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Do you know how to write prefixes in Spanish? In this lesson, we will share three very useful rules that you should always keep in mind when using Spanish prefixes. Let's take a look.
A prefix should always be connected to the word that follows. Let's look at an example:
¿Han visto algunos actores que tienen la piel supertersa?
Have you seen some actors who have super smooth skin?
Caption 39, María Fernanda - Mascarilla de aguacate
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In this example, you can see that the prefix super- is connected to the word tersa (smooth). For that reason, it would be incorrect to write this word with a space (super tersa) or hyphen (super-tersa).
This rule also applies when you have several prefixes before a word:
antiposmodernism (anti-postmodernism)
In this example, you have the word modernismo preceded by two prefixes (anti- and pos-).
If a prefix goes before a word that starts with a capital letter, a hyphen should be used between the prefix and the word. Let's take a look:
y que dentro tiene dos mini-DVDs,
and which inside has two miniDVDs,
Caption 6, Fiesta en Miami - This Is Not a Gallery
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Since the word "DVD" starts with a capital letter, a hyphen is necessary. Let's look at some additional examples:
anti-NAFTA (anti-NAFTA)
pro-Obama (pro-Obama)
pos-Gorbachov (post-Gorvachov)
A hyphen must also be employed if the prefix is followed by a number instead of a word:
Campeonato Sudamericano Sub-20 (South American U-20* Championship)
* Keep in mind that "under" is the English equivalent of the Spanish prefix sub-.
A multi-word lexical unit is a term made of two or more words. Examples include terms like pena de muerte (death penalty) and derechos humanos (human rights). If a prefix precedes a multi-word lexical unit, there must be a space between the prefix and said unit as follows:
anti pena de muerta (anti-death penalty)
pro derechos humanos (pro-human rights)
Finally, keep in mind that, sometimes, with the addition of a prefix, a word's accentuation changes. For example, by itself, the word bien (well) doesn't require a graphic accent. However, when the prefix super- is added, it automatically becomes a three-syllable word with the stress on the last syllable. And, since the word ends in "n," you will need to indicate such with a graphic accent (see lesson on palabras agudas).
Pues nada, que ha empezado el día superbién.
Well, she's started the day very well.
Caption 6, El Aula Azul - Conversación: Un día de mala suerte
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That's all for now. We invite you to keep these three rules in mind when using prefixes in Spanish. And, don't forget to send us your comments and suggestions.
The prefix super is everywhere in Spanish—but it's also one of the most commonly misspelled. Do you know when it needs an accent, a hyphen, or a double "r"? In this lesson, we'll break down everything you need to know about the prefix super in Spanish, including a tricky spelling rule that trips up even native speakers.
When it works as a prefix, the word super can have different meanings. Sometimes it means "above," as in the word superestructura (superstructure). It can also mean "excellence" or "superiority":
¿Con el superagente, Jaime Suárez?
With the super-agent, Jaime Suarez?
Caption 53, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa - Capítulo 3
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In some words, the prefix super expresses the 'highest degree' of something:
Eh... La iglesia es superhermosa.
Um... The church is super beautiful.
Caption 14, Bogotá - Una visita a la ciudad
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And finally, the prefix super can also indicate the 'excess' of something:
Ehm... Tenemos la... la... la... la... la superpoblación.
Um... We have (the... the... the... the... the) overpopulation.
Caption 50, Los médicos explican - Entrevista con el Doctor Suarez
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Have you ever seen the word súper with an accent? If you think that súper is the same as super (with no accent), you are wrong. The word súper needs the accent only in the following situations:
1. When it is used as a noun for the short form of the word supermercado (supermarket) or the type of gasoline:
Roberto fue al súper a comprar naranjas.
Roberto went to the supermarket to buy oranges.
2. When it works as an adjective or adverb to express that someone or something is/was great:
Súper, y ¿qué le dijeron de Gastón Almanza?
Super, and what did they tell you about Gaston Almanza?
Caption 20, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa - Capítulo 1
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The simplest thing to remember is that the prefix super never carries a graphic accent—only the standalone word súper does.
Believe it or not, many native Spanish speakers don't know how to properly write words formed with the prefix super. The main rule, however, is quite simple: the prefix super is written attached to the word that follows it, with no space and no hyphen:
Y tengo de superhéroe lo que Juanes de vallenato
And I've got from a superhero what Juanes [has] from vallenato
Caption 30, Juanes - La Plata
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Here's a spelling rule that even confuses native speakers. What happens when super is attached to a word that starts with the letter r, like regalo (gift)?
The correct spelling is superregalo, not superegalo. Why? Because in Spanish, the sound /rr/ between two vowels must always be written with the double letter rr. Since the prefix super ends in a vowel-like sound and is joined directly to regalo, the "r" of regalo falls between two vowels (the "e" of super and the "e" of regalo)—so it needs to become rr to keep that strong, rolled "r" sound.
