-um

generally unproductive suffix found in neuter nouns of Latin origin


-um

As a variant of -heim through reduction to [əm] and subsequent backing. Compare -em. This is the only origin in most areas, but along the North Sea coast, where the suffix is most frequent, it sometimes goes back to Old Frisian -em, -um (dative plural ending), equivalent to German -en as in -hausen. Distinguishing both origins is often impossible, however.

der

(unproductive) a placename suffix, often an alternative form of -heim


-ist

de-noun

-ist m (weak, genitive -isten, plural -isten, feminine -istin)

-isten (genitive)
-isten (plural)
-istin (feminine)

Borrowed from Latin -ista, reinforced by French -iste.

Piano (“piano”) + -ist → Pianist (“pianist”)

Anarchie (“anarchy”) + -ist → Anarchist (“anarchist”)

Putsch (“putsch, coup”) + -ist → Putschist (“putschist, coupist”)


-tion

head

-tion f (genitive -tion, plural -tionen)


-gate

Borrowed from English -gate, from Watergate.


-ese

de-noun

-ese m (weak, genitive -esen, plural -esen, feminine -esin)

-esen (genitive)
-esen (plural)
-esin (feminine)
-ese (nominative singular)
-esen (definite nominative plural)
-esen (genitive singular)
-esen (definite genitive plural)
-esen (dative singular)
-esen (dative definite plural)
-esen (accusative singular)
-esen (accusative definite plural)

Presumably from Italian -ese, Portuguese -ese and English -ese + -e.

Forms nouns indicating an inhabitant of a place.


-er

-er m (strong, genitive -ers, plural -er)

-ers (genitive)
-er (plural)
-er (nominative singular)
-er (definite nominative plural)
-ers (genitive singular)
-er (definite genitive plural)
-er (dative singular)
-ern (dative definite plural)
-er (accusative singular)
-er (accusative definite plural)

From Middle High German -ære, -er, from Old High German -āri, from Proto-West Germanic *-ārī, from Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz, further etymology unknown but possibly from Latin -ārius.

arbeiten (“to work”) + -er → Arbeiter (“worker”)

bohren (“to drill”) + -er → Bohrer (“drill”)

Forms agent nouns etc. from verbs, suffixed to the verb stem.

husten (“to cough”) + -er → Huster (“single cough, instance of coughing”)

hüpfen (“to hop”) + -er → Hüpfer (“hop, instance of hopping”)

16 + -er → 16er (“the 16, the 16er, e.g. a bus, a football player, etc.”)

200 + -er → 200er (“a 200, the 200s, e.g. a 200-euro note, or the list items 200 to 299, etc.”)

1990 + -er → 1990er (“1990s, the years 1990 to 1999”)

Indicates something defined by a number; in the plural often all numbers with the same first digits


-er

From Middle High German -er, a plural ending for some neuter nouns.


-er

From Middle High German -ære, -er, from Old High German -āri, from Proto-Germanic *warjaz.

Forms nouns indicating an inhabitant of a place, or a person originating from a place.


-er

Probably originated from the prepositioned genitive plural of etymology 3 above, e.g.: der Berliner Pfannkuchen = "the Berliners’ pancake", and then "the Berlin(er) pancake", reanalysed as an adjective instead of a noun and seen as being in the nominative singular (due to the ambiguity of the definite article der, which is both masculine nominative and plural genitive).

Forms invariable adjectives from place names, with a genitival meaning, indicating origin from or association with that place.


-er

lang + -er → länger

schön + -er → schöner

exakt + -er → exakter

Forms the comparative form of adjectives.


-ing

Borrowed from English -ing. Doublet of native -ung.

Extremsparing

Cloud-Abwasching

cloud dish washing: dish washing following the cloud principle

Typen von Anglizismen: von der heilago geist bis Extremsparing – aufgezeigt anhand ausgewählter lexikographischer Kategorisierungen.
Types of anglicisms: from der heilago geist [Old High German for “the Holy Spirit”] to extreme saving – illustrated by means of selected lexicographic categorisations.

2001, Ulrich Busse, Typen von Anglizismen, in: Gerhard von Stickel (ed.), Neues und Fremdes im deutschen Wortschatz, De Gruyter, Berlin/Boston, p. 131-155 [only a mentioning]

Beim Cloud-Abwasching wird das schmutzige Geschirr einfach ausgelagert, damit es keinen Speicherplatz in der Spüle wegnimmt und jeder darauf zugreifen kann, der die Lizenz zum Abwasch hat.

2012, Hans Zippert, “Wir verlagern das ganze Leben in die Internetwolke”, in Website of Die Welt:

In cloud dish washing, the dirty crockery is simply swapped out, so it doesn’t take up any memory in the kitchen sink and everybody who has a wash-up licence can access it.

(productive, colloquial, humorous) Used to form verbal nouns which jocularly imply that something is a sport, trend, or fashionable concept.


-oid

Borrowed from Latin -oīdēs, from Ancient Greek -οειδής (-oeidḗs), from εἶδος (eîdos).


-al

pertaining to, using; adjectival suffix appended to nouns


-ar

From Latin -arius. Doublet of -er and -är.

Mission + -ar → Missionar


-ose

Via French, from Ancient Greek -ωσις (-ōsis).


-graph

LL-Q188 (deu)-Frank C. Müller--graph.wav

Originally in borrowings from Latin terms ending in -graphus such as Geograph from geōgraphus


-in

→ Esperanto: -ino

From Middle High German -inne, -in, from Old High German -inna, -in, from Proto-West Germanic *-ini, from Proto-Germanic *-inī.

Pastor (“pastor”) + -in → Pastorin (“wife of a pastor”)

creates the female form for many nouns for living beings; umlaut usually occurs in monosyllables, but rarely in polysyllables

Schwarz (proper noun) → Schwarzin (a female person with the name Schwarz, that is the wife or daughter of someone named Schwarz')

Schwartzin, (Sibylle) […] war eine Tochter Christian Schwartzens, […] gebohren 1621 […] und starb 1638 den 13 Jul.

1743, Grosses vollständiges Universal Lexicon aller Wissenschaften und Künste, Welche bishero durch menschlichen Verstand und Witz erfunden und verbessert worden […] Fünf und Dreyßigster Band Schle-Schwa, Leipzig & Hallle, page 2007:

Schwartz (Sibylle [given name]) […] was a daughter of Christian Schwartz, […] born in 1621 […] and died on 13th July 1638.

(dated) creates female personal names (for wives and daughters)

Arbeitgeber (“employer”) + -in → Arbeitgeberin (“employer (female person or sexless company)”)

Autor (“author”) + -in → Autorin (“author (female person, i.e. a female author or authoress, or sexless company, abstract thing)”)

Gott (“god”) + -in → Göttin (“female god, goddess”)

Hund (“dog”) + -in → Hündin (“female dog, she-dog, bitch”)

Katze f (“cat”) + -in → Kätzin (“female cat, she-cat”)

Sänger (“singer”) + -in → Sängerin (“female singer”)

Pastor (“pastor”) + -in → Pastorin (“female pastor”)


-in

From Latin -īnus, from Ancient Greek -ινος (-inos).


-in

A suffix found in place names of Slavic origin, especially in northeastern Germany


-s

Inherited from Middle High German -es, from Old High German [Term?].

used to form the genitive singular of most masculine nouns, neuter nouns, and proper nouns of all genders

-ens

proper nouns ending with a sibilant consonant; dated

-'s

proper nouns; correct in certain cases, but often seen as a misspelling


-s

Probably derived from the genitive -s (etymology 1), but developed into a noun-forming suffix in German Low German and Central German dialects.

klacken + -s → Klacks

schnappen + -s → Schnaps


-s

Borrowed from Middle Low German [Term?]. Reinforced by the fact that French and English also use -s as a plural suffix.

-ens

family names ending with a sibilant consonant

Used to form the plurals of personal names, particularly family names.


-en

From Middle High German -en, a merger of various terminations in Old High German reflecting different conjugational patterns, namely -an, -ōn, -en (-ien), and -nen, from Proto-Germanic *-aną, *-ōną, *-janą, *-āną, and *-naną.

-n

after -er, -el; in sein, tun, and some dated/poetic/colloquial forms such as gehn, stehn

-'n

alternatively in the dated/poetic/colloquial forms

managen

Accordingly, the suffix is also applied to verbs borrowed from other languages, and may be understood as the suffix for denominal verbs in general (actually -∅ derivation or conversion plus an inflectional suffix that happens to be part of the citation form of a German verb). Foul + -en → foulen (“to foul”)

A suffix of verbs in their infinitive form.

wir kommen

sie kommen

A suffix indicating the 1st and 3rd person plural forms (except the present indicative sind of sein).

fallen + ge- and -en → gefallen

A suffix appended to strong verb stems to form the past participle, usually together with ge-.


-en

From Middle High German -en, a merger of various terminations in Old High German reflecting different declensional patterns.

-n

after -er, -el in nouns, but not usually in adjectives; in Herrn

a suffix appended to some nouns in all of their plural forms; these nouns are so-called “weak” or “mixed” nouns; they are most often feminine, often masculine, rarely neuter

a suffix appended to weak masculine nouns in all oblique cases of the singular, and to some mixed nouns in the singular dative and accusative

a suffix appended to most other nouns, the so-called “strong” nouns, in their plural dative

a suffix (in fact, the most common declensional ending) which is appended to determiners, adjectives, and participles, for multiple forms of all grammatical cases, both singular and plural


-en

From Middle High German -en, from Old High German -īn, from Proto-Germanic *-īnaz.

