-um

denotes singular grammatical number of words of Latin origins


-ist

appended to a word, it yields a noun which signifies the subject who performs something related to that word


-ie

From Middle Dutch -ie, ultimately from Latin -ia.


-ie

(Netherlands, informal) a variant of -je, a suffix forming diminutive nouns and informal adjectives


-er

Afrikaans: -er

From Old Dutch *-āri, -ere, from Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz, borrowed from Latin -ārius. Cognate with Dutch -aar.

hoeden + -er → hoeder

spelen + -er → speler

schip + -er → schipper

Forms nouns for a person associated with something.


-er

From Old Dutch *-āri, -ere, from Proto-Germanic *warjaz.

Een Amsterdammer

Forms nouns denoting male inhabitants or residents of a place.

Het Groninger museum

Formings adjectives denoting something originating from a place.


-er

From Old Dutch -iro, -oro, from Proto-Germanic *-izô, *-ōzô.

Forms the comparative form of adjectives.


-er

From Middle Dutch -er, from Old Dutch -ro, from Proto-West Germanic *-eʀā, from Proto-Germanic *-aizōz.

onverrichter zake

de schoonheid ener vrouw

(archaic, except in fixed expressions) Used to form the (strong) feminine singular genitive.

te goeder trouw

(archaic, except in fixed expressions) Used to form the (strong) feminine singular dative.


-ing

head

-ing f (plural -ingen, diminutive -inkje or -ingetje)

-ingen (plural)
-inkje (diminutive)
-ingetje (diminutive)

Inherited from Middle Dutch -inge, from Old Dutch -inga, -unga, -onga, from Proto-West Germanic *-ingu, *-ungu, from Proto-Germanic *-ungō.

Creates action nouns referring to the performance of a verb, or the result thereof.


-ing

From Middle Dutch -inc, from Old Dutch -ing, from Proto-West Germanic *-ing, from Proto-Germanic *-ingaz.

(no longer productive) Forms nouns for a person originating from a place or family.


-ose

(chemistry) -ose (suffix used for sugars)

(pathology) -osis (suffix used for diseases)


-in

-in f (plural -innen, diminutive -innetje)

Afrikaans: -in

From Middle Dutch -inne, from Old Dutch *-inna, from Proto-Germanic *-inī.

Forms nouns for the female counterpart of something.


-s

Unknown. Not present in Old Dutch, which used -a from Proto-Germanic *-ōz as the plural ending. Possibly spread from Middle Low German -s, -es, from Old Saxon -os, -as, from Proto-Germanic *-ōs. Further etymology is unknown, but cognate with Old English -as (English -s).

bodem + -s → bodems

Used to form regular plurals of nouns that end in certain suffixes or syllables, such as -el, -er, -en, -em, -eur, -aar, -aard, diminutive -je, etc.

telefoon + -s → telefoons

Used to form irregular plurals of many other nouns, chiefly of foreign origin.


-s

From the genitive case of masculine and neuter nouns and adjectives, Middle Dutch -s, -es, from Old Dutch -es, -is, from Proto-Germanic *-as, *-is.

tijd → de tand des tijds

(archaic, except in fixed expressions) Used to form the genitive case of (strong) masculine and neuter nouns.

Pieter → Pieters jas

iemand → iemands jas

Used to form the genitive case of proper nouns and some pronouns.

lief → iets liefs

Used to form the partitive form of the adjective

stad → steeds


-s

From earlier -sch, from Middle Dutch -sch, from Old Dutch -isc, from Proto-West Germanic *-isk, from Proto-Germanic *-iskaz (from which also -isch via German), from Proto-Indo-European *-iskos.

winter (“winter”) + -s → winters (“wintery”)

spel (“game”) + -s → speels (“playful”)

Used to form adjectives of characteristic from nouns.

Engeland (“England”) + -s → Engels (“English”)

Finland (“Finland”) + -s → Fins (“Finnish”)

Used to form adjectives or language names from names of nations or countries.


-s

From earlier forms such as -sz, -se, -sen; all ultimately from the patronymic use of zoon with a connecting genitival interfix -s-. Bare -s as a patronymic may also represent an underlying patronymic use of dochter, as in the name Neeltje Jansdochter, which could reduce to Neeltje Jans by simple elision of -dochter.