• super + rico → superrico (super delicious)
• super + rápido → superrápido (super fast)
• super + realista → superrealista (super realistic)
Every rule has its exceptions, and this one has two. The first exception: when the word that follows super starts with a capital letter, or when the prefix is followed by a number, you need to add a hyphen:
super-Obama or super-10
The second exception: you need to leave a space after super when it comes before a series of words that, together, have their own meaning:
Yo siempre me he sentido super a gusto cantando al lado de ese grandísimo músico...
I have always felt pretty at home singing along this great musician...
Caption 50, David Bisbal - Haciendo Premonición Live
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• Attached, no accent: superhéroe, superpoblación, superhermosa
• Double the "r" when followed by a word starting with "r": superregalo, superrápido, superrico
• Hyphenated before a capital letter or a number: super-Obama, super-10
• Separated when it precedes a phrase with its own meaning: super a gusto
• Accented (súper) only when it's a standalone word meaning "supermarket" or "great"
Now you know exactly how to write superhéroe—and superregalo too! Let us know how it goes, and don't hesitate to send us your questions and comments about this or any other tricky spelling rule. ¡Hasta la próxima!
Let’s talk about adverbs. Adverbs are very important in Spanish grammar and many of them are closely connected to adjectives. In fact, there are a good number of adverbs that can be easily formed if we are familiar with the original adjective. In this lesson, we will see how to use adjectives in order to form Spanish adverbs with the suffix -mente.
Let’s take a look at these very used adverbs in Spanish.
...pero principalmente cubanos que llegaron a este país hace cuarenta años.
...but mainly Cubans who arrived to this country forty years ago.
Caption 6, La Calle 8 - Un recorrido fascinante
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Además, este año hay una zona dedicada especialmente a la gastronomía.
Additionally, this year there is an area dedicated especially to gastronomy.
Caption 28, Fuengirola - Feria Internacional de los Pueblos
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Nos criamos completamente ciegos, sordos, mudos con respecto al dinero.
We grew up completely blind, deaf, dumb with respect to money.
Caption 70, Cuentas claras - Sobreviviendo enero
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As you can see, the suffix mente corresponds to the English suffix ‘ly’. But how do you form Spanish adverbs with -mente? Let’s take a look.
In order to build Spanish adverbs with -mente, you just have to follow this very simple formula:
Feminine form of the adjective + mente
For example, if we want to form an adverb with the adjective último (last), we just need to take the feminine form of that adjective (última) and add the suffix -mente, like this:
última + mente = últimamente (lastly).
Let’s look at some more examples:
Claro (clear): clara + mente = claramente (clearly)
Lento (slow): lenta + mente = lentamente (slowly)
Honesto (honest): honesta + mente = honestamente (honestly)
However, if an adjective doesn’t end in ‘o’, it means that it has one form that is used for both masculine and feminine. In that case, you just need to add the suffix -mente to the adjective in order to get the adverb. Let’s see some examples:
Alegre (happy): alegre + mente = alegremente (happily)
Triste (sad): triste + mente = tristemente (sadly)
Frecuente (frequent): frecuente + mente = frecuentemente (frequently)
Normal (normal): normal + mente = normalmente (normally)
It is also important to mention that if you have a sentence with two adverbs in a series, only the last one will have the suffix -mente at the end. The first one will keep the feminime form of the adjective:
Él camina rápida y alegremente
He walks quickly and happily
Ellos hablaron clara y concisamente
They spoke clearly and concisely
Finally, something important to keep in mind: If the original adjective has a graphic accent on it (tilde), the adverb will also have that accent. Some examples:
Creo que mi mamá comprendió su equivocación rápidamente.
I think that my mom understood her mistake quickly.
Caption 1, Los Años Maravillosos - Capítulo 2
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Con un poco de práctica, podremos aprender estas reglas muy fácilmente.
With a bit of practice, we will be able to learn these rules very easily.
Caption 54, Carlos explica - Acentuación Cap. 3: La división en sílabas
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That's it for this lesson. Now, here is your homework: Take 10 adjectives and try to form the corresponding adverbs using the suffix -mente. Can you write some sentences too? Have fun and don’t forget to send us your feedback and suggestions.
One of the most common prefixes used in Spanish is a. This prefix is very interesting because when coming from the Latin prefix ab- or abs-, a- denotes separation or privation, but when coming from the Latin prefix ad-, a- denotes approximation or presence. Another interesting and useful aspect of this prefix is that it can be added to certain nouns and adjectives to form verbs.
Let's compare the different uses of the prefix a-. Take the word ausente (absent). This is a perfect example of the use of the prefix a- to indicate separation. We have a full movie titled El Ausente:
Ya llegó el que andaba ausente
Now he arrived, the one who was absent
y éste no consiente nada...
and this one does not allow anything...