Gold (“gold”, noun) + -en → golden (“gold, golden”, adjective)

A suffix which is used to create adjectives that most often refer to materials


-en

From the Ancient Greek -ηνός (-ēnós) feminine patronymic suffix.


-t

From Middle High German -et, from a merger of several Old High German conjugational endings, from Proto-Germanic, from Proto-Indo-European.

lachen (“to laugh”) + -t → er lacht (“he laughs”)

spielen (“to play”) + -t → sie spielt (“she plays”)

third-person singular
third-person singular#English

Verb suffix for the third-person singular of the present tense.


-t

lachen (“to laugh”) + -t → ihr lacht (“you [all] laugh”)

spielen (“to play”) + -t → ihr spielt (“you [all] play”)

second-person plural
second-person plural#English

Verb suffix for the second-person plural of the present and past tenses.


-t

lachen (“to laugh”) + -t → gelacht (“laughed”)

passieren (“to happen”) + -t → passiert (“happened”)

verurteilen (“to convict”) + -t → verurteilt (“convicted”)

Verb suffix for the past participle of weak verbs, together with the prefix ge- if the first syllable of the verb stem is stressed. See ge- -t for more.


-is

Norwegian Bokmål: -iss

A + -is → Ais (“A sharp”)

C + -is → Cis (“C sharp”)

D + -is → Dis (“D sharp”)

E + -is → Eis (“E sharp”)

F + -is → Fis (“F sharp”)

G + -is → Gis (“G sharp”)

H + -is → His (“B sharp”)


-ier

Kneipe + -ier → Kneipier

Pleite + -ier → Pleitier

A noun-forming suffix, used especially to render similar suffixes in borrowings from French.


-i

From Proto-West Germanic *-ij-, *-j- (diminutive suffix). Compare Dutch -je (diminutive suffix), English -y (diminutive suffix).

Hans + -i → Hansi

Papa (“dad, daddy”) + -i → Papi (“pops”)

Schatz (“sweetheart, darling”) + -i → Schatzi

Forms pet names from given names, kinship terms, and terms of address.

schlaff (“slack; weary”) + -i → Schlaffi (“weak, tired person”) (derogatory)

brummen (“to hum”) + -i → Brummi (“rig, truck”)

(endearing, sometimes derogatory) Forms nouns from adjectives and verbs denoting someone characterized by that word.

Pullover + -i → Pulli

Schokolade + -i → Schoki


-keit

-keit f (genitive -keit, plural -keiten)

-keit (genitive)
-keiten (plural)
-keit (nominative singular)
-keiten (definite nominative plural)
-keit (genitive singular)
-keiten (definite genitive plural)
-keit (dative singular)
-keiten (dative definite plural)
-keit (accusative singular)
-keiten (accusative definite plural)

Result of an etymologically wrong segmentation (rebracketing) of two suffixes in Upper German dialects of Middle High German: -ec (modern -ig) and -heit: -ec-heit was interpreted as -e-keit. Later this phenomenon spread to other suffixes, and even to Central German dialects, in which the equivalents of -ig had never been pronounced with a final [k]-sound. (Compare the modern standard pronunciation of -ig [-ɪç].) However, in some northern dialects of Central German, like Ripuarian, -keit is still absent or has only recently been introduced from standard German. Compare Saterland Frisian -igaid.

wirksam (“effective”) + -keit → Wirksamkeit (“effectiveness”)

Etymological Dictionary of the German Language

de:Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache


-e

From Middle High German -e, from Old High German -ī, from Proto-Germanic *-į̄.

stark (“strong”) + -e → Stärke (“strength”)

(now chiefly unproductive) used to form nouns from adjectives, sometimes with umlaut of the root vowel; the nouns express the quality of the adjective


-e

From Middle High German -e, a merger of various Old High German vocalic endings.
Further information on -e as noun plural suffix
The plural suffix -e derives from a merger of Old High German -a and -i. Neuters usually remained unchanged in the nominative and accusative plural. The spread of the suffix to the neuter occurred by analogy with the masculine, whose declension was otherwise identical. Moreover, there were neuters ending in -e already in the singular; this -e tended to be apocopated, leading to reinterpretation of the fuller form as the plural (e.g. Middle High German stücke > modern Stück, pl. Stücke). Another mainly neuter plural suffix is -er, which see.
Umlaut originally occurred only when the Old High German ending had been -i, but from the High Middle Ages up to the present there has been a steady trend towards analogical expansion of umlaut in masculines, to the degree that umlautable monosyllables with umlautless plural have become rare (e.g. Hunde, Tage). In feminines, umlaut was seldom expanded, but the umlautless forms have switched to the weak suffix -en; therefore the e-plural in feminines is now always accompanied by umlaut (excepted are the suffixes -nis and -sal, both of which vary between feminine and neuter gender). Neuters are not umlauted (the only exception being Floß).

Baum (“tree”) + -e → Bäume (“trees”)

Nacht (“night”) + -e → Nächte (“nights”)

Wort (“word”) + -e → Worte (“words”)

used to form the plural of some nouns; in masculines and feminines, but not in neuters, usually triggering umlaut of the root vowel

das Haus (“house”) → dem Hause (usually: dem Haus)

(chiefly archaic) used to form the dative of strong masculine and neuter nouns ending in a stressed syllable

schön → die schöne Frau

used to form various declined adjective forms, notably the nominative/accusative feminine singular

gehen (geh- + -en) → ich gehe (colloquial or poetic: ich geh)

used to form the 1st person singular present indicative (and subjunctive) of a verb

gehen → er gehe

used to form the 3rd person singular present subjunctive of a verb

ging → ich ginge, er ginge

used to form the 1st and 3rd person singular past subjunctive of a verb


-e

-e m (weak, genitive -en, plural -en, feminine -in)

-en (genitive)
-en (plural)
-in (feminine)
-e (nominative singular)
-en (definite nominative plural)
-en (genitive singular)
-en (definite genitive plural)
-en (dative singular)
-en (dative definite plural)
-en (accusative singular)
-en (accusative definite plural)

Masculine weak noun endings attached to a stem, diachronically from Proto-Germanic *-ô. -in is used as a female equivalent, see there.

schwedisch or Schweden→ Schwede, Schwedin

Latin catholicus → Katholik, Katholikin

jung → Junge

chinesisch → Chinese, Chinesin (surface analysis)

Schwaben → Schwabe, Schwäbin

zero derivation; for the masculine nominative singular form, other forms are the same

derives nouns referring to a person with a trait specified by the stem, from adjective or noun stems, often from toponyms


-erl

Uncertain. Perhaps from Middle High German -erlīn, -ærelīn, equivalent to -er + -el (diminutive suffix).

Häfn + -erl → Häferl

(Bavaria, Austria, chiefly informal) suffix used to create a diminutive form


-lein

head

-lein n (plural -lein or -erlein or -leins)

-lein (plural)
-erlein (plural)
-leins (plural)

From Middle High German -elīn, -līn, from Old High German -ilī, -ilīn, from Proto-West Germanic *-ilīn. Cognate to Dutch -lijn.

suffix used to create a diminutive form; e.g. Kind → Kindlein


-chen

-chen n (genitive -chens, plural -chen or -erchen)

-chens (genitive)
-chen (plural)
-erchen (plural)

after fricatives like s. Never after a vowel or sonorant.

From Middle High German -echen, -ichen, from Old High German *-ihīn, *-uhīn, from Proto-West Germanic *-ukīn.
Native to the Central German dialects, -chen has widely replaced the southern-based -lein in standard usage. Cognate with German Low German -ken, -ke as well as Dutch -tje and -ken. More at -kin.

Hund (“dog”) + -chen → Hündchen (“little dog”)

Backe (“cheek”) + -chen → Bäckchen (“little cheek”)

Nicker (“nap”) + -chen → Nickerchen (“catnap”)

nowadays the most common suffix to create a diminutive form


-ung

-ung (genitive)
-ungen (plural)
-ung (nominative singular)
-ungen (definite nominative plural)
-ung (genitive singular)
-ungen (definite genitive plural)
-ung (dative singular)
-ungen (dative definite plural)
-ung (accusative singular)
-ungen (accusative definite plural)

From Middle High German -ung, -unge, from Old High German -unga, from Proto-West Germanic *-ungu, from Proto-Germanic *-ungō. More at English -ing.

rechnen (“to reckon”) + -ung → die Rechnung (“the reckoning, the bill”)

entdecken (“to discover”) + -ung → die Entdeckung (“the discovery”)

erinnern (“to remind”) + -ung → die Erinnerung (“the reminder, the remembrance, the memory”)

-ing; forms nouns from verbs, usually describing either an event in which an action is carried out, or the result of that action.


