 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 |
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