{"id":69914,"date":"2018-06-11T19:54:12","date_gmt":"2018-06-11T23:54:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/italian-suffixes\/"},"modified":"2025-01-21T19:52:06","modified_gmt":"2025-01-22T00:52:06","slug":"italian-suffixes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/italian\/italian-suffixes\/","title":{"rendered":"Common Italian Suffixes and How to Use Them"},"content":{"rendered":"

Italian suffixes are endings added to the root of a word to create a new word, usually with a slightly different meaning. They’re a convenient way to boost your vocabulary and make understanding Italian much easier.<\/p>\n

Italians use suffixes all the time, so it’s an important (and extremely useful) part of learning the language. Let’s look at some of the most common Italian suffixes and how to use them.
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What Are Italian Suffixes?<\/h2>\n

A suffix is an attachment to the end of a word that changes that word’s meaning<\/strong>. Some examples of suffixes<\/a> in English are -tion<\/em>, -cian<\/em>, -al<\/em>, -ible<\/em>,\u00a0-able<\/em>, -ive<\/em>, -ful<\/em>, -ious,<\/em>\u00a0-ment<\/em>\u00a0and -ly<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Using suffixes, we can take the word “relate,” for example, and create “relation,” “relative,” “relatable,” “relatively” and more. Italian suffixes work similarly, and there are even more suffixes in Italian than in English<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On top of all the things that English suffixes do, Italian suffixes can also make a thing big, small, cute, gross, young, old and much more. Being able to use suffixes instead of cramming your sentences with excess words is part of speaking fluent Italian<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Common Italian Suffixes<\/h2>\n

Here are some common Italian suffixes that you can use in your conversations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Agentive Suffixes<\/h3>\n

Agentive suffixes describe a person who does an<\/strong> action<\/strong>. For example, we can add the agentive suffix -er<\/em> to the English word “teach” to create “teacher,” a person who teaches. Here are some examples in Italian:<\/p>\n

-aio:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 <\/em>forno<\/strong><\/em> (oven) \u2192 f<\/em>ornaio<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>(baker)
\n\u2022 macello<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0<\/em>(slaughterhouse) \u2192 macellaio<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0<\/em>(butcher)<\/p>\n

-ista:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 ciclo<\/strong><\/em> (cycle, loop) \u2192 ciclista<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0(cycler)
\n\u2022<\/em> batteria<\/strong><\/em>(drums) \u2192 batterista<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0(drummer)<\/p>\n

-tore:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 scia<\/strong><\/em> (he\/she skis) \u2192 sciatore<\/em><\/strong> (skier)
\n\u2022<\/em> crea<\/strong><\/em> (he\/she creates) \u2192 creatore<\/em><\/strong>(creator)<\/p>\n

iere\/-iera:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 <\/em>giardino<\/em><\/strong> (garden) \u2192 giardiniere<\/em><\/strong> (male gardener) \/ giardiniera<\/strong><\/em> (female gardener)
\n\u2022 <\/em>infermo<\/em><\/strong> (sick person) \u2192 infermiere<\/em><\/strong> (male nurse) \/ infermiera<\/em><\/strong> (female nurse)<\/p>\n

Pejorative Suffixes<\/h3>\n

Pejorative suffixes give a negative connotation <\/b>to a word. We don’t have these in English, so they can be a little tricky to get used to. Here are a couple of examples in Italian:\u00a0<\/p>\n

-accio:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 ragazzo<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0<\/em>(boy) \u2192 ragazzaccio<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>(bad boy)
\n\u2022 cane<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>(dog) \u2192 cagnaccio<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>(bad dog)<\/p>\n

-accia:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 giorno<\/strong><\/em> (day)\u00a0\u2192<\/em> giornataccia<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>(bad day)
\n\u2022 parola<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0(word) \u2192 <\/em>parolaccia<\/strong><\/em> (curse word)<\/p>\n