-en

-en (infinitive)
-en n (gerund)
-de (first-person past singular)
-t (present second-person singular)
-de (past second-person singular)
-t (formal present second-person singular)
-de (formal past second-person singular)
-t (Flanders colloquial present second-person singular)
-t (archaic formal majestic present second-person singular)
-de (Flanders colloquial past second-person singular)
-de (archaic formal majestic past second-person singular)
-t (present singular third-person)
-de (past singular third-person)
-en (plural present)
-den (past plural)
-e (archaic present singular subjunctive)
-de (archaic past singular subjunctive)
-en (archaic plural present subjunctive)
-den (archaic past plural subjunctive)
-t (archaic imperative plural present)
-end (participle present)
ge- -d (participle past)
-en (infinitive)
-en n (gerund)
-te (first-person past singular)
-t (present second-person singular)
-te (past second-person singular)
-t (formal present second-person singular)
-te (formal past second-person singular)
-t (Flanders colloquial present second-person singular)
-t (archaic formal majestic present second-person singular)
-te (Flanders colloquial past second-person singular)
-te (archaic formal majestic past second-person singular)
-t (present singular third-person)
-te (past singular third-person)
-en (plural present)
-ten (past plural)
-e (archaic present singular subjunctive)
-te (archaic past singular subjunctive)
-en (archaic plural present subjunctive)
-ten (archaic past plural subjunctive)
-t (archaic imperative plural present)
-end (participle present)
ge- -t (participle past)

Primarily from weak class 2, from Middle Dutch -en, from Old Dutch -on, from Proto-West Germanic *-ōn, from Proto-Germanic *-ōną, from Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti (denominative) and *-h₂ti (factitive).

Forms verbs from nouns and adjectives. The stem of the word itself does not change.


-en

-en (feminine indefinite masculine positive singular)
-en (indefinite neuter positive singular)
-en (indefinite plural positive)
-en (definite positive)

From Middle Dutch -ijn, -in, -en, from Old Dutch *-īn, from Proto-Germanic *-īnaz.

Forms adjectives that indicate the substance from which something is made.


-en

From Middle Dutch -en, a merger of various Old Dutch infinitive suffixes:
* The strong infinitive -an, from Proto-Germanic *-aną.
* The weak class 1 infinitive -en, -ien, from Proto-Germanic *-janą, *-ijaną.
* The weak class 2 infinitive -on, from Proto-Germanic *-ōną.


-en

-en (adverbial positive predicative)
-ener (adverbial comparative predicative)
het -enst (adverbial predicative superlative)
het -enste (adverbial predicative superlative)
-en (feminine indefinite masculine positive singular)
-ener (comparative feminine indefinite masculine singular)
-enste (feminine indefinite masculine singular superlative)
-en (indefinite neuter positive singular)
-ener (comparative indefinite neuter singular)
-enste (indefinite neuter singular superlative)
-en (indefinite plural positive)
-ener (comparative indefinite plural)
-enste (indefinite plural superlative)
-en (definite positive)
-ener (comparative definite)
-enste (definite superlative)
-ens (partitive positive)
-eners (comparative partitive)

From Middle Dutch -en, from Old Dutch -an, from Proto-Germanic *-anaz, from Proto-Indo-European *-nós.

The ending of the past participle of strong verbs. This can also function as an adjective.


-en

From various case forms of the Germanic weak nominal inflection.

The ending of the plural form of many nouns.

groot + -en → de groten (“the great ones”)

Taken by adjectives used as nouns, to form the plural form of such nouns.

een + -en → ten enen male

(archaic, not productive) The ending of a number of weak case endings of the adjective or the article.

de hertog + -en → des hertogen, a genitive preserved in 's-Hertogenbosch

(archaic, not productive) The ending of the genitive case of certain nouns.


-en

From various first- and third-person plural forms of Germanic verbs.

The ending of the plural forms of verbs, in both present and past tense.


-en

From Old Dutch -ana, from Proto-West Germanic *-anā, from Proto-Germanic *-anē.

voor + -en → van voren (“from the front”)


-t

From Middle Dutch -t, -et from Old Dutch -it, -et, -ot a merger of the following historical inflectional suffixes:
# second person singular (originaly second person plural) present tense: Proto-West Germanic *-id, *-iþ, *-ōþ *-ēþ, from Proto-Germanic *-id, *-iþ, *-ōþ, *-aiþ
# second person singular (originaly second person plural) past tense forms of gij: Proto-West Germanic *-ud, from Proto-Germanic *-ud
# third person singular present tense: Proto-West Germanic *-idi, *-iþi, *-ōþ *-ēþ, from Proto-Germanic *-idi, *-iþi, *-ōþi, *-aiþi
# the plural form of the imperative: Proto-West Germanic *-id, *-iþ, *-ōþ *-ēþ, from Proto-Germanic *-id, *-iþ, *-ōþ, *-aiþ

redden - jij redt, hij redt

forms the second and third person singular of the present tense

breken - gij breekt - gij braakt

forms the gij - form in both present and past tense

staken - staakt!

