Spanish Suffixes: The Trick to Speak Spanish Faster and More Fluently
Knowing Spanish suffixes is a great way to learn Spanish faster! Los sufijos are affixes that are placed after the stem of the word. For example, the English suffix “-ly” describes the way something is being done. You can behave badly or be greatly defined by your personality.
Learning sufijos will make speaking Spanish a lot easier. Two main categories of Spanish suffixes exist: derivational and inflectional. Let’s check them out!
Derivational Suffixes
In Spanish, los sufijos derivativos are added to the stem of the word to create a new word. There are a ton of derivational suffixes in Spanish! Many verbs, adjectives, nouns, and adverbs can become a new word by using these terminations.
Here are some examples of derivational Spanish suffixes:
-ote, -ota
Usage
Augmentative
Example 1
Vasote — big glass
Stem
Vaso — glass
Sentence
Tenía mucha sed y me serví un vasote con agua. — I was very thirsty so I poured myself a big glass of water.
Example 2
Casota — big house
Stem
Casa — house
Sentence
¡La fiesta del sábado será en una casota con un jardín adentro! — Saturday’s party will be at a big house with an indoor garden!
-ito, -ita
Usage
Diminutive
Example 1
Pajarito — little bird, birdie
Stem
Pájaro — bird
Sentence
El pajarito aprendió a volar anteayer. — The little bird learned how to fly two days ago.
Example 2
Pequeñita — tiny
Stem
Pequeña — small
Sentence
La hormiga se sentía pequeñita al lado del elefante. — The ant felt tiny next to the elephant.
-ucho, -ucha
Usage
Pejorative
Example 1
Debilucho — weak
Stem
Débil — weak
Sentence
¡No te subas a ese andamio, está debilucho! — Don’t get on that scaffolding, it’s weak!
Example 2
Casucha — hovel
Stem
Casa — house
Sentence
La bruja malvada vivía en una casucha por el bosque. — The evil witch lived in a hovel by the forest.
-anza
Usage
Changes a verb into a noun
Example 1
Crianza — upbringing
Stem
Criar — to raise
Sentence
Mi papá me está enseñando a criar vacas y ovejas en la granja. — My dad is teaching me to raise cows and sheep on the farm.
Example 2
Confianza — trust (noun)
Stem
Confiar — trust (verb)
Sentence
Ella ganó mi confianza siendo amable y honesta. — She won my confidence by being kind and earnest.
-izar
Usage
Changes a noun into a verb
Example 1
Caramelizar — to caramelize
Stem
Caramelo — candy
Sentence
Voy a caramelizar estas manzanas para la fiesta de Día de Brujas. — I’m going to caramelize these apples for the Halloween party.
Example 2
Tapizar — upholster
Stem
Tapiz — tapestry
Sentence
Tapizar las paredes nos tomó el fin de semana completo. — Upholstering the walls took us the entire weekend.
-ble
Usage
Changes a word into an adjective describing capability
Example 1
Adorable — adorable
Stem
Adorar — to adore
Sentence
El osito de peluche es muy adorable. — The teddy bear is very adorable.
Example 2
Comestible — edible
Stem
Comer — to eat
Sentence
Prefiero que el cono de mi helado sea comestible. — I prefer my ice cream cone to be edible.
Example 3
Amable — kind
Stem
Amor — love (noun)
Sentence
El conductor de tren fue amable conmigo cuando expliqué mi situación. — The train conductor was kind to me when I explained the situation.
-mente
Usage
Changes an adjective into an adverb
Example 1
Amablemente — kindly
Stem
Amable — kind (adjective)
Sentence
El caballero amablemente dió su asiento al anciano. — The gentleman kindly gave his seat to the elder.
Example 2
Felizmente — happily
Stem
Feliz — happy
Sentence
Susana corrió felizmente por los pasillos después de recibir esa carta de amor. — Suzie ran happily through the hallways after receiving that love letter.
-ísimo, -ísima
Usage
Superlative
Example 1
Buenísimo — great
Stem
Bueno — good
Sentence
¡Este pastel de zanahoria está buenísimo! — This carrot cake is great!
Example 2
Inteligentísima — really smart
Stem
Inteligente — smart
Sentence
Mi gata, Laita, es inteligentísima. — My cat, Laita, is very smart.
