Did you know there are over 275 suffixes in the Spanish language? Imagine if you would know just a couple and how this would enhance your Spanish vocabulary? Let’s review what a suffix actually is and also the most common suffixes of the Spanish language. At the end of this article you will find a list of all suffixes in the Spanish language.
What is a suffix?
Suffixes are modifications of the word stem with spelling changes, or endings, which change the meaning in Spanish.
There are many different types of suffixes that we’ll explore today. Let’s start with an overview of what a suffix is. Suffixes are common words that typically attach to a root and modify the root’s meaning in some way; more specifically, a suffix is an addition to some form of spoken or written language whereby the associated languages roots are modified in order to form more complex words.
Some common suffixes in English include -able/-ible, -ness, -ful, and -ish. The same exists in the Spanish language, changing the meaning of words. Let take a look at some commonly used suffixes in Spanish:
Most common suffixes in Spanish:
ito/ ita – denote a diminutive form
for example: perrito (little dog), regalito (little present)
ero / era – forms occupations from nouns & forms places where a noun general resides or functions the noun.
for example: azucarero (suger jar), salero (salt shaker), sombrero (hat, shade provider)
ía – create the name of a location, usually a store. Or to suggest something is realted to.
for example: panadería (bread store, bakery), zapatería (shoe store), ferretería (hardware store)
ista – to create occupations
for example: dentista (dentist), lingüista (lenguist), pensionista (pensioner), porrista (cheerleader). See a full list of all Spanish words ending in ISTA here.
dor – dora – used to create instruments, household appliances, names of places, occupations and jobs.
for example: aspiradora (vacuum cleaner), comedor (dining room), parador (hostel), perdedor (loser). See the full list of all Spanish words ending in DOR or DORA here.
mente – used in the same way -ly words are used in English.
for example: pacientemente (patiently), prácticamente (practically). See a full list of all words that end in -mente in Spanish.
List of all suffixes in Spanish
In total there are just over 275 suffixes in Spanish. Find a full list underneath:
All Spanish suffixes
| Spanish suffix | To say… |
|---|---|
| -a | -ess. (Used to form feminine singular nouns.) |
| -a | -s. (Used to form the third-person singular (also used with usted) present indicative mood of regular -ar verbs.) |
| -a | (Used to form the feminine singular adjectives.) |
| -a | (Used to form the first and third-person singular (also used with usted) singular subjunctive mood of -er and -ir verbs, also used for the imperative mood of usted.) |
| -a | (Used to form the second-person singular imperative mood of -ar verbs.) |
| -aba | Suffix indicating the first-person singular imperfect indicative of -ar verbs |
| -aba | Suffix indicating the third-person singular imperfect indicative of -ar verbs |
| -abais | Suffix indicating the second-person plural imperfect indicative of -ar verbs |
| -aban | Suffix indicating the third-person plural imperfect indicative of -ar verbs |
| -abas | Suffix indicating the second-person singular imperfect indicative of -ar verbs |
| -able | |
| -ación | alternative form of -ción |
| -ada | Used to form words, derived from nouns, corresponding to -ful (as much as something will hold) |
| -ada | Used to form words, derived from nouns, indicating a blow with the named object |
| -ada | Used to form words, derived from nouns, signifying a whole |
| -ada | Used to form words indicating abundance or excess |
| -ada | Used to form words indicating action |
| -ada | Used to form words indicating a period of time |
| -ada | Used with a stem to form the feminine singular past participle of regular -are verbs; feminine form of -ado |
| -ado | Suffix indicating the past participle of regular -ar verbs |
| -ador | Form of -dor attached to -ar verb stems. Forms (usually agent) nouns and adjectives |