(archaic) forms the plural form of the imperative


-t

bedanken - bedankt

forms the past participle of weak verbs the root of which ends in a voiceless consonant


-t

From Middle Dutch -t a merger of a variety of verbal noun forming suffixes:
# Old Dutch -t, -thi, from Proto-West Germanic *-þi, from Proto-Germanic *-þiz
# Old Dutch -t, -thu, Proto-West Germanic *-þu, from Proto-Germanic *-þuz
# Old Dutch ot, Proto-West Germanic *-ōþu, from Proto-Germanic *-ōþuz

geven

forms certain verbal nouns, mostly of strong verbs


-ier

appended to a word, it yields a noun which signifies the subject who performs something related to that word


-e

agent (“police officer”) + -e → agente (“female police officer”)

Used to form the female equivalent of occupations or other identifying traits.


-e

2e = tweede

8e = achtste

Placed after a number written in digits, to form its corresponding ordinal number.


-e

From various suffixes of the Middle Dutch [Term?] adjective inflection.

Used to create the inflected form of an adjective, which is used after a definite determiner, or before masculine, feminine, and plural nouns in general.


-e

volwassen (“adult”) + -e → volwassene (“an adult”)

Used to form nouns from adjectives, denoting a person that possesses the quality of the adjective.

Amerikaans (“American”) + -e → Amerikaanse (“a female American”)

Attached to geographical adjectives to indicate a female inhabitant.


-e

From Middle Dutch -e, from Old Dutch -i, from Proto-Germanic *-į̄.

koud (“cold”) + -e → koude (“the cold”)

(archaic, rare) Used to form abstract nouns from adjectives; the nouns express the quality of the adjective.


-e

From Middle Dutch -e, the ending of the first and third person singular subjunctive.

(archaic) Used to form the singular subjunctive of a verb.


-heid

Afrikaans: -heid

From Middle Dutch -heit, from Old Dutch -heid, from Proto-West Germanic *-haidu, from Proto-Germanic *haiduz. Cognate with German -heit, English -hood.

-ness, -ity, -hood; forms nouns from adjectives, denoting the abstract quality of the adjective.


-burger

Backformed from hamburger through influence of the English use of -burger as a suffix.


-ig

-ig (adverbial positive predicative)
-iger (adverbial comparative predicative)
het -igst (adverbial predicative superlative)
het -igste (adverbial predicative superlative)
-ige (feminine indefinite masculine positive singular)
-igere (comparative feminine indefinite masculine singular)
-igste (feminine indefinite masculine singular superlative)
-ig (indefinite neuter positive singular)
-iger (comparative indefinite neuter singular)
-igste (indefinite neuter singular superlative)
-ige (indefinite plural positive)
-igere (comparative indefinite plural)
-igste (indefinite plural superlative)
-ige (definite positive)
-igere (comparative definite)
-igste (definite superlative)
-igs (partitive positive)
-igers (comparative partitive)

From Middle Dutch -ich, from Old Dutch -ag, -ig, from Proto-West Germanic *-g, from Proto-Germanic *-agaz, *-īgaz, *-ugaz, each a variant of a common suffix *-gaz, from Proto-Indo-European *-kos.

roodharig

dikhuidig

tweebenig

-ed, having (when attached to a noun preceded by an adjective that describes the noun)


-st

From Proto-Germanic *-þiz. The -s- is the result of a wrong segmentation of stem and suffix of a noun in cases where the stem of the noun ended with -s-. For example: a word like Dutch vorst (“frost”) could be interpreted as vors+t or as vor+st. This suffix existed already in Gothic (𐌰𐌽𐍃𐍄𐍃 (ansts), from *𐌿𐌽𐌽𐌰𐌽 (*unnan)).

appended to the stem of a verb, this suffix yields a verbal noun; it is similar in function to the Dutch suffix -ing


-st

vreemd (“strange”) → vreemdst (“strangest”)

appended to an adjective this suffix forms the superlative


-ling

From a rebracketing of nouns with an -ing suffix. See above (English).

a suffix that describes a person (or other creature) in terms of a place of origin or a quality, as defined by the root to which it is added


-dom

From Middle Dutch -dom, from Old Dutch -duom, from Proto-West Germanic *-dōm, from Proto-Germanic *-dōmaz.
Cognate with English -dom, German -tum.

belonging to a domain or territory (e.g. groothertogdom (“grandduchy”); this sense is no longer productive)

quality or condition of the adjective stem (e.g. eigendom less productive than suffixes like -heid)


-ster

From Middle Dutch -ster, from Old Dutch *-istra, from Proto-West Germanic *-astrijā; cognate with Middle Low German -ester, Old English -estre. Perhaps also merging with Vulgar Latin -istria, borrowed from Ancient Greek -ιστρια (-istria).