-ig

er ist -ig (masculine predicative singular)
sie ist -ig (feminine predicative singular)
es ist -ig (neuter predicative singular)
sie sind -ig (plural predicative)
-iger (masculine nominative singular strong without-article)
-ige (feminine nominative singular strong without-article)
-iges (neuter nominative singular strong without-article)
-ige (nominative plural strong without-article)
-igen (genitive masculine singular strong without-article)
-iger (feminine genitive singular strong without-article)
-igen (genitive neuter singular strong without-article)
-iger (genitive plural strong without-article)
-igem (dative masculine singular strong without-article)
-iger (dative feminine singular strong without-article)
-igem (dative neuter singular strong without-article)
-igen (dative plural strong without-article)
-igen (accusative masculine singular strong without-article)
-ige (accusative feminine singular strong without-article)
-iges (accusative neuter singular strong without-article)
-ige (accusative plural strong without-article)
der -ige (definite includes-article masculine nominative singular weak)
die -ige (definite feminine includes-article nominative singular weak)
das -ige (definite includes-article neuter nominative singular weak)
die -igen (definite includes-article nominative plural weak)
des -igen (definite genitive includes-article masculine singular weak)
der -igen (definite feminine genitive includes-article singular weak)
des -igen (definite genitive includes-article neuter singular weak)
der -igen (definite genitive includes-article plural weak)
dem -igen (dative definite includes-article masculine singular weak)
der -igen (dative definite feminine includes-article singular weak)
dem -igen (dative definite includes-article neuter singular weak)
den -igen (dative definite includes-article plural weak)
den -igen (accusative definite includes-article masculine singular weak)
die -ige (accusative definite feminine includes-article singular weak)
das -ige (accusative definite includes-article neuter singular weak)
die -igen (accusative definite includes-article plural weak)
ein -iger (includes-article indefinite masculine mixed nominative singular)
eine -ige (feminine includes-article indefinite mixed nominative singular)
ein -iges (includes-article indefinite mixed neuter nominative singular)
-igen (indefinite mixed nominative plural)
keine -igen (includes-article indefinite mixed nominative plural)
eines -igen (genitive includes-article indefinite masculine mixed singular)
einer -igen (feminine genitive includes-article indefinite mixed singular)
eines -igen (genitive includes-article indefinite mixed neuter singular)
-igen (genitive indefinite mixed plural)
keiner -igen (genitive includes-article indefinite mixed plural)
einem -igen (dative includes-article indefinite masculine mixed singular)
einer -igen (dative feminine includes-article indefinite mixed singular)
einem -igen (dative includes-article indefinite mixed neuter singular)
-igen (dative indefinite mixed plural)
keinen -igen (dative includes-article indefinite mixed plural)
einen -igen (accusative includes-article indefinite masculine mixed singular)
eine -ige (accusative feminine includes-article indefinite mixed singular)
ein -iges (accusative includes-article indefinite mixed neuter singular)
-igen (accusative indefinite mixed plural)
keine -igen (accusative includes-article indefinite mixed plural)
er ist -iger (comparative masculine predicative singular)
sie ist -iger (comparative feminine predicative singular)
es ist -iger (comparative neuter predicative singular)
sie sind -iger (comparative plural predicative)
-igerer (comparative masculine nominative singular strong without-article)
-igere (comparative feminine nominative singular strong without-article)
-igeres (comparative neuter nominative singular strong without-article)
-igere (comparative nominative plural strong without-article)
-igeren (comparative genitive masculine singular strong without-article)
-igerer (comparative feminine genitive singular strong without-article)
-igeren (comparative genitive neuter singular strong without-article)
-igerer (comparative genitive plural strong without-article)
-igerem (comparative dative masculine singular strong without-article)
-igerer (comparative dative feminine singular strong without-article)
-igerem (comparative dative neuter singular strong without-article)
-igeren (comparative dative plural strong without-article)
-igeren (accusative comparative masculine singular strong without-article)
-igere (accusative comparative feminine singular strong without-article)
-igeres (accusative comparative neuter singular strong without-article)
-igere (accusative comparative plural strong without-article)
der -igere (comparative definite includes-article masculine nominative singular weak)
die -igere (comparative definite feminine includes-article nominative singular weak)
das -igere (comparative definite includes-article neuter nominative singular weak)
die -igeren (comparative definite includes-article nominative plural weak)
des -igeren (comparative definite genitive includes-article masculine singular weak)
der -igeren (comparative definite feminine genitive includes-article singular weak)
des -igeren (comparative definite genitive includes-article neuter singular weak)
der -igeren (comparative definite genitive includes-article plural weak)
dem -igeren (comparative dative definite includes-article masculine singular weak)
der -igeren (comparative dative definite feminine includes-article singular weak)
dem -igeren (comparative dative definite includes-article neuter singular weak)
den -igeren (comparative dative definite includes-article plural weak)
den -igeren (accusative comparative definite includes-article masculine singular weak)
die -igere (accusative comparative definite feminine includes-article singular weak)
das -igere (accusative comparative definite includes-article neuter singular weak)
die -igeren (accusative comparative definite includes-article plural weak)
ein -igerer (comparative includes-article indefinite masculine mixed nominative singular)
eine -igere (comparative feminine includes-article indefinite mixed nominative singular)
ein -igeres (comparative includes-article indefinite mixed neuter nominative singular)
-igeren (comparative indefinite mixed nominative plural)
keine -igeren (comparative includes-article indefinite mixed nominative plural)
eines -igeren (comparative genitive includes-article indefinite masculine mixed singular)
einer -igeren (comparative feminine genitive includes-article indefinite mixed singular)
eines -igeren (comparative genitive includes-article indefinite mixed neuter singular)
-igeren (comparative genitive indefinite mixed plural)
keiner -igeren (comparative genitive includes-article indefinite mixed plural)
einem -igeren (comparative dative includes-article indefinite masculine mixed singular)
einer -igeren (comparative dative feminine includes-article indefinite mixed singular)
einem -igeren (comparative dative includes-article indefinite mixed neuter singular)
-igeren (comparative dative indefinite mixed plural)
keinen -igeren (comparative dative includes-article indefinite mixed plural)
einen -igeren (accusative comparative includes-article indefinite masculine mixed singular)
eine -igere (accusative comparative feminine includes-article indefinite mixed singular)
ein -igeres (accusative comparative includes-article indefinite mixed neuter singular)
-igeren (accusative comparative indefinite mixed plural)
keine -igeren (accusative comparative includes-article indefinite mixed plural)
er ist am -igsten (masculine predicative singular superlative)
sie ist am -igsten (feminine predicative singular superlative)
es ist am -igsten (neuter predicative singular superlative)
sie sind am -igsten (plural predicative superlative)
-igster (masculine nominative singular strong superlative without-article)
-igste (feminine nominative singular strong superlative without-article)
-igstes (neuter nominative singular strong superlative without-article)
-igste (nominative plural strong superlative without-article)
-igsten (genitive masculine singular strong superlative without-article)
-igster (feminine genitive singular strong superlative without-article)
-igsten (genitive neuter singular strong superlative without-article)
-igster (genitive plural strong superlative without-article)
-igstem (dative masculine singular strong superlative without-article)
-igster (dative feminine singular strong superlative without-article)
-igstem (dative neuter singular strong superlative without-article)
-igsten (dative plural strong superlative without-article)
-igsten (accusative masculine singular strong superlative without-article)
-igste (accusative feminine singular strong superlative without-article)
-igstes (accusative neuter singular strong superlative without-article)
-igste (accusative plural strong superlative without-article)
der -igste (definite includes-article masculine nominative singular superlative weak)
die -igste (definite feminine includes-article nominative singular superlative weak)
das -igste (definite includes-article neuter nominative singular superlative weak)
die -igsten (definite includes-article nominative plural superlative weak)
des -igsten (definite genitive includes-article masculine singular superlative weak)
der -igsten (definite feminine genitive includes-article singular superlative weak)
des -igsten (definite genitive includes-article neuter singular superlative weak)
der -igsten (definite genitive includes-article plural superlative weak)
dem -igsten (dative definite includes-article masculine singular superlative weak)
der -igsten (dative definite feminine includes-article singular superlative weak)
dem -igsten (dative definite includes-article neuter singular superlative weak)
den -igsten (dative definite includes-article plural superlative weak)
den -igsten (accusative definite includes-article masculine singular superlative weak)
die -igste (accusative definite feminine includes-article singular superlative weak)
das -igste (accusative definite includes-article neuter singular superlative weak)
die -igsten (accusative definite includes-article plural superlative weak)
ein -igster (includes-article indefinite masculine mixed nominative singular superlative)
eine -igste (feminine includes-article indefinite mixed nominative singular superlative)
ein -igstes (includes-article indefinite mixed neuter nominative singular superlative)
-igsten (indefinite mixed nominative plural superlative)
keine -igsten (includes-article indefinite mixed nominative plural superlative)
eines -igsten (genitive includes-article indefinite masculine mixed singular superlative)
einer -igsten (feminine genitive includes-article indefinite mixed singular superlative)
eines -igsten (genitive includes-article indefinite mixed neuter singular superlative)
-igsten (genitive indefinite mixed plural superlative)
keiner -igsten (genitive includes-article indefinite mixed plural superlative)
einem -igsten (dative includes-article indefinite masculine mixed singular superlative)
einer -igsten (dative feminine includes-article indefinite mixed singular superlative)
einem -igsten (dative includes-article indefinite mixed neuter singular superlative)
-igsten (dative indefinite mixed plural superlative)
keinen -igsten (dative includes-article indefinite mixed plural superlative)
einen -igsten (accusative includes-article indefinite masculine mixed singular superlative)
eine -igste (accusative feminine includes-article indefinite mixed singular superlative)
ein -igstes (accusative includes-article indefinite mixed neuter singular superlative)
-igsten (accusative indefinite mixed plural superlative)
keine -igsten (accusative includes-article indefinite mixed plural superlative)

most common form in southern Germany, Austria, and Switzerland

From Middle High German -ec, -ic, from Old High German -ig, from Proto-West Germanic *-g, from Proto-Germanic *-gaz, from Proto-Indo-European *-kos.