| -adora | feminine form of -ador |
| -adura | Form of -dura used with -ar verbs to form nouns |
| -aje | Forms masculine nouns expressing an action, quantity, location, period of time, etc |
| -al | In adjectives, indicating relation |
| -al | In nouns, indicating a place where something is grown |
| -algia | -algy |
| -amento | alternative form of -mento |
| -amiento | alternative form of -miento |
| -amos | suffix indicating the first-person plural present indicative of -ar verbs |
| -amos | Suffix indicating the first-person plural preterite of -ar verbs |
| -amos | Suffix indicating the first-person singular imperative of -er and -ir verbs |
| -amos | Suffix indicating the first-person singular present subjunctive of -er and -ir verbs |
| -an | Suffix indicating the third-person plural imperative of -er and -ir verbs |
| -an | Suffix indicating the third-person plural present indicative of -ar verbs |
| -an | Suffix indicating the third-person plural present subjunctive of -er and -ir verbs |
| -ancia | -ancy |
| -ando | Suffix indicating the gerund of regular -ar verbs |
| -ano | Coming from, related to, or like |
| -ano | One from, belonging to, relating to, or like |
| -ano | -ane (in the names of hydrocarbons) |
| -ante | Forms adjectives from verbs |
| -aré | Suffix indicating the third-person singular future indicative of -ar verbs |
| -ar | In adjectives, indicating membership or status |
| -ar | In nouns, indicating a place where something is grown |
| -ar | The infinitive suffix for many verbs |
| -aran | Denotes the imperfect subjunctive in the (formal) second-person plural for regular verbs ending in -ar |
| -aran | Denotes the imperfect subjunctive in the third-person plural for regular verbs ending in -ar |
| -areis | Suffix indicating the second-person plural future indicative of -ar verbs |
| -ario | -ary |
| -aron | Denotes the indicative preterite in the (formal) second-person plural for regular verbs ending in -ar |
| -aron | Denotes the indicative preterite in the third-person plural for regular verbs ending in -ar |
| -as | suffix indicating the second-person singular present indicative of -ar |
| -as | suffix indicative the second-person singular present subjunctive of -er verbs and -ir verbs |
| -astro | Used to form nouns with a pejorative or lower meaning |
| -ata | feminine form of -ato |
| -ato | designates a salt or ester related to an acid |
| -ato | Denotes the office of a noun stem |
| -ato | Forms adjectives of quality |
| -ato | forms an institution from a noun stem |
| -ato | forms the corresponding action of a noun |
| -ato | indicates a baby of a specific animal |
| -avo | added to a cardinal number to signify one portion of a whole divided into that number of pieces. Creates both nouns and adjectives |
| -aza | feminine form of -azo |
| -azgo | Forms the effect or condition of the base word |
| -azgo | Forms the office of the base word |
| -azo | Forming augmentatives; words expressing greatness or size |
| -azo | Forming pejoratives; words emphasizing contempt for a subject |
| -azo | Forming words expressing a hit or strike |
| -azo | Forming words expressing suddenness or brevity |
| -ábamos | indicates the imperfect tense first-person plural form of an -ar verb |
| -ácea | feminine form of -áceo |
| -áceo | -aceous |
| -áis | Suffix indicating the second-person plural present indicative of -ar verbs |
| -áis | Suffix indicating the second-person plural present subjunctive of -er and -ir verbs |
| -bilidad | Form of -dad used generally for adjectives ending in -ble; Comparable generally to English suffix -ity |
| -ceta | feminine form of -cete, which in turn is a form of -ete |
| -cete | Form of -ete |
| -cida | -cidal |
| -cida | -cide (denoting a person or substance that kills) |
| -cidio | -cide (denoting an act of killing) |
| -cilla | feminine form of -cillo |
| -cillo | Form of -illo attached to some nouns |
| -ción | Used in forming a noun to represent the property corresponding to a verb; -tion |
| -cita | feminine form of -cito Substituted for “a” at the end of feminine words and names ending in a vowel to denote a diminutive form |