-ator

used to form agent nouns, usually from verbs that have the ending -eren


-ant

appended to the stem of a verb, it yields a noun which signifies the subject who performs the action of that verb (see agent noun)


-age

→ Indonesian: -ase

kijven (“to altercate, dispute, wrangle”) + -age → kijvage (“squabbling”)

lekken (“to leak”) + -age → lekkage (“leakage”)

Creates nouns from verbs and from other nouns. It denotes:

tuig (“rig”) + -age → tuigage (“rigging”)

stellen + -age → stellage


-es

From Middle Dutch -esse, borrowed from Northern Old French -esse, from Late Latin -issa (as in abbātissa (“abbess”)).

zanger (“singer, songster”) → zangeres (“female singer; songstress, singeress”)

creates the female form of persons or occupations, as English -ess


-el

From Old Dutch *-el, from Proto-West Germanic *-il, from Proto-Germanic *-ilaz.

A now-unproductive suffix forming diminutive and instrument nouns.


-eur

From Middle French -eur, from Old French -eor, -or, from Latin -ator, -tor. In some senses, from Latin -or.


-archie

Borrowed from French -archie, from Latin -archia, from Ancient Greek ἀρχός (arkhós, “leader”).


-ent

-ent (Latinate suffix forming nouns and adjectives)


-air

From Middle French -aire, from Latin -ārium. In many cases borrowed or derived from French -aire.


-schap

From Middle Dutch -schap, from Old Dutch -skap, from Proto-West Germanic *-skapi, from Proto-Germanic *-skapiz.
Cognates
Cognate with German -schaft, Swedish -skap, West Frisian -skip, English -ship, Danish -skab,Norwegian -skap See English -ship and Old English -sciepe.


-lijk

Afrikaans: -lik

Jersey Dutch: -lik, -lek, -lā́ik

From Middle Dutch -lijc, from Old Dutch -līk, from Proto-West Germanic *-līk, from Proto-Germanic *-līkaz.
Cognate with English -ly, German -lich, Old Norse -líkr.

ridderlijk

persoonlijk

gevaarlijk

An adjectival and adverbial suffix -ly, -al, -ous

redelijk

An adjectival and adverbial suffix -able


-isch

-isch (adverbial positive predicative)
-ischer (adverbial comparative predicative)
het -ischt (adverbial predicative superlative)
het -ischte (adverbial predicative superlative)
-ische (feminine indefinite masculine positive singular)
-ischere (comparative feminine indefinite masculine singular)
-ischte (feminine indefinite masculine singular superlative)
-isch (indefinite neuter positive singular)
-ischer (comparative indefinite neuter singular)
-ischte (indefinite neuter singular superlative)
-ische (indefinite plural positive)
-ischere (comparative indefinite plural)
-ischte (indefinite plural superlative)
-ische (definite positive)
-ischere (comparative definite)
-ischte (definite superlative)
-isch (partitive positive)
-ischers (comparative partitive)

Afrikaans: -ies

→ Indonesian: -is

Borrowed from German -isch. The native Dutch cognates are -s, earlier -sch. The pronunciation /is/ is due to an earlier pronunciation standard, by which all German vowels were to be tense. (The contemporary German standard pronunciation is /ɪʃ/.) More at -ish.

fantastisch

utopisch


-tie

→ Indonesian: -si

actie

vakantie


-baar

From Middle Dutch -baer, from Old Dutch *-bāri, from Proto-Germanic *bēriz, which belongs to the verb *beraną (“to bear”). See English bear (verb).
Cognate with German -bar, Latin -fer.

eten (“to eat”) + -baar → eetbaar (“edible”)

-able, attaches to verbs to form an adjective that indicates that an action can be performed


-loos

A suffixed variant of loos, from Middle Dutch -loos, from Old Dutch -lōs, from Proto-West Germanic *laus, from Proto-Germanic *lausaz.


-iteit

Ultimately from Latin -itās.
Compare German -ität.


-ief

-ief (adverbial positive predicative)
-iever (adverbial comparative predicative)
het -iefst (adverbial predicative superlative)
het -iefste (adverbial predicative superlative)
-ieve (feminine indefinite masculine positive singular)
-ievere (comparative feminine indefinite masculine singular)
-iefste (feminine indefinite masculine singular superlative)
-ief (indefinite neuter positive singular)
-iever (comparative indefinite neuter singular)
-iefste (indefinite neuter singular superlative)
-ieve (indefinite plural positive)
-ievere (comparative indefinite plural)
-iefste (indefinite plural superlative)
-ieve (definite positive)
-ievere (comparative definite)
-iefste (definite superlative)
-iefs (partitive positive)
-ievers (comparative partitive)

Afrikaans: -ief

→ Indonesian: -if


-lijks

From Middle Dutch -lics, from Old Dutch -welikis (in the combination dagawelikis (“daily”) > dagelijks), from the genitive of welik (modern welk). The suffix was later conflated with the adjective suffix -lijk, and was respelled to reflect that.