More Derivative Suffixes
| Suffix | Usage | Example | Translation |
| -arquía | describes a kind government | monarquía | monarchy |
| -azo | superlative | tipazo | great guy |
| -terapia | kind of therapy | teleterapia | teletherapy |
| -logía | field of study | psicología | psychology |
| -dor, -dora | describes a job | exploradora | explorer |
| -illo, -illa | diminutive | ventanilla | little window |
| -iguar | change word into a verb | apaciguar | to appease |
| -oso | change word into an adjective | polvoroso | dusty |
| -sión | change word into a noun | presión | pressure |
| -ción | change word into a noun | corrección | correction |
| -encia | change word into a noun | demencia | dementia |
| -cito, -cita | diminutive | pececito | little fish |
| -ez | abstract nouns | lucidez | lucidity |
| -aco | demonym | austríaco | Austrian |
| -teco | demonym | guatemalteco | Guatemalan |
| -ense | demonym | estadounidense | American |
| -ano | demonym | peruano | Peruvian |
| -eño | demonym | sureño | southern |
| -és | demonym | francés | French |
| -cracia | describes power | democracia | democracy |
| -ezno | diminutive | lobezno | wolf cub |
Inflectional Spanish Suffixes
Los sufijos flexivos are fewer and easier to understand. Rather than creating a new word, inflectional suffixes change the gender and number of a word. If you’ve studied enough Spanish, you know that figuring out the right gender to use is random. Why do we say el agua instead of la agua? It’s normal to be confused about this, so check out our post on nouns in Spanish to learn some basic Spanish gender rules!
Here are some examples of inflectional suffixes:
-a
Usage
feminine singular suffix
Example 1
Gata — cat (feminine)
Sentence
Mi gata, Alicia, siempre rasguña las cortinas. — My cat, Alicia, always scratches the drapes.
Example 2
Pluma — feather
Sentence
Tengo una pluma de pavorreal en mi sala. — I have a peacock feather in my living room.
-o
Usage
masculine singular suffix
Example 1
Gato — cat (masculine)
Sentence
Mi gato, Toby, es negro. — My cat, Toby, is black.
Example 2
Seguro — safe
Sentence
Mi nuevo carro es muy seguro. — My new car is quite safe.
-e
Usage
Genderless suffix
Example 1
Presidente — president
Sentence
Ella será la primer mujer presidente. — She’ll be the first woman president.
Example 2
Cantante — singer
Sentence
Él practica para ser cantante. — He practices to become a singer.
-as
Usage
Feminine plural suffix
Example 1
Señoras — ladies
Sentence
Las señoras del lado juegan cartas los martes. — The ladies next door play cards on Tuesdays.
Example 2
Semillas — seeds, nuts
Sentence
Las semillas de marañón son mis favoritas. — Cashew nuts are my favorite.
-os
Usage
Masculine plural suffix
Example 1
Perros — dogs (masculine)
Sentence
Mi amiga tiene cinco perros — My friend has five dogs.
Example 2
Caballeros — gentlemen
Sentence
Los caballeros de la mesa seis pidieron más salsa picante. — The gentlemen at table six asked for more hot sauce.
-es
Usage
Masculine / neutral plural suffix
Example 1
Señores — gentlemen
Sentence
Buenas tardes, señores. Es un gusto verles. — Good afternoon, gentlemen. It’s a pleasure to see you.
Example 2
Elefantes — Elephants (neutral)
Sentence
Los elefantes mamá cuidan a sus bebés. — Elephant moms take care of their babies.
-s
Usage
Neutral plural suffix
Example 1
Bote — boat
Sentence
Mi bote de pesca es pequeño. — My fishing boat is small.
Example 2
Cumbre — summit
Sentence
Desde la cima de este volcán puedo ver las cumbres vecinas. — From the top of this volcano I can see the neighboring summits.
Here’s a summary table of the inflectional suffixes we saw today!
| Suffix | Gender | Number | Example | Translation |
| -a | feminine | singular | gata | cat (feminine) |
| -o | masculine | singular | gato | cat (masculine) |
| -e | neutral | singular | presidente | president |
| -as | feminine | plural | señoritas | ladies |
| -os | masculine | plural | caballeros | gentlemen |
| -es | masculine | plural | señores | gentlemen |
| -s | neutral | plural | botes | boats |
Keep Practicing!
Spanish, like most things in life, is mastered through practice. Learning a new language can be tough, but it’s much easier if you have the right resources and teachers to help you along the way. If you’re interested in speaking Spanish from day one, try taking a free class at Homeschool Spanish Academy with a native Spanish speaker!
Want to learn more Spanish grammar? Check out these helpful posts!
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- How to Use Spanish Verbs with Prepositions ‘Con,’ ‘En,’ and ‘Por’
- How to Form the Imperative Mood in Spanish
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