-ig

(Switzerland, colloquial) variation of -ung


-st

From Middle High German -est, from older -es through rebracketing in inverted forms like sizzes du → sizzestu → sizzest du (“do you sit”). Further from a merger of various Old High German conjugation suffixes, from Proto-Germanic, from Proto-Indo-European.

lachen (“to laugh”) + -st → du lachst (“you laugh, thou laughest”)

spielen (“to play”) + -st → du spielst (“you play, thou playest”)

second-person singular
second-person singular#English

Verb suffix for the second-person singular.


-st

From Middle High German -est, from a merger of Old High German -ist and -ōst, from Proto-Germanic *-istaz and *-ōstaz.

klein (“small”) + -st → der kleinste (“the smallest”)

lang (“long”) + -st → der längste (“the longest”)

herzlich (“cordially”) + -st → am herzlichsten (“most cordially”)

schleunig (“speedily”) + -st → schleunigst (“straight away”)

Forms superlatives of adjectives and adverbs, sometimes triggering umlaut.


-sam

From Middle High German -sam, from Old High German -sam, from Proto-West Germanic *-sam, from Proto-Germanic *-samaz, from Proto-Germanic *samaz, from Proto-Indo-European *somHós. Cognate with English -some and Dutch -zaam. Related also to Old High German samo (“the same”) and sama (“similary”).

Tugend (“virtue”) + -sam → tugendsam (“of virtue, virtuous”)

aufmerken (“to observe”) + -sam → aufmerksam (“observant, attentive”)

lang (“long, lengthy”) + -sam → langsam (“slow”)

Used to form adjectives from verbs, nouns, and other adjectives; expressing similarity or the possession of a quality.

biegen (“to bend”) + -sam → biegsam (“flexible, bendable”)

Used to form adjectives from verbs; expressing the ability to undergo some action.


-heit

de-noun

-heit f (genitive -heit, plural -heiten)

-heit (genitive)
-heiten (plural)
-heit (nominative singular)
-heiten (definite nominative plural)
-heit (genitive singular)
-heiten (definite genitive plural)
-heit (dative singular)
-heiten (dative definite plural)
-heit (accusative singular)
-heiten (accusative definite plural)

From Middle High German -heit, from Old High German -heit, from Proto-West Germanic *-haidu, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *haiduz (“personality, character, manner, way”). Cognate with Dutch -heid, English -hood, Danish -hed.

inh

schön (“beautiful”) + -heit → Schönheit (“beauty”)

neu (“new”) + -heit → Neuheit (“novelty”)

Converts an adjective into a noun and usually denotes an abstract quality of the adjectival root. It is often equivalent to the English suffixes -ness, -th, -ty, -dom:

Kind (“child”) + -heit → Kindheit (“childhood”)

Christ (“Christian”) + -heit → Christenheit (“Christendom”)

Converts concrete nouns into abstract nouns:


Hans' Mutter

Genitive suffix for words that end in a sibilant consonant. For other names, -s is used.


-ling

head

-ling m (genitive -linges or -lings, plural -linge)

-linges (genitive)
-lings (genitive)
-linge (plural)

From Middle High German -linc, from Old High German -ling, from Proto-West Germanic *-ling.

Indicates possession of or connection with a quality or property, such as Schwächling (“weakling”) from schwach (“weak”) or Frühling (“the season Spring [which comes early]”) from früh (“early”).

A modifier of nouns, meaning a follower or resident of what is denoted by the stem form, such as Häftling from Haft.

Suffix forming the names of many mushrooms.


-ei

From Middle High German -īe, borrowed from Old French -ie, from Latin -ia.

Bäcker (“baker”) + -ei → Bäckerei (“bakery”)

Forming names of sites or buildings where a characteristic activity is conducted.

Mongole + -ei → Mongolei (“Mongolia”)

Used to create abstract nouns denoting a state, condition, or quality: -y


-ant

de-noun

-ant m (weak, genitive -anten, plural -anten, feminine -antin)

-anten (genitive)
-anten (plural)
-antin (feminine)
-ant (nominative singular)
-anten (definite nominative plural)
-anten (genitive singular)
-anten (definite genitive plural)
-anten (dative singular)
-anten (dative definite plural)
-anten (accusative singular)
-anten (accusative definite plural)

From Middle High German -ant, from Old French -ant; and also directly from Latin -antis, -ans.

liefern (“to supply”) + -ant → Lieferant (“supplier”)

Forms agent nouns, mostly from verbs of Romance or Latin origin.

-ans

unproductive synonym from the same source


-age

Borrowed from French -age m. Feminised by analogy with the majority of German words in -e, perhaps also with other suffixes of abstract nouns such as -heit and -ung.

Nominal suffix, rarely productive, mostly restricted to borrowings from French.


-es

Alternative form of -s (genitive ending)


-es

A + -es → As (“A flat”)

B + -es → Bes (“B double flat”)

C + -es → Ces (“C flat”)

D + -es → Des (“D flat”)

E + -es → Es (“E flat”)

F + -es → Fes (“F flat”)

G + -es → Ges (“G flat”)


-el

From Middle High German -el, from Old High German -il, direct descendant of Proto-West Germanic *-il, from Proto-Germanic *-ilaz, or from dialectal variants of -lein, which as well ultimately go back to *-ilaz or to *-ilingaz.

Kind (“child”) + -el → Kindel (“little child, darling”)

Haus (“house”) + -el → Häusel (“little house”)

Arm (“arm”) + -el → Ärmel (“sleeve”)

Eiche (“oak”) + -el → Eichel (“acorn”)

Büttel, Meißel, Weisel


-ismus

LL-Q188 (deu)-Frank C. Müller--ismus.wav

From Latin -ismus, from Ancient Greek -ισμός (-ismós).


-eur

head

-eur m (genitive -eurs, plural -eure, female -eurin or -euse)

-eurs (genitive)
-eure (plural)
-eurin (feminine)
-euse (feminine)

Suffix of agent nouns from verbs, mostly in French borrowings, but occasionally productive.


-phobie

LL-Q188 (deu)-Frank C. Müller--phobie.wav

Borrowed from French -phobie, from Ancient Greek φόβος (phóbos, “fear”).


-archie

-archie f (plural -archien, plural 2 (obsolete) -archieen)

-archien (plural)
2 (obsolete) -archieen (plural)

LL-Q188 (deu)-Frank C. Müller--archie.wav

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


-mal

From Middle High German -māle, from Old High German -mālun, from Proto-Germanic *mēlamiz, instrumental case of Proto-Germanic *mēlą (“measure; time”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian -moal, English -meal, Luxembourgish -mol.

zweimal (2mal, 2-mal)

einmal

manchmal

x-mal


-graphie

LL-Q188 (deu)-Frank C. Müller--graphie.wav

From Latin -graphia, going back to Ancient Greek γράφειν (gráphein, “write”).


-ine

Azubi + -ine → Azubine

Dackel (“dachshund”) + -ine → Dackeline

(nonstandard) Used to form feminine nouns.


-isch

From Middle High German -isch, from Old High German -isc.

an adjectival suffix, often matching -ic and -ical

of a nationality, or the language associated with a nationality; often matches -ish or -ian


-gen

used to make diminutives (especially in the 18th century)


-gen

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


-sel

Creates nouns from verbs, meaning something which is a fragment of the target of a verb, whether mechanically created or by intellectual activity


-te

From Middle High German -te, -ete, from a merger of several Old High German conjugations.

reisen (“to travel”) + -te → reiste (“[I] travelled; [he] travelled”)

forms the first-person and third-person singular of the past tense and past subjunctive of weak verbs and some irregular verbs

-ete

used with most stems in -d, -t, and consonant + -n, -m


-te

From Middle Low German and Middle Dutch -te, from Proto-Germanic *-iþō, whence also inherited but equally rare German -de.

flau (“slack, windless”) + -te → Flaute (“slackness, stagnation”)

halb (“half”) + -te → Hälfte (“half, fifty percent”)

raum (“wide, open”) + -te → Räumte (“cargo capacity of a ship”)

(rare, not productive, only as synchronic surface analysis) forms nouns from adjectives


-fach

From Middle High German vach (“-fold”), from Proto-Germanic *faką (“division, interval”).


-ien

From Middle High German -ie, -je, from Latin -ia (feminine singular). Nouns with this Latinate suffix were originally strong (i.e. invariable) feminines, but inflected forms in -ien arose when the distinction between strong and weak feminines collapsed in later Middle High German. These were then treated by analogy with local names like Böhmen, Franken, Sachsen etc. (all originally dative plural of a tribe name).