-sel

From Middle Dutch -sel, from Old Dutch -isli, from Proto-West Germanic *-islī. Cognate with Old English -else, Swedish -else. Compare with -zel in Schnitzel.

toevoegen (“to add”) + -sel → toevoegsel (“addition, appendix”)
bakken (“to bake”) + -sel → baksel (“bake-age, something that has been baked”)
verschijnen (“to appear”) + -sel → verschijnsel (“appearance, something that appears”)

-age, -ion; Creates nouns indicating something which performs or has undergone an action, or something which results from the action.


-te

From Middle Dutch -ede, from Old Dutch -itha, from Proto-West Germanic *-iþu, from Proto-Germanic *-iþō. More at -th.
Middle Dutch -ede was shortened to -de in late Middle Dutch, and the suffix was devoiced to -te according to the 't kofschip rule. This voiceless variety was then taken to be the suffix proper and the voiced variety gradually fell out of use.

hoog + -te → hoogte

ruim + -te → ruimte

breed + -te → breedte

lang + -te → lengte

gewoon + -te → gewoonte

appended to an adjective, making a feminine noun which refers to the size or quality referred to by the adjective, cognate to -th.

behoeven + -te → behoefte

beloven + -te → belofte

appended to the stem of a verb, yields a feminine noun which refers to the object of such a verb.


-te

maken + -te → maakte

(after voiceless consonants) Alternative form of -de (forms the singular of the past tense of weak verbs)


-matig

The suffix is a combination of the element -maat- (measure, means) and the adjectival suffix -ig.

appended to a noun, this suffix yields an adjective whose meaning is "relating to the thing or concept referred to (by the stem)"


-ij

From Middle Dutch -ie, which is borrowed from Old French -ie, from Latin -ia, from Ancient Greek -ια (-ia). Cognate with German -ei, English -y. Dutch variants are: -ie (as in theorie) and -ije (as in Turkije)

Forms abstract nouns denoting a state or concept related to the person(s) referred to by the stem; equivalent of -y

Forms nouns denoting a business or an organization which is run by the kind of person(s) referred to by the stem; equivalent of -ery


-man

-man m (plural -mannen or -lieden or -lui or -mensen)

-mannen (plural)
-lieden (plural)
-lui (plural)
-mensen (plural)

sportman

zakenman

someone (implied male) who is an expert in an area

brandweerman

politieman

someone (implied male) who is employed or holds a position in an area

dolleman

landsman

someone (implied male) who has special characteristics relating to an area

Engelsman

Fransman

someone (implied male) who is derived from a particular nationality


-esse

From Middle Dutch -esse, borrowed from Old Northern French -esse, from Late Latin -issa (as in abbātissa (“abbess”)).

secretaris (“secretary, receptionist”) – secretaresse (“female secretary, female receptionist”)

creates the female form of some persons or occupations, as English -ess


-isme

Afrikaans: -isme

→ Indonesian: -isme

From Middle French -isme, itself from Latin -isma, from Latin -ismus, ultimately from Ancient Greek -ισμός (-ismós).


-ateur

From Latin -atōr, compare Spanish and Portuguese -ador.


-zaam

Afrikaans: -saam

From Middle Dutch -sam, later also -saem based on the inflected forms, from Old Dutch -sam, from Proto-Germanic *-samaz, from *samaz (“same”). Cognate with English -some, German -sam, Old Norse -samr.

moe (“tired”) + -zaam → moeizaam (“tiresome”)

Used to form adjectives/adverbs of base adjective's quality; compare English -able, English -some


-aar

From a suffix, which in Proto-Germanic times was borrowed from Latin -ārius. Doublet of -er and -der.

Alternative form of -er (used chiefly after unstressed syllables, with occasional exceptions such as leraar, winnaar)

someone who practices the action signified by the verb, the stem of which the suffix has been appended onto

something with which one can implement the action signified by the verb, the stem of which the suffix has been appended onto

tree of a particular type, appended to nouns denoting trees or the products or parts of trees


-nis

From Old Dutch -nissi, -nussi, from Proto-West Germanic *-nassī.


-waarts

From Middle Dutch -waerts < -weerts < -werts, from an adverbial genitive of Proto-Germanic *werdaz, byform of *wardaz (“turned to, facing”). Cognate with German -wärts, English -wards.

in or towards the direction referred to by the stem onto which this suffix has been appended; the resulting word is an adverb or adjective


-kunde

Forms nouns indicating a science, study or branch of knowledge.