Captions 9-10, El Ausente - Acto 3
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Strikingly enough, the prefix a- can also mean approximation or presence. A good example is the verb asistir meaning "to attend":
Siempre hemos de asistir personalmente a la entidad bancaria.
We should always go personally to the banking entity.
Caption 13, Raquel - Abrir una cuenta bancaria
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Much more practically useful is to know that we can add the prefix a- to other words, like nouns and adjectives, to form verbs. Below is an example from a video published this week. The verb acostumbrar (to get used to) is formed with the prefix a and the noun costumbre (custom, use):
Vea, Pepino, hay sitios donde les enseñan a los animales
Look, Pepino [Cucumber], there are places where they teach animals
a que se vuelvan a acostumbrar a su hábitat.
to become used to their habitat again.
Captions 10-11, Kikirikí - Animales
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Now, using the noun tormento (torment) we get the verb atormentar (to torment):
Eso seguro era algo que podía atormentarlos.
That surely was something that could torment them.
Caption 46, La Sub30 - Familias
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There are so many! From susto (fright) you get asustar (to scare):
¡Ay no, Candelario! No me asustes.
Oh no, Candelario! Don't scare me.
Caption 44, Guillermina y Candelario - La Isla de las Serpientes
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You can also use adjectives. For example, lejos (far) and cerca (close) give us alejar (to put or to go far away), and acercar (to put or to get close):
Después me alejaré
Then I will go away
Caption 22, Reyli - Qué nos pasó
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Ella trataba de acercarse a mí.
She tried to get close to me.
Caption 9, Biografía - Pablo Echarri
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Here is a list with more examples. Maybe you can find them in our Spanish catalog.
Tonto (fool) - atontar (to fool or become a fool)
Plano (flat) - aplanar (to flatten)
Grande (big) - agrandar (to make bigger)
Pasión (passion) - apasionar (to become passionate)
Nido (nest) - anidar (to form a nest)
Morado (purple) - amoratar (to get or give bruises)
Francés (French) - afrancesar (to become French-like)
Grieta (crack) - agrietar (to crack)
Have you ever been hit by a rock or elbowed in a crowd? In Spanish, there's a specific suffix that perfectly captures these painful experiences. While the suffix -azo serves various purposes in Spanish (including forming augmentatives and expressing sudden actions), in this lesson we'll focus specifically on how it's used to describe painful impacts and blows.
The suffix -azo in Spanish creates nouns that express sudden, forceful impacts or blows delivered by the object indicated in the root word. These derivations are incredibly productive in Spanish and very useful for describing everything from minor bumps to significant injuries.
Let's see it in action:
Además, si estás enamorado y no te dan bolilla... es como un piedrazo en la cabeza.
Besides, if you're in love and the other one doesn't give you a second thought... it's like getting hit on the head with a rock.
Captions 29-30, Verano Eterno Fiesta Grande - Part 6
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A piedrazo (from piedra - "stone") literally means "a blow delivered by a stone" - definitely something painful! By this same pattern, we can form many other impact-related words:
Bala (bullet) → Balazo (gunshot wound)
Codo (elbow) → Codazo (blow with an elbow; nudge)
Puño (fist) → Puñetazo (punch)
Cabeza (head) → Cabezazo (headbutt)
Rodilla (knee) → Rodillazo (knee strike)
Martillo (hammer) → Martillazo (hammer blow)
yo digo que es como un puñetazo en el estómago porque es vacío.
I say it's like a punch in the stomach because it's empty.
Captions 33-34, Festivaliando Mono Núñez - Part 8
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Many -azo words are derived from body parts and describe physical impacts:
Manazo (from mano - "hand"): a slap or hard blow with the hand
Espaldarazo (from espalda - "back"): a blow on the back, though it's also used figuratively to mean "support" or "endorsement"
Testarazo (from testa - "head"): a blow given with or to the head
Zarpazo (from zarpa - "claw"): a swipe or blow with claws
Objects used to strike or hit also form common -azo words:
Bastonazo (from bastón - "cane/walking stick"): a blow with a cane
Escobazo (from escoba - "broom"): a hit with a broom
Palazo (from pala - "shovel"): a blow with a shovel
Zapatazo (from zapato - "shoe"): a blow delivered with a shoe
The -azo suffix gives Spanish a powerful way to express impacts and painful blows in a single, expressive word. While we've focused on the physical pain aspect, this versatile suffix can also express sudden events, loud noises, and even unexpected successes or failures.
Next time you bump your elbow or get nudged in a crowd, you'll know exactly how to describe that painful experience in Spanish—with the perfect -azo word!
Have you encountered any interesting -azo words in your Spanish learning journey? Can you think of other objects that could form painful words with -azo? Think about it and don't forget to send us your comments and questions!
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