| -cito | -cyte (used to form cell names) |
| -cito | Form of -ito. Substituted for "o" at the end of masculine words and names to denote a diminutive form |
| -cola | cultivator, breeder (forming nouns and adjectives) |
| -cola | inhabitant (forming nouns and adjectives) |
| -cracia | -cracy |
| -crata | -crat |
| -dad | Used in forming a noun to represent the property corresponding to an adjective; -ity |
| -dero | one or something that does, uses, or makes. e.g. pescadero, crujidero, saladero, aserradero, embarcadero |
| -dor | Forming derivatives of other nouns: |
| -dor | Forming (usually agent) nouns and adjectives from verbs. The form used depends on the suffix of verb being appended: for -ar verbs use -ador (-adora), for -er verbs -edor (-edora) and for -ir verbs -idor (-idora) |
| -dora | feminine form of -dor |
| -dura | Forms nouns from verbs. The form used depends on the suffix of verb being appended: for -ar verbs use -adura, for -er verbs -edura, and for -ir verbs -idura |
| -eña | feminine form of -eño |
| -ear | forms verbs from adjectives and nouns |
| -ececilla | feminine form of -ececillo |
| -ececillo | Form of -illo attached to some nouns |
| -ececita | feminine form of -ececito |
| -ececito | Form of -ito. Substituted for "o" at the end of masculine words and names ending in a vowel to denote a diminutive form |
| -ecer | -esce |
| -ecilla | feminine form of -ecillo |
| -ecillo | Form of -illo attached to some nouns |
| -ecita | feminine form of -ecito |
| -ecito | Form of -ito. Substituted for "o" at the end of masculine words and names ending in a vowel to denote a diminutive form |
| -edad | Form of -dad used generally for adjectives ending in -io or for two syllable adjectives; Comparable generally to the English suffix -ity |
| -edor | Form of -dor attached to -er verb stems. Forms (usually agent) nouns and adjectives |
| -edora | feminine form of -edor |
| -edura | Form of -dura used with -er verbs to form nouns |
| -ejo | Forming diminutives; applies a detestable or vile quality to the root |
| -emos | suffix indicating the first-person plural present indicative of -er verbs |
| -emos | Suffix indicating the first-person singular imperative of -ar verbs |
| -emos | Suffix indicating the first-person singular present subjunctive of -ar verbs |
| -en | Suffix indicating the third-person plural imperative of -ar verbs |
| -en | Suffix indicating the third-person plural present indicative of -er and -ir verbs |
| -en | Suffix indicating the third-person plural present subjunctive of -ar verbs |
| -eno | Coming from, related to, or like |
| -eno | One from, belonging to, relating to, or like |
| -ense | Used to create adjectives and nouns that denote ethnonyms, like estadounidense, from Estados Unidos |
| -eño | Coming from, related to, or like |
| -eño | One from, belonging to, relating to, or like |
| -eré | Suffix indicating the third-person singular future indicative of -er verbs |
| -er | The infinitive suffix for many verbs |
| -era | feminine form of -ero |
| -ería | Characteristic of; -ery |
| -ería | Turns a noun into a store that sells such an item; -ery |
| -eréis | Suffix indicating the second-person plural future indicative of -er verbs |
| -ero | forms occupations from nouns |
| -ero | forms places where a noun general resides |
| -es | Suffix indicating the plural of nouns and adjectives ending in certain consonants (most often -l, -r, -n, -d, -z, -j, -s, -x, -ch, with some exceptions) |
| -es | Suffix indicating the second-person singular present indicative of -er and -ir verbs |
| -es | Suffix indicating the second-person singular present subjunctive of -ar verbs |
| -esca | Feminine form of -esco which is a variant of -sco |
| -esco | Form of -sco |
| -eta | feminine form of -ete |
| -ete | Added to nouns and adjectives that often adds a diminutive sense to the base |
| -ez | suffix forming many Spanish surnames: Cortez, Enríquez, Godínez, Gómez, Gutiérrez, Hernández, Ibáñez, López, Ordóñez, Pérez, Ramírez, Rodríguez, Sánchez |