-ante

appended to the stem of a verb, it yields a noun which signifies a female subject who performs the action of that verb (see agent noun)


-'s

foto + -'s → foto's

Alternative form of -s, used when a word ends in a long vowel that would turn short if suffixed without the apostrophe

Anna + -'s → Anna's


-ma

occurring in Dutch surnames of Frisian origin, ma is probably a shortened form of the old Frisian genitive plural -monna, 'the men's'. After this suffix had fallen into disuse in the Frisian language, it came to be considered as a suffix to form family names


-eren

From Middle Dutch -er, the dative plural plural of which was -eren (compare German -ern). The use for all cases in Modern Dutch is probably due to a desire to over-illustrate the plural (that is -er + -en, comparing the dialectal byform -ers). The simple form of the suffix can still be seen in many compounds such as kindertijd, and in the formation of plural diminutives (kindertjes, radertjes). Compare English -ren.

kind (“child”) + -eren → kinderen (“children”)

forms the plural of a limited group of nouns: blad, been, ei, gelid, gemoed, goed, hoen, kalf, kind, kleed, lam, lied, rad, rund, volk


-eren

-eren (infinitive)
-eren n (gerund)
-eer (first-person present singular)
-eerde (first-person past singular)
-eert (present second-person singular)
-eer (present second-person singular)
-eerde (past second-person singular)
-eert (formal present second-person singular)
-eerde (formal past second-person singular)
-eert (Flanders colloquial present second-person singular)
-eert (archaic formal majestic present second-person singular)
-eerde (Flanders colloquial past second-person singular)
-eerde (archaic formal majestic past second-person singular)
-eert (present singular third-person)
-eerde (past singular third-person)
-eren (plural present)
-eerden (past plural)
-ere (archaic present singular subjunctive)
-eerde (archaic past singular subjunctive)
-eren (archaic plural present subjunctive)
-eerden (archaic past plural subjunctive)
-eer (imperative present singular)
-eert (archaic imperative plural present)
-erend (participle present)
ge-eerd (participle past)

From Middle Dutch -eren, from Middle French -er or Old French -er, from Latin -āre.

part of the infinitive of verbs borrowed mainly from French and Latin, e.g. informeren from French informer (“to inform”).


-eren

frequentative verbal suffix; indicating repetition


-ares

A combination of the suffixes -aar and -es.

someone of feminine gender who practices the action signified by the verb, the stem of which the suffix has been appended onto


-linge

The suffix is a combination of the male suffix -ling and -e that renders it feminine.

a suffix that describes a female person in terms of a place of origin or a quality, as defined by the root to which it is added


-lings

The suffix is a combination of the suffix -ling and the adverb-forming -s.

Hij dook zijdelings weg.

describes a manner in which an action proceeds as defined by root to which it is added, both as adverb and as adjective


-achtig

From Middle Dutch -achtig, partly from -haftig, which consists of -haft and -ig; and partly continuing Middle Dutch -echt, from Proto-Germanic *-ihtaz, *-ahtaz. The suffix -haft stems from Proto-Germanic *haftaz (“tied, captured”). Compare German -haft, -haftig and Danish -agtig.


-ke

From earlier -ken, from Middle Dutch -ken, -kin, -kijn, from Old Dutch *ukīn, apparently representing Proto-West Germanic *-ukīn, a double diminutive, from *-uk.
The standard Dutch -tje and its variants are derived from -ke(n) through palatalization. Cognate with German -chen, Low German -ken, English -kin, -ock.

(colloquial, Southern) Synonym of -tje (“diminutive noun suffix”)


-sen

Alternative form of -s (“patronymic suffix”)


-logie

-logy, the (scientific) study of the subject field represented by the stem


-zinnig

endowed with the quality of the stem (used to form adjectives)


-pje

Alternative form of -tje, used for words ending on m


-tje

Afrikaans: -tjie

From earlier -tjen, from Middle Dutch -kijn, from Old Dutch -kīn, which is the ancestor of the suffixes -ke, -ken, -tje (and its subvarieties: -je, -etje, -pje, -kje) and Afrikaans -tjie ([ci]). All forms descend from the Proto-West Germanic *-ikīn, *-ukīn, itself a double diminutive produced by combining Proto-West Germanic *-ik, *-uk + *-īn. The change from k to tj is the result of a palatalization of -kijn in North Holland in the 13th or 14th century. Cf. also German -chen, English -kin.

Appended to a noun (or occasionally another part of speech), making it diminutive.


-weg

From weg (“gone, away”). The first word of this type is verreweg, attested in late Middle Dutch verre wech (“by far”, literally “far away”). Other words were subsequently formed by analogy with verreweg, but lacked a clear semantic link to weg (“gone, away”), thus transforming -weg into a true (and still productive) derivational suffix.

-ly, -wise; forms adverbs from adjectives.


-se

From the inflected form of the suffix -s, denoting characteristic.

Suffix denoting a female inhabitant of a place.


-de

Compare English -th in fourth and German -te in zweite.

twee + -de → tweede

negen + -de → negende

Forms ordinal numbers from cardinal numbers.


