁄ˈsʌdənli⁄ · adverb A2	very fast and when you do not expect it Suddenly, all the lights went out.	aniden

Useful phrases and collocations

make a decision
We need to make a decision by Friday.
reach an agreement
After two hours, they reached an agreement.
a big improvement
Your pronunciation shows a big improvement.
strongly disagree
I strongly disagree with the new rule.
completely impossible
It's completely impossible to park downtown.
a reliable source
Check the news in a reliable source.
affordable prices
The market sells fresh food at affordable prices.
a happy childhood
My grandparents gave me a happy childhood.
a lifelong friendship
That trip was the start of a lifelong friendship.
misunderstand the question
He misunderstood the question and answered something else.
be careful with
Be careful with that knife.
suddenly realize
I suddenly realized I'd left my phone at home.
illegal parking
There's a big fine for illegal parking.

How to learn these words

Learn word families, not single words. When you meet a new word, write the family next to it: decide, decision, decisive; use, useful, useless, user. Say the whole family aloud, then make one sentence with the word you are most likely to use. Review the family the next day and again a week later. See how to learn English vocabulary for a simple routine.

Watch the spelling when you add a suffix. A final y after a consonant usually becomes i (happy, happiness; easy, easily), and a final silent e usually drops before a vowel (create, creative; but care, careful keeps it). Before -able, many words lose their e too (love, lovable). The English spelling rules guide covers these changes in more detail.

Suffixes can move the stress, so check the pronunciation of the new word: PHOtograph, phoTOgraphy, photoGRAPHic. Prefixes usually do not move the main stress: HAPpy, unHAPpy.

Do not invent words with every prefix. Unhappy and unkind exist, but the opposite of possible is impossible, not unpossible, and the opposite of honest is dishonest. If you are not sure, check a dictionary. British and American English also spell some suffixes differently: realise and realize, organise and organize.

Use the words: speaking and writing tasks

Choose five adjectives you know, such as kind, happy, careful, possible and polite. Write the noun, the adverb and the negative form of each, then check them in a dictionary.
Describe yourself and a friend using three words with -ful or -less and two words with un- or dis-: My friend is very helpful, but sometimes a bit impatient.
Write about your childhood in five sentences. Use at least three nouns with -hood, -ship, -ness or -ment.
Say aloud three things you need to redo, rewrite or rethink this week, and explain why.
Find ten words with a prefix or suffix in an English article. Write the root word next to each one and say what the prefix or suffix adds.

Common mistakes

That's unpossible.

That's impossible.

Possible takes the prefix im-, because in- changes to im- before p. Not every word uses un-, so learn the negative form with the word.

He is very unhonest.

He is very dishonest.

The opposite of honest is dishonest. Some words take dis- and some take un-, and there is no simple rule, so check a dictionary.

I made a good improve.

I made a good improvement.

After a and an adjective you need a noun. Improve is the verb; improvement is the noun.

She sings beautifuly.

She sings beautifully.

When you add -ly to an adjective that ends in -ful, you keep both l's: beautiful becomes beautifully.

The movie was very happyness.

The movie made me very happy.

Happiness is a noun and cannot describe a thing after very. Use the adjective happy, or a noun phrase like It brought me happiness.

Practice quiz

10 questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why.

1. Which word means not possible?
2. I'm sorry, I ___ what you said. Can you repeat it?
3. Which suffix makes a noun from kind?
4. A person who pays you to work is your ___.
5. Choose the correct sentence.
6. It's ___ to park on the sidewalk here.
7. I ___ and missed my flight.
8. What does rewrite mean?
9. Which word is an adverb?
10. The city wants to make the road wider. It wants to ___ the road.

0 of 10 answered

Show all answers

impossible
misunderstood
-ness
employer
This knife is useless; it doesn't cut.
illegal
overslept
write again
quickly
widen

See what the B1 English course covers, or test your level first.

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