Tscheche (“Czech person”) + -ien → Tschechien (“Czechia”)

Jordan (“Jordan”, river) + -ien → Jordanien (“Jordan”, country)


-ien

From Latin -ia (neuter plural). In some cases, analysable within German as a regular plural of an earlier form in -ium; e.g. Principium as an obsolete variant of Prinzip. The singular ending was sometimes lost, leaving -ien as a new, irregular plural suffix. In other cases, simply following the Latin i-declension (singular in -e, plural in -ia).

Material + -ien → Materialien

Prinzip + -ien → Prinzipien

Reptil + -ien → Reptilien

Used to form the plurals of some neuter nouns of Latin descent whose original plural ends in -ia.


-ik

Borrowed from Latin -icus and Ancient Greek -ικός (-ikós).

forms feminine nouns referring to fields of study

forms feminine nouns referring to characteristics


-nis

head

-nis n (genitive -nisses, plural -nisse)

From Middle High German -nisse, from Old High German -nissī f, -nissi n, from Proto-West Germanic *-nassī. Cognate to English -ness.

hindern (“to hinder, to hamper”) → Hindernis (“an obstacle”)

geheim (“secret”, adjective) → Geheimnis (“a secret”, noun)

A suffix for deriving nouns from verbs or adjectives.


-nis

erlauben (“to permit”) → Erlaubnis (“permission”)

finster (“dark”) → Finsternis (“darkness”)

A suffix for deriving nouns from verbs or adjectives, etymologically identical to the preceding.


-kunde

de-noun

-kunde f (genitive -kunde, plural -kunden)

In nominal compounds with Kunde as second element.

Pflanze (“plant”) + -kunde → Pflanzenkunde (“botany”)

A science or branch of knowledge dealing with the subject referred to by the stem to which the suffix is added.

Tier (“animal”) + -kunde → Tierkunde (“zoology”)


-erei

head

-erei f (genitive -erei, plural (rare) -ereien)

From Middle High German -erīe, from Old French -erie. The suffix first became productive in German to designate workshops pertaining to occupation names ending in -er, such as Bäckerei (“bakery”) from Bäcker (“baker”). These cases are more properly analyzed as derivations in -ei from the occupation name. Later on, -erei began to be freely attached to verb stems, autonomously from agent nouns. Compare e.g. Bäckerei above with Backerei (“baking”) derived directly from backen (“to bake”). Similar developments took place in Dutch -erij and, to a lesser degree, English -ery.

warten (“to wait”) + -erei → Warterei (“[lengthy] waiting”)

singen (“to sing”) + -erei → Singerei (“[unpleasant] singing”)

Used to form verbal nouns, which often have an informal, frequentative and/or negative overtone.


-it

(masculine) -ite (used to form names of followers of a movement, Biblical descendants of a certain person, etc)

(masculine) -ite (used to form names of minerals and some rocks and fossils)

(chemistry, neuter) -ite (used to form names of salts and esters of acids whose name ends in -ous)


-'s

(archaic) Used to form the genitive of proper names

Andrea → Andrea’s (to avoid confusion with Andreas → Andreas’)

Used to form the genitive of proper names under certain circumstances.


-los

Related to los (“loose”), similar to English -less.


-end

From Middle High German -ende, from Old High German -enti, -anti, from Proto-West Germanic *-andī, from Proto-Germanic *-andz (present participle ending). Cognate with Dutch -end, Old English -ende. See English -and, -ing for more.
The gerundive use of the present participle goes back to the dative form of the Middle High German infinitive, which was sometimes enhanced with -d- through interaction with the present participle: ze lesene → ze lesende (“to read”). Placed before the noun, this construction was then reinterpreted as actually involving a participle, which lead to grammatical agreement: das zu lesende Buch, and thus by analogy ein zu lesendes Buch (“a book to [be] read”). Compare the etymologically correct construction in Dutch het/een te lezen boek.

inh

Weinend rief sie bei mir an.

Crying, she called me [on the telephone].

Die tanzenden Mädchen sind hübsch.

Er inseriert die zu vermietende Wohnung. (Gerundive use, cf. etymology above)

He places an advert for the flat to be let out.

A suffix forming the present participle of German verbs, analogous to English -ing.


-lings

From Middle High German -lingen, from Old High German lingūn. The modern form with -s is of Central and Low German origin; compare Middle Low German -linges.

Bauch (“abdomen, belly”) + -lings → bäuchlings (“on one’s belly”)

blind (“blind”) + -lings → blindlings (“blindly, hastily, pell-mell”)

Ritt (“ride”) + -lings → rittlings (“astride, sitting on something like on a mount”)

Rücken (“back”) + -lings → rücklings (“on one’s back”)

Seite (“side”) + -lings → seitlings (“sideways”)

(rare, little productive) forms adverbs that describe the manner of an action, particularly a movement


-at

→ Russian: -ат (-at)

→ Serbo-Croatian:

Cyrillic script: -ат

Latin script: -at

→ Ukrainian: -ат (-at)

Borrowed from Latin -ātum, whence also English -ate.


-ös

Borrowed from French -eux, from Latin -ōsus, chiefly in words borrowed from French, but productive in German to a limited extent. Doublet of -os, which is borrowed directly from Latin.


-ken

head

-ken n (plural 1 -ken, plural 2 -kens, plural 3 -kes)

1 -ken (plural)
2 -kens (plural)
3 -kes (plural)

From -ken, German Low German form of standard -chen, from Middle Low German -kin, from Old Saxon -kīn.

Haus → Häusken

Dorf → Dörfken

Pulle → Pülleken

(colloquial, regional, Northern Germany, Westphalia) used to make diminutives


-em

From Middle High German -em, -eme, from Proto-West Germanic *-umē.

masculine and neuter dative suffix, used in most determiners/pronouns and in strong adjectives


-em

Through reduction of the unstressed syllable.

Alternative form of -heim (placename suffix)


-em

Ultimately a backformation from Ancient Greek φώνημα (phṓnēma), whence German Phonem.


-sen

From Middle High German -sen, byform of -(ez)zen, from Old High German -ezzen, -azzen, from Proto-West Germanic *-attjan, from Proto-Germanic *-atjaną. In some cases merged with unrelated Old High German -isōn, from Proto-Germanic *-isōną. Modern formations often interact with the nominal suffix -s in such a way that it is impossible to say whether the derivation is denominal or deverbal (e.g. stuppen > Stups > stupsen or stuppen > stupsen > Stups).

Verbal suffix that expresses an action being intensified or stretched by iteration.


-sen

From Middle Low German -(e)sen, contraction of -hûsen. Thus a byform of German -hausen, which occurs in the same areas in seemingly random variation. Compare -trop, -trup, another Low German contraction that has often survived unaltered.

Placename suffix found in northern Germany.


-logie

-logie f (genitive -logie, occasional plural -logien or -logieen)

LL-Q188 (deu)-Frank C. Müller--logie.wav


-schaft

de-noun

-schaft f (genitive -schaft, plural -schaften)

-schaft (genitive)
-schaften (plural)
-schaft (nominative singular)
-schaften (definite nominative plural)
-schaft (genitive singular)
-schaften (definite genitive plural)
-schaft (dative singular)
-schaften (dative definite plural)
-schaft (accusative singular)
-schaften (accusative definite plural)

LL-Q188 (deu)-Frank C. Müller--schaft.wav

Middle High German -schaft, from Old High German -skaft, -skaf, from Proto-West Germanic *-skapi.
Cognate with Dutch -schap, Swedish -skap, English -ship, Danish -skab, West Frisian -skip.

Eltern (“parents”) + -schaft → Elternschaft (“parenthood”)

Graf (“count”) + -schaft → Grafschaft (“county”)


-ler

-ler m (strong, genitive -lers, plural -ler)

-lers (genitive)
-ler (plural)
-ler (nominative singular)
-ler (definite nominative plural)
-lers (genitive singular)
-ler (definite genitive plural)
-ler (dative singular)
-lern (dative definite plural)
-ler (accusative singular)
-ler (accusative definite plural)

From rebracketing of stems ending in -l and the suffix -er, in words like Sattler, Ziegler, and in derivations from diminutive verbs in -eln.

Used to create nouns linking a person (or thing) to some group, activity, object; similar to -er, but usually attached to nouns, not verbs.


-de

From Middle High German -ede, from Old High German -ida, from Proto-Germanic *-iþō. Compare the equally rare doublet -te (from Low German). Cognate with Dutch -te, English -th.

gemein (“common”) + -de → Gemeinde (“community”)

(rare, not productive) forms abstract nouns from adjectives


-tum

-tum n or m (strong, genitive -tums or (less common) -tumes, plural -tümer)

-tums (genitive)
-tumes (genitive uncommon)
-tümer (plural)
-tum (definite nominative singular)
-tümer (definite nominative plural)
-tums (genitive singular)
-tumes (genitive singular uncommon)
-tümer (definite genitive plural)
-tum (dative singular)
-tume (dative singular uncommon)
-tümern (dative definite plural)
-tum (accusative definite singular)
-tümer (accusative definite plural)

From Middle High German -tuom, from Old High German -tuom, from Proto-West Germanic *-dōm, from Proto-Germanic *-dōmaz (“-dom”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰóh₁mos (“thing put”).
Cognate with English -dom, Dutch -dom, Swedish -dom.

der

A suffix used to derive abstract nouns: -dom


-lich

Adjective:
From Middle High German -lich, -līch, from Old High German -līh, from Proto-West Germanic *-līk. Cognate with English -ly and Dutch -lijk.
Adverb:
From Middle High German -līche, from Old High German -līhho.

verstehen (“to understand”) + -lich → verständlich (“that can be understood, understandable”)

Used to form adjectives from verbs, to express that "something can be done with the person or thing described".

sterben (“to die”) + -lich → sterblich (“that dies, mortal”)

Used to form adjectives from verbs, to express that "that the person or thing described does something".