-de

Cognate with English -ed; derives from a Germanic verb form of to do.

spelen + -de → speelde

a suffix that forms the singular of the past tense of weak verbs


-de

From Middle Dutch -dī, from a contraction of the þ in Proto-Germanic *-aiþ (second person plural ending) and *jīz (“you (plural)”), somewhat comparable to Icelandic þér. Sometimes incorrectly seen as a remnant of Middle Dutch du (“you”).

inh

Gade vandaag naar huis?

Indicates second person in inversion, substituting or supplementing gij: you


-tig

From Middle Dutch -tech, -tich, from Old Dutch *-tig, from Proto-Germanic *tigiwiz, plural of *teguz (“group of ten”).

-ty; used to form numerals denoting multiples of ten


-lui

From earlier luide or luiden, cognate with German Leute.

sportman (“sportsman”) → sportlui (“athletes”)

brandweerman (“fireman”) → brandweerlui (“firefighters”)

alternative plural form of Dutch words suffixed with -man, -vrouw or -mens


-lei

From Old French lei (“law, custom”), possibly through Middle High German lei.

means sort, kind, type; added to numerals or some pronouns: indicates the specified number of types


-eus

ambitie → ambitieus


-waardig

From waardig (worthy); which itself consists of waard + -ig.

appended to verb stems, adjectives or nouns to express their capacity to complete the action specified in the said elements; -able, -ible, ...worthy


-loog

→ Indonesian: -log

-logist, a person who specialize in the subject field specified in the stem


-der

Alternative form of -er, used with words ending in -r, and sometimes -l and -n.


-erig

By analogy of many words ending in -er that were suffixed with -ig.

-y, forming adjectives from nouns or verb stems


-jarig

-year-old, -year, -yearly; suffixed to numerals to create an adjective that indicates something of a certain age or something that happens at a certain interval.


-daags

-day, -daily; suffixed to numerals to create an adjective that indicates something that happens at a certain interval.


-iek

sympathie + -iek → sympathiek

-ic; forms adjectives from nouns with the meaning "of or pertaining to"; used mostly to calque words of Latinate origin.

acrobaat + -iek → acrobatiek

-ics; forms nouns pertaining to a field of study


-sch

Archaic form of -s (“suffix forming adjectives”).


-zelf

Ik waste mezelf.

Hij is vandaag zichzelf niet.

Forms reflexive object forms of the personal pronouns.

Veel mensen hebben een hond, maar ikzelf heb liever een kat.

Many people have a dog, but I myself would rather have a cat.

Forms intensive subject forms of the personal pronouns.


-atie

From the Latin suffix -ātiō. This suffix was formed from verbs of the first conjugation (-āre), and is therefore a variety of the more general -tiō (from which Dutch -tie).

alimenteren + -atie → alimentatie (“alimentation”)

Forms action nouns. Many such nouns derive from or are otherwise paired with verbs of Latinate origin that are suffixed with -eren. This suffix is then replaced by -atie.

accumuleren + -atie → accumulatie (“accumulation”)

hallucineren + -atie → hallucinatie (“hallucination”)


-teit

From Middle Dutch -tet, -teit, from (Northern) Old French -teit, -tet (modern French -té) from Latin -tātem, accusative of -tās.

a productive suffix that forms a noun (especially an abstract noun) from an adjective, akin to the English suffixes -ity and -ty


-vrouw

head

-vrouw f (plural -vrouwen or -lieden or -lui or -mensen)

-vrouwen (plural)
-lieden (plural)
-lui (plural)
-mensen (plural)

sportvrouw

someone (implied female) who is an expert in an area

politievrouw

someone (implied female) who is employed or holds a position in an area

landsvrouw

someone (implied female) who has special characteristics relating to an area


-lieden

From Dutch lieden. Cognate with German Leute, English lede.

Alternative plural form of Dutch words suffixed with -man or -vrouw or -mens


-mannen

sportman (“sportsman”) → sportmannen (“sportsmen”)

brandweerman (“fireman”) → brandweermannen (“firemen”)


-voud

From Middle Dutch -vout, from Old Dutch -falt, from Proto-Germanic *-faldaz.


-haftig

From dated German -haftig, extended form of -haft, generalised in Dutch by analogy with native -achtig.


-erij

From Old French -erie, a suffix forming abstract nouns. The suffix first occurs in loans from French, but became productive within Dutch. Similar to English -ery, Afrikaans -ery, German -erei, French -erie.

plagerij (“tease”), vrijerij (“courtship”)

brouwerij (“brewery”), mederij (“meadery”)

a place associated with an activity or profession

boekerij (“library”)

a place containing a collection, class or group


-erik

Suffix used with adjectives to indicate a person with a certain quality.


-aard

From Middle Dutch -aert, from Old Dutch *ard, from Frankish *ardi, from Proto-Germanic *ardiz (“characteristic, quality, nature”). Compare Old French -art. Alternatively from Frankish *-hard (“hardy, bold”), from Proto-Germanic *harduz (“hard”).