| -ez | Suffix forming nouns of feminine gender from nouns and adjectives, denoting "state of" (similar to English -hood, -ness, -ty) |
| -eza | Attached to adjectives to form abstract nouns of that quality |
| -ezna | feminine form of -ezno |
| -ezno | Added to animal nouns to form other nouns, often diminutive and indicating young |
| -éis | Suffix indicating the second-person plural present indicative of -er and -ir verbs |
| -éis | Suffix indicating the second-person plural present subjunctive of -ar verbs |
| -és | Forms nouns and adjectives of nationality: |
| -faga | feminine form of -fago |
| -fagia | -phagy |
| -fago | -phage |
| -fago | -phagous |
| -fila | feminine form of -filo |
| -filo | -phile |
| -fito | -phyte |
| -fobia | -phobia |
| -fono | -phone |
| -forme | -shaped, -form, -like |
| -geno | -gen |
| -geno | -genic |
| -grafía | -graphy |
| -grafo | -graph |
| -grafo | -grapher |
| -grama | -gram |
| -í | 1st person preterite verb form for -er verbs |
| -í | Suffix indicating certain demonyms, especially from Arabic and Indo-Iranian countries and regions, like iraní, iraquí, azerí, marroquí, penyabí, and others |
| -ía | Suffix indicating the first-person singular imperfect indicative of -er and -ir verbs |
| -ía | Suffix indicating the third-person singular imperfect indicative of -er and -ir verbs |
| -íais | Suffix indicating the second-person plural imperfect indicative of -er and -ir verbs |
| -íamos | Suffix indicating the first-person plural imperfect indicative of -er and -ir verbs |
| -ían | Suffix indicating the third-person plural imperfect indicative of -er and -ir verbs |
| -ías | Suffix indicating the second-person singular imperfect indicative of -er and -ir verbs |
| -ió | Suffix indicating the third-person singular indicative preterite of -er and -ir verbs |
| -iano | -ian (all instances) |
| -iatría | -iatrics |
| -iatría | -iatry |
| -ible | |
| -ico | -ic; added to nouns to form adjectives |
| -ico | usually derogative diminutive suffix; added to nouns to form nouns |
| -idad | Form of -dad used generally for adjectives of three or more syllables; Comparable to English suffix -ity |
| -ido | Suffix indicating the past participle of regular -ir and -er verbs |
| -idor | Form of -dor attached to -ir verb stems. Forms (usually agent) nouns and adjectives |
| -idora | feminine form of -idor |
| -idura | Form of -dura used with -ir verbs to form nouns |
| -iendo | Suffix indicating the gerund of regular -er and -ir verbs |
| -ieron | Suffix indicating the third-person plural indicative preterite of -er and -ir verbs |
| -ificar | -ify, -fy, suffix to form verbs with the meaning of to turn into, to transform into |
| -il | -ile (indicating relation or pertaining to) |
| -illa | Added to feminine nouns to denote a diminutive form |
| -illo | Added to masculine nouns to denote a diminutive form |
| -imiento | alternative form of -miento |
| -imos | suffix indicating the first-person plural present indicative of -ir verbs |
| -imos | Suffix indicating the first-person plural preterite indicative of -er and -ir verbs |
| -io | -ium |
| -iré | Suffix indicating the third-person singular future indicative of -ir verbs |
| -ir | A verb ending for infinitives |
| -iréis | Suffix indicating the second-person plural future indicative of -ir verbs |
| -ismo | -ism |
| -ista | Indicates one that practices a profession of the noun stem; Example: periódico periodista |
| -ista | -ista; one who follows a principle. Example: optimista |
| -iste | Suffix indicating the second-person singular indicative preterite of -er and -ir verbs |
| -isteis | Suffix indicating the second-person plural indicative preterite of -er and -ir verbs |
| -ita | -ite |
| -ita | Substituted for "a" at the end of feminine words and names to denote a diminutive form |
| -ito | Forms the name of an salt derived from an acid (similar to -ate in English) |
| -ito | Forms names of minerals |
| -ito | Substituted for “o” at the end of masculine words and names to denote a diminutive form |
| -itud | -itude, state of, used to form a noun form an adjective |
| -ivo | -ive |