Abenteuer (“adventure”) + -lich → abenteuerlich (“associated with adventure, adventurous”)

Used to form adjectives from nouns, to indicate "affiliation".

Jahr (“year”) + -lich → jährlich (“repeated every year, annually”)

Used to form adjectives from nouns (times), to indicate "repetition".

rot (“red”) + -lich → rötlich (“having a somewhat red coloring, reddish”)

Used to form adjectives from adjectives, to express "a weakening or differentiation".

bekannt (“bekannt”) + -lich → bekanntlich (“publicly, as it is known”)


-bar

From Middle High German -bære, from Old High German -bāri, from Proto-Germanic *bēriz.
The modern vowel -a- is after the adverb form (Middle High German -bāre, Old High German -bāro), which came to be used in predicative and then also in attributive position. This development was especially Low and Central German (compare Middle Low German -bār(e) alongside -bēr(e)). Also cognate with Dutch -baar, West Frisian -ber, Old English -bǣre. Old Norse -bærr (Old Swedish -bǣr). This suffix is said to be West Germanic, so the Old Norse form is probably an early Middle Low German borrowing.


-haft

From Middle High German -haft, from Old High German haft, from Proto-West Germanic *haft, from Proto-Germanic *haftaz (“captured, afflicted”), from Proto-Indo-European *kh₂ptós, from the root *keh₂p- (“to seize”).
Cognates include Old English hæft (“captive”), Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐍆𐍄𐍃 (hafts), Latin captus (“captured”), Old Irish cacht (“captive, chain”), Welsh caeth (“slave, captivity, chain”), Latin captīvus (“captive”).

Masse (“mass”) + -haft → massenhaft (“en masse”)

Ernst (“earnestness”) + -haft → ernsthaft (“serious”)


-voll

An adjective suffix in a sense of “full of”; -ful


-wesen

LL-Q188 (deu)-Frank C. Müller--wesen.wav

Similar to Dutch -wezen. See Old High German wesan (“to exist, come to be”).


-würdig

fragen (“to ask”) + -würdig → fragwürdig (“questionable”)

glauben (“to believe”) + -würdig → glaubwürdig (“credible”)

lieben (“to love”) + -würdig → liebenswürdig (“kind”)


-ern

(now rarely productive) iterative suffix, used to form verbs from other verbs

be- + Weihrauch (“incense”) + -ern → beweihräuchern (“to incense”)

used to form verbs from nouns, often with an additional prefix


-ern

Extended form of -en, generalised from such forms as silbern, kupfern, ledern, originally also eisern, in which -er is derived from the stem or from the plural.

Glas (“glass”) + -ern → gläsern (“glassen”)

made of (used to form adjectives from nouns)


-li

(Southern Germany, Switzerland) suffix used to create a diminutive form


-ieren

→ Bulgarian: -ирам (-iram)

→ Russian: -ировать (-irovatʹ)

→ Serbo-Croatian: -irati

From Middle High German -ieren, extracted by rebracketing of verbs borrowed from (Old) French, such as parlieren (Old French parlier + -en), or Italian, such as spazieren (Italian spaziare + -en).

Möbel (“furniture”) + -ieren → möblieren (“to furnish”)

Zentrum (“centre”) + -ieren → zentrieren (“to centre”)

halb (“half”) + -ieren → halbieren (“to halve”)

Buchstabe (“letter”) + -ieren → buchstabieren (“to spell”)

Verb suffix: it and its inflected forms are found mainly as a rendering of French, Italian, and Latin suffixes like -ire and -iare in borrowings, but it is also sometimes applied with a factitive meaning to German stems.


-artig

[ˈʔaːɐ̯tʰɪç]

LL-Q188 (deu)-Frank C. Müller--artig.wav

Art (“way, manner”) + -ig (adjective-forming suffix)


-phil

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


-lei

From Middle High German lei f (“kind”), from Old French lei, from Latin lex. Cognate with Dutch -lei.

alle (“all”) + -lei → allerlei (“all kinds [of]”)

drei (“three”) + -lei → dreierlei (“three kinds [of]”)

Suffix added to numerals and pronouns to create determiners/pronouns indicating variety


-ich

Principally from Latin -iacum, itself from Celtic (compare *-ākos). However, other names were sometimes adapted to the suffix, as in Limperich (now a district of Bonn), which goes back to Middle High German Lintberg.

Placename suffix found in the Rhineland.


-philie

LL-Q188 (deu)-Frank C. Müller--philie.wav

Borrowed from French -philie, from Ancient Greek φιλία (philía, “love”).


-ow

From native West Slavic languages, such as Polabian.

A place name suffix found in parts of former East Germany (or along the former border, as in Lüchow).


-ow

A surname suffix found in names borrowed from Polish or Russian.

Romanisation of Russian -ов (-ov) in place names.


-iter

used to form adverbs (not productive; often present in terms derived from Latin)


-ell

Borrowed from French -el, ultimately from Latin -ālis.

pertaining or adhering to; adjectival suffix attaching to nouns


-köpfig

Ein 20-köpfiges Team von Top-Bergsteigern aus Nepal will sich Ende April auf den Weg in die Gipfelregion des Mount Everest machen, […]

2010, Der Spiegel, number 5/2010, page 101:

A team of 20 top mountain climbers from Nepal wants to head to the summit region of Mount Everest at the end of April, […]

headed (having a certain type or number of heads)


-är

From French -aire. Doublet of -er and -ar.

Revolution + -är → Revolutionär


-iv

Borrowed from French -if, -ive, from Latin -īvus.


-jährig

LL-Q188 (deu)-Frank C. Müller--jährig.wav

Nach dreijähriger Flaute werden in Deutschland erstmals wieder deutlich mehr Wohnungen und Häuser gebaut.

2010, Der Spiegel, number 49/2010, page 80:

After a slack period lasting three years, for the first time there are significantly more apartments and houses constructed again in Germany.


-iert

-ed (used to form adjectives from nouns somehow as perfect participles from verbs ending in -ieren)


-falt

From Middle High German -valt, from Old High German -falt, from Proto-Germanic *-falþaz.


-graf

de-noun

-graf m (weak, genitive -grafen, plural -grafen, feminine -grafin)

-grafen (genitive)
-grafen (plural)
-grafin (feminine)


-manie

From Ancient Greek μανία (manía), Manie (“mania”).


-förmig

apfelförmig


-esk

Borrowed from French -esque. Doublet of -isch and -sch.

Kafka + -esk → kafkaesk

(higher register) -esque; used to form adjectives denoting a similarity in style or manner; productive use is chiefly (even more than in English) restricted to derivations from proper nouns


-'sch

die Allen’sche Regel

in der Luther’schen Bibelübersetzung

A suffix attached to names to produce eponymous adjectives: -ean, -ian, 's


-sch

die Boolesche/boolesche Algebra


-le

From Middle High German -elīn, -līn, from Old High German -ilī, -ilīn.

(chiefly dialectal) suffix used to create a diminutive form; e.g., Haus → Häusle


-verdächtig

/fɛɐ̯ˈdɛçtɪç/

/fɛɐ̯ˈdɛçtɪk/

Used to form adjectives from nouns, the adjectives having the sense of "a person or thing can expect to get the thing described the noun".

Used to form adjectives from nouns, the adjectives having the sense of "the thing described the noun can be expected from a person or thing".


-ens

Schmitz → (die) Schmitzens (“the Schmitzes, “the Schmitz family”)

Pütz → (die) Pützens (“the Pützes, “the Pütz family”)

plural suffix for family names that end in a sibilant consonant


-ens

Max → Maxens Vater (“Max’s father”)

Klaus → Klausens Mutter (“Klaus’s mother”)

(dated) genitive suffix for personal names that end in a sibilant consonant

Claudia → Claudiens Tochter (“Claudia’s daughter”)

Maria → Mariens Sohn (“Mary’s son”)

(dated) genitive suffix for personal names that end in -ia


-ens

der erste (“the first”) → erstens (“firstly”)

am meisten (“most”) → meistens (“mostly”)

am besten (“best”) → bestens (“very well; best”)

am frühesten (“earliest”) → frühestens (“at the earliest”)

forms adverbs from superlatives and ordinal numbers


-erlei

Analyzed as a suffix by rebracketing ( (adj + -er) + -lei ) as ( adj + (-erlei) ). See -lei.

zwei (“two”) + -erlei → zweierlei (“two kinds of”)

manch (“many”) + -erlei → mancherlei (“many kinds of”)

Produces adjectives describing the number of kinds of a thing.