-erd

suffix used with adjectives to indicate a person with a certain quality


-ganger

From the noun ganger, which is now rarely used.


-ees

From Old French -eis, from Latin -ēnsis.

Chinees, Katangees

-ese: Used to form adjectives and nouns describing things and characteristics of a city, region, or country, such as the people and the language spoken by these people


-oom

head

-oom n (plural -omen, diminutive -oompje)


-graaf

From Ancient Greek γράφω (gráphō, “I write”).


-aat

Ultimately from Latin -ātus, -āta, and -ātum, the ending of the perfect participle of verbs of the first conjugation.


-oot

-ote, a suffix used to indicate people living in certain areas


-iet

From French -ite, from Old French, from Latin -ītēs.


-grafie

From French -graphie, from Latin -graphia, from Ancient Greek γράφω (gráphō).


-geen

From Ancient Greek -γενής (-genḗs, “producer of”).


-fiel

From Latin -phila, from Ancient Greek φίλος (phílos, “dear, beloved”).


-antie

Via French -ance, from Latin -antia, -entia.


-meer

From Ancient Greek μέρος (méros, “part”).


-sz

Alternative form of -s (“patronymic suffix”)


-abel

accepteren (“to accept”) + -abel → acceptabel (“acceptable”)

comfort (“comfort”) + -abel → comfortabel (“comfortable”)

-able, -ible, attaches to verbs ending in -eren or to nouns to form adjectives


-elen

From Middle Dutch -elen, from Old Dutch -lon, from Proto-Germanic *-lōną.

frequentative verbal suffix; indicating repetition


-lijn

From Middle Dutch -line (such as vogheline (“little bird”)), and it initially arose from -ing in words ending in -l. Cognate to German -lein (possibly influenced by the High German forms).

(obsolete) suffix used to create a diminutive form; e.g., vogel → vogelijn


-drecht

From Middle Dutch -drecht.
Van Berkel and Samplonius (2006) derive this element from *drifti- (“creek, waterway”) (related to modern Dutch drijven (“to float”), following earlier scholars.
Van Osta (1996) however considers this unlikely for various reasons; for example, the ft to cht change that this view supposes is contradicted by the fact that in earlier attestations and in dialects where this change did not happen until much later, -cht is always found instead of the expected -ft. In his conclusion he follows Pottmeyer (1929) in his view that the element likely is to be reconstructed as a noun derived from *draganą (“to pull, draw, carry”), but unlike Pottmeyer (who interprets it as a portage), Van Osta believes it refers to a waterway with a towpath.
The old explanation, that -drecht is derived from Latin traiectum (which is the case for the toponymic element -trecht in Utrecht for example), has been rejected by many scholars (due to the unexplained change of tr to dr, among other reasons), though the claim is still repeated by some authors. Van Osta treats this at length.
Also see hypotheses in Ancient Belgian language which suggest substrate influence.

a common element in Dutch placenames. The exact meaning is contested; see etymology


-loze

inflection of -loos:
masculine/feminine singular attributive

inflection of -loos:
definite neuter singular attributive


-ste

acht + -ste → achtste

twintig + -ste → twintigste

Forms ordinal numbers from cardinal numbers.


-cratie

Ultimately from Ancient Greek -κρατία (-kratía), from κράτος (krátos, “power, rule”).


-mensen

sportmens (“sportsperson”) → sportmensen (“sportspeople”)

brandweermens (“firefighter”) → brandweermensen (“firefighters”)


-vrouwen

sportvrouw (“sportswoman”) → sportvrouwen (“sportswomen”)

brandweervrouw (“firewoman”) → brandweervrouwen (“firewomen”)


-mens

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-mens m (plural -mensen or -lieden or -lui)

-mensen (plural)
-lieden (plural)
-lui (plural)

sportmens

zakenmens

brandweermens

politiemens

someone who is employed or holds a position in an area


-halve

gemak (“convenience”) + -s + -halve → gemakshalve (“conveniently”)

used to form adverbs from abstract nouns


-vuldig

From -vuld, a variant form of -voud, with the suffix -ig. Compare gulden / gouden.


-egge

-egge f (plural -egges, diminutive -eggetje)

Forms nouns for the female counterpart of something.


-iseren

-iseren (past -iseerde, past participle -iseerd)

-iseerde (past)
-iseerd (participle past)


-tjes

The suffix is a combination of the diminutive suffix -tje and an adjective/adverb-forming suffix -s.

zacht → zachtjes (“softly”)

dol → dolletjes (“super, amazing”)

warm → warmpjes (“comfortably warm”)

added to an adjective it creates an adverb (or rarely another adjective) with a connotation of familiarity and informality