| -iza | feminine form of -izo |
| -izar | -ise/-ize |
| -izo | Forms adjectives from other adjectives, nouns, and verbs usually denoting propensity or likeness |
| -ín | A suffix to form the diminutives of nouns, often one already with a diminutive suffix |
| -ísimo | Added to adjectives to form the absolute superlative |
| -ísimo | Added to adverbs to form the superlative (e.g. lejísimo and tardísimo) |
| -lito | -lith, -lite |
| -logía | -logy, -ology |
| -logo | -logist (one who studies) |
| -mana | feminine form of -mano |
| -manía | -mania |
| -mancia | -mancy |
| -mano | -mane, -maniac |
| -mente | -wise, -ly, in a specified way; used to form adverbs from adjectives |
| -mento | forming concrete nouns from verbs, with the sense of ‘result, product (of process)’ |
| -metría | -metry |
| -metro | -meter |
| -miento | -ment, forming nouns from verbs with the sense of the action or process |
| -morfa | feminine form of -morfo |
| -morfo | -morph |
| -morfo | -morphic, -morphous |
| -ó | A suffix indicating the third-person singular indicative preterite of a verb |
| -ón | ending of every chemical element belonging only to the noble gases group, except helium (in spanish helio) |
| -ón | emphasizes contempt for subject |
| -ón | emphasizes that something is large, grand, intense, important |
| -ón | for few cases, indicates that something is used wrong or frequently (forming adjectives and or nouns) |
| -ón | forms a noun from a different (usually larger) but related or similar one |
| -ón | for very few cases, indicates small size of or a lack of something (such as an ironic augmentative) |
| -ón | indicates that someone or something has large attributes, or larger than usual |
| -ón | ending of most or every subatomic particle |
| -ón | suffixed to verbs, doing something repeatedly or often |
| -ónimo | -onym |
| -o | Suffix indicating the first-person singular present indicative of verbs |
| -oide | -oid |
| -oma | -oma |
| -ona | feminine form of -ón |
| -oso | -ous, -y |
| -ota | feminine form of -ote |
| -ote | emphasizes contempt for subject |
| -ote | emphasizes size |
| -patía | -pathy |
| -plastia | -plasty |
| -podo | -pod |
| -s | Used to form the regular plural of nouns which end in vowels |
| -saurio | -saurus |
| -sca | feminine form of -sco |
| -sco | Forms adjectives that signify "relation" to the word stem |
| -scopia | -scopy |
| -scopio | -scope |
| -teca | used for any kind of collection |
| -teca | used for various Mexican or Central American ethnicities |
| -tecnia | skill, technique |
| -terapia | Used to form the names of therapies, many of which are two words in English |
| -toma | feminine form of -tomo |
| -tomía | -tomy |
| -tomo | -tome |
| -trofa | feminine form of -trofo |
| -trofia | -trophy |
| -trofo | -troph, -trophic |
| -ucha | feminine form of -ucho |
| -ucho | Used in forming pejoratives from nouns and adjectives |
| -udo | A suffix appended to nouns to form adjectives (which can also be used as nouns), to indicate that someone or something has attributes such as existence, abundance or resemblance, and sometimes indicates habits or attitudes, similar to English suffixes -y, -ous, -ful: |
| -uela | feminine form of -uelo |
| -uelo | diminutive suffix for nouns |
| -uelo | emphasizes contempt for subject |
| -ura | attaches to adjectives to form abstract nouns |
| -xión | Suffix indicating a process, action or effect, like "-ction" in English, used in a very scarce group of Spanish words, being these: |
| -yendo | -ing |
| -zoo | -zoan |
Suffixes that are the similar in Spanish and English
Luckily there are a lot of suffixes that work the same in Spanish and in English. Which means you can grow your vocabulary instantly once you know that the following English suffixes can be adapted in the Spanish language in the following way:
| English suffix | Spanish suffix |
| -gen | -geno |
| -cracy | -cracia |
| -ess | -a |
| -graph | -grafo |
| -iano | -iano |
| -iatrics | -iatría |
| -ium | -io |
| -logy | -logía |
| -ment | -miento |
| -ing | -yendo |
| -graphy | -grafía |
| -crat | -crata |
| -cidal | -cida |
| -phile | -filo |