-weise

LL-Q188 (deu)-Frank C. Müller--weise.wav

Teil (“part”) → teilweise (“partly, in part”)

Gruppe (“group”) → gruppenweise (“in groups”)

Kreuz (“cross”) → kreuzweise (“in a cross”)

→ see -erweise

Used to form adverbs from adjectives or participles together with the interfix -er-.


-haftig

From Middle High German -haftec, from Old High German -haftīg. Equivalent to -haft + -ig.
In contemporary German the two variants -haft and -haftig have been mostly regularised in such a way that the adjective ends in simple -haft, but the nominal form ends in -haftigkeit, e.g. ernsthaft (“serious”) → Ernsthaftigkeit (“seriousness”).

(chiefly dated) Alternative form of -haft


-sche

Feminine nomilisation of -sch. Compare Dutch -se, Low German -sche, -sch.

Müller (family name) + -sche → die Müllersche (“Mrs Müller”)

Nachbar (“neighbour”) + -sche → die Nachbarsche (“the woman next door”, especially “the mother of the neighbour family”)

Kirchdorf (place name) + -sche → die Kirchdorfsche (“that certain woman from Kirchdorf”, especially “the mother of that certain family living there”)

(dated or regional) A suffix attached to family names and other words identifying families or groups of people, to produce a female form, especially denoting a wife or mother.


-sche

strong nominative feminine singular of -sch

strong nominative/accusative plural of -sch

weak nominative masculine/feminine/neuter singular of -sch

weak accusative feminine/neuter singular of -sch

die boolesche Algebra

mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular of -sch


-'sche

strong nominative feminine singular of -'sch

strong nominative/accusative plural of -'sch

weak nominative masculine/feminine/neuter singular of -'sch

weak accusative feminine/neuter singular of -'sch

die Boole'sche Algebra

mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular of -'sch


-haltig

LL-Q188 (deu)-Frank C. Müller--haltig.wav

-ferous, -iferous (containing a specified substance, especially metal)


-ologie

head

-ologie f (genitive -ologie, plural -ologien)


-kettig

Used to form adjectives to describe molecules which contain specified kinds of chains.


-ität

→ Norwegian Bokmål: -itet

→ Polish: -itet

Ultimately borrowed from Latin -itās.
Compare Dutch -iteit.


-pathie

LL-Q188 (deu)-Frank C. Müller--pathie.wav


-prozentig

LL-Q188 (deu)-Frank C. Müller--prozentig.wav


-isieren

-isieren (preterite -isierte, past participle -isiert)

-isierte (preterite)
-isiert (participle past)

→ Russian: -изи́ровать (-izírovatʹ)

Borrowed from French -iser. Compare English -ize.


-elchen

A lengthened variant of -chen. Possibly a blend of -chen and one of the southern diminutive suffixes containing -l- (see -lein).

Strichelchen

Wägelchen

(standard) used to make diminutives of nouns with a stem ending in -ch, and a few with a stem ending in -g.

Säckelchen

Jüngelchen

(regional) used to make diminutives of words with other final sounds, particularly -k and -ng.


-igen

From -ig (“forming adjective”) + -en (“forming verb”).

suffix

A suffix forming verbs from nouns: to become possessing the quality of the noun

A suffix forming verbs from adjectives: to become possessing the quality of the adjective


-wärts

LL-Q188 (deu)-Frank C. Müller--wärts.wav

From Middle High German -wertes, from Old High German -wertes, -wartes, from Proto-West Germanic *-wardas. Compare English -wards, Old Norse -verðr, Gothic -𐍅𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌸𐍃 (-wairþs) and Latin vertō (“to turn”), versus (“toward”).

-wards. Forms adverbs denoting course or direction to, or motion or tendency toward. The adverbs are formed either from a noun or from a preposition.


-wärtig

From Middle High German -wertec, from Old High German -wertig, from -wert. The suffix relates to the Old High German verb werdan (“to turn”) which itself is cognate with Latin vertō (“to turn”).
See also -wärts and -wertig.

Forming adjectives denoting the position of someone or something.


-grafie

LL-Q188 (deu)-Frank C. Müller--grafie.wav


-erweise

From the genitive feminine singular adjective ending -er and the feminine noun Weise. This was originally an adverbial genitive first used in Middle High German. For example, lustiger Weise → lustig + -erweise → lustigerweise. Adverbs formed this way represent univerbations of genitive absolute adjective-noun phrases.

affixusex

normal (“normal”) + -erweise → normalerweise (“normally”)

traurig (“sad”) + -erweise → traurigerweise (“sadly”)

lustig (“funny”) + -erweise → lustigerweise (“funnily”)

gleich (“equal, alike”) + -erweise → gleicherweise (“likewise”)

Used to form adverbs from adjectives and participles; these adverbs are used to modify phrases or sentences. Cognate with English -wise.


-tümer

nominative/accusative/genitive plural of -tum


-mässig

Switzerland and Liechtenstein standard spelling of -mäßig.


-kratie

de-noun

-kratie f (genitive -kratie, plural -kratien)

LL-Q188 (deu)-Frank C. Müller--kratie.wav


-mäßig

LL-Q188 (deu)-Frank C. Müller--mäßig.wav

-like (having some of the characteristics of)


-reich

-rich, -ful, used to form an adjective from a noun with the sense of 'rich in', 'full of'.


-farben

LL-Q188 (deu)-Frank C. Müller--farben.wav


-rich

head

-rich m (genitive -richs or -riches, plural -riche)

-richs (genitive)
-riches (genitive)
-riche (plural)

Extracted from names such as Friedrich, ultimately from Old High German rīhhi (“rich”, whence reich). With animals first in Enterich, which is a folk-etymological alteration of Middle High German antreche, equivalent to Ente + the cognate of English drake. Then by analogy Gänserich, and subsequently other forms.

suffix to derive masculine nouns, especially for male animals


-fertig

used to form adjectives from nouns or verbs to indicate a preparedness or readiness for something


-wöchig

Builds an adjective that specifies the number of weeks in a duration or (less frequently) in an age.


-sal

also common; the latter after obstruents only


-nisse

inflection of -nis:
dated dative singular

inflection of -nis:
nominative/genitive/accusative plural


-nisse

nominative/genitive/accusative plural of -nis


-ans

-anz (except perhaps in very careful speech)

stimulieren (“to stimulate”) + -ans → Stimulans (“stimulant, stimulating substance”)

(rare) -ant; used in Latin words of learned use which refer to things, often substances


-graphisch

Latin -graphicus (in terms like geōgraphicus) or -graph + -isch


-pflichtig

/ˈp͡flɪçtɪç/

LL-Q188 (deu)-Frank C. Müller--pflichtig.wav


-ste

-th, -nd etc; Used to form the ordinal form of a cardinal number


-iger

strong/mixed nominative masculine singular of -ig

strong dative/genitive feminine singular of -ig


-frei

From Middle High German -frī, -vrī, from Old High German *-frī, from Proto-West Germanic *-frī. Compare Dutch -vrij, English -free, Danish -fri.

(forming adjectives) -free (free from, devoid of, without)


-affin

LL-Q188 (deu)-Frank C. Müller--affin.wav


-witz

From a Slavic suffix meaning "son of", such as Serbo-Croatian -vić, Slovene -vič, Belarusian -віч (-vič, “-vich”) and Ukrainian -вич (-vyč, “-vych”).


-trop

With metathesis in the weakened ultima from Middle Low German dorp (“village”), from Old Saxon thorp, from Proto-Germanic *þurpą. While Low German placenames in -dorp were generally standardized with the High German equivalent -dorf, those with the less transparent variant -trop, -trup often remained unchanged.

Placename suffix found chiefly in north-western Germany


-beck

From Middle Low German bēke, from Old Saxon beki, from Proto-West Germanic *baki. Doublet of -bach.

Placename suffix found in northern Germany


-broich

-broich n (genitive -broich or -broichs)

Borrowed from Central Franconian form of Bruch (“wetland”), from Middle High German bruoch, from Old High German bruoh, from Proto-West Germanic *brōk. The -i- is the so-called rheinisches Dehnungs-i (“Rhenish lengthening i”) used to indicate the length of the preceding vowel, similarly to -h- in Standard German.

Placename suffix found in the Rhineland, chiefly its northern parts.


-eln

From Middle High German -eln, -elen, from Old High German -alōn, from Proto-Germanic *-lōną (frequentative verbal suffix). Cognate with English -le, West Frisian -elje, Dutch -elen, Danish -le, Swedish -la, Icelandic -la.

inh

kippen (“to tilt”) + -eln → kippeln (“to tilt back and forth”)

husten (“to cough”) + -eln → hüsteln (“to cough slightly”)

Suffix used to form verbs, chiefly from other verbs, but also from nouns and adjectives. The resulting verb often has an iterative/frequentative or a diminutive meaning.


-phob

Borrowed from Latin -phobus, from Ancient Greek φόβος (phóbos).


-büren

From Middle Low German, from Old Saxon, from the dative plural of a derivative (*būriją?) of Proto-Germanic *būraz (“dwelling”). Cognate with Dutch -buren and perhaps English byre (“barn”). Also related with dated German Bauer (“cage”).

place name suffix found in northern Germany


Apocope of the final vowel in the nominative singular form.

Alternative form of -e (“deriving personal nouns”)


Apocope of -e (“dative singular ending”).

used to form the dative of strong masculine and neuter nouns ending in a stressed syllable


-ektomie

(medicine, specialist, less widely understood than in English) -ectomy (surgical removal of)

specialist; less widely understood than in English; specialist; less widely understood than in English


-bold

Related to bald, in the obsolete sense “daring”, compare English bold.

Witz (“joke”) + -bold → Witzbold (“joker”)

saufen (“to booze”) + -bold → Saufbold (“drunkard”)

lügen (“to lie”) + -bold → Lügenbold (“liar”)


-gleich

Gott (“god”) + -gleich → gottgleich (“godlike”)

Aal (“eel”) + -gleich → aalgleich (“eellike”)

-like (having some of the characteristics of) (used to form adjectives from nouns)

Zeit (“time”) + -gleich → zeitgleich (“at the same time”)

Niveau (“level”) + -gleich → niveaugleich (“on the same level”)

equal in regard to (used to form adjectives from nouns)


-halber

Deutlichkeit (“clarity”) + -halber → deutlichkeitshalber (“for clarity”)

Creates adverbs that give a reason or purpose.


-fähig

Dialog (“dialogue”) + -fähig → dialogfähig (“able to communicate”)

Funktion (“function”) + -s- + -fähig → funktionsfähig (“functional, working”)

Wehr (“defence”) + -fähig → wehrfähig (“fit for military service”)

Verkehr + -s- + -fähig → verkehrsfähig

Umwandlung + -s- + -fähig → umwandlungsfähig

Subsumtion + -s- + -fähig → subsumtionsfähig

able to do, capable, suitable, ready for something


-igkeit

de-noun

-igkeit f (genitive -igkeit, plural -igkeiten)

-igkeit (genitive)
-igkeiten (plural)
-igkeit (nominative singular)
-igkeiten (definite nominative plural)
-igkeit (genitive singular)
-igkeiten (definite genitive plural)
-igkeit (dative singular)
-igkeiten (dative definite plural)
-igkeit (accusative singular)
-igkeiten (accusative definite plural)

LL-Q188 (deu)-Frank C. Müller--igkeit.wav

süß (“sweet”) + -igkeit → Süßigkeit (“sweetness, candy”)

müde (“tired”) + -igkeit → Müdigkeit (“tiredness”)

sinnlos (“meaningless”) + -igkeit → Sinnlosigkeit (“meaninglessness”)

fehlerhaft (“faulty”) + -igkeit → Fehlerhaftigkeit (“faultiness”)

forms (usually abstract) nouns from adjectives


-iatrie

-iatrie (genitive)
-iatrie (nominative singular)
-iatrie (genitive singular)
-iatrie (dative singular)
-iatrie (accusative singular)

LL-Q188 (deu)-Frank C. Müller--iatrie.wav

Ultimately from Ancient Greek ἰατρεία (iatreía, “healing, medical treatment”), from ἰατρός (iatrós, “doctor”).

der

-iatry, -iatrics (forms names of specialized fields of medical practice.)


-iker

Norwegian Bokmål: -iker

Possibly from Latin -icus + German -er instead of Latin -us.


-anz

tolerant + -anz → Toleranz (“tolerance”)


-ämie

Borrowed from Ancient Greek αἷμα (haîma).


-algie

LL-Q188 (deu)-Frank C. Müller--algie.wav


-vitz

From a Slavic suffix meaning "son of", such as Belarusian -віч (-vič, “-vich”), Russian -вич (-vič, “-vich”), Serbo-Croatian -vić, Slovene -vič, or Ukrainian -вич (-vyč, “-vych”), all from Proto-Slavic *-vъ + *-iťь.


-zen

From Middle High German -(ez)zen. See -sen for more.

ach (“ah, oh, och”) + -zen → ächzen (“to moan, groan”)

du (“thou”) + -zen → duzen (“to thou, to address as du”)

(now rarely productive) Verbal suffix that expresses the utterance of some word or sound.

(unproductive) Alternative form of -sen (intensive suffix)


-lekt

Extracted from Dialekt, mimicking English -lect.


-ert

nackt (“naked”) + -ert → nackert (“naked, with a piqued undertone”)

spinnen (“to be on wass”) + -ert → spinnert (“wassy”)

(normally Bavaria, Austria) Used to form characteristic adjectives or nouns from nouns, adjectives, and verbs.


-lastig

Kopf (“head”) + -lastig → kopflastig (“top-heavy”)

Heck (“back of a vehicle”) + -lastig → hecklastig (“heavier at the back”)

Wort (“word”) + -lastig → wortlastig (“wordy”)

Theorie (“theory”) + -lastig → theorielastig (“theory-heavy”)

(figuratively) laden with something, -heavy


-freudig

reisen (“to travel”) + -freudig → reisefreudig (“who enjoys traveling”)

musizieren (“to make music”) + -freudig → musizierfreudig (“who loves to make music”)

Forms adjectives denoting that the referent enjoys or loves doing something.

Risiko (“risk”) + -freudig → risikofreudig (“willing to take risks”)

kaufen (“to buy”) + -freudig → kauffreudig (“eager to buy”)

Forms adjectives denoting that the referent is quick to do something.


-äugig

Auge + -ig with umlaut. Cognate with -ogig in Dutch adjectives like eenogig and blauwogig.

braun (“brown”) + -äugig → braunäugig (“brown-eyed”)

Creates adjectives that refer to the quantity or a quality of eyes. Corresponds to eyed


-augert

Aug + -ert. Standard spelling variant of -augad.

ein (“one”) + -augert → einaugert (“one-eyed”)


-feindlich

Frau (“woman”) + -en- + -feindlich → frauenfeindlich (“misogynistic”)

Fremder (“foreigner”) + -en- + -feindlich → fremdenfeindlich (“xenophobic”)


-heim

From Middle High German and Old High German heim, from Proto-Germanic *haimaz. (In northern Germany, from adaptation of Middle Low German and Old Saxon hēm, from the same Germanic source.) See German Heim, English home, -ham for more.

Placename suffix: Indicating a place of dwelling; home


-fizieren

From Early Modern German -ficieren, extracted by rebracketing of borrowed Latin compound verbs with suffixes -ficāre and -ficere (and rarer facere) + suffix -ieren, such as:
* conficieren from Latin cōnficere
* justificieren from Latin iūstificāre
* clarificieren from Latin clārificāre
* inficieren from Latin īnficere
* putrificieren from Latin putrefacere
Compare Italian -ficare, French -ifier and English -fy.

Elektrik (“electricity”) + -fizieren → elektrifizieren (“to electrify”)

Nazi (“Nazi”) + -fizieren → nazifizieren (“to nazify”)

Mumie (“mummy”) + -fizieren → mumifizieren (“to mummify”)

Verb suffix: it and its inflected forms are found mainly as a rendering of the Latin suffixes in borrowings, but it is also sometimes applied with a factitive meaning to German stems.


-rath

From Old High German rot (“clearing”), related to roden. The spelling with -a- reflects dialectal [ɔː] in these names. However, most Rhenish dialects should regularly have short [ɔ] (Central Franconian rodde), so there probably underlies some kind of analogy or older form of pronunciation. Another possibility would be influence by a Middle Low German spelling; compare -rade.

A placename suffix found chiefly in the northern Rhineland.


-berg

Added to a stem to form a patronymic or matronymic surname.


-skopie

head

-skopie f (genitive -skopie, occasional plural -skopien or -skopieen)

LL-Q188 (deu)-Frank C. Müller--skopie.wav


-penie

-penie f (genitive -penie, occasional plural -penien or -penieen)


-fresser

Similar to German fressen.
From Middle High German frezzen, from Old High German frezzan, firezzan, from Proto-West Germanic *fraetan. Cognate with Dutch vreten, English fret, Gothic 𐍆𐍂𐌰𐌹𐍄𐌰𐌽 (fraitan), Swedish fräta.

Suffix added to stems denoting a specific diet or way to eat. It corresponds to the suffix “-vore”.


-hausen

From Middle High German -hūsen, from Old High German -hūsum, dative plural of hūs (“house”). It is found in native High German placenames as well as in adapted forms of originally Low German or Frisian placenames.

Suffix forming names of human settlements like villages, towns, and cities.


-husen

From Middle Low German -hûsen. Placenames with this suffix were generally standardized with the High German equivalent -hausen. Unadapted forms survive mainly, albeit not exclusively, in two regions which adopted written High German comparatively late: Schleswig-Holstein (where -husen is predominant) and Ostfriesland (where both forms appear alongside).

(parts of Northern Germany) Alternative form of -hausen (placename suffix)


-einander

mit + -einander → miteinander

(attaching to a preposition) each other, mutually, reciprocally


-bedürftig

/bəˈdʏʁftɪç/

Hilfe (“help”) → hilfsbedürftig (“needy”)

Erklärung (“explanation”) → erklärungsbedürftig (“in need of explanation”)

Schutz (“protection”) → schutzbedürftig (“in need of protection”)

Forms adjectives denoting the need of something.


-esisch

-ese + -isch. See there. Alternatively analysed as directly from the sources of -ese + -isch.

of a nationality, or the language associated with a nationality; -ese