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Fi- on ye! Posted by on Apr 26, 2009 in Esperanto Language

Sometimes it can be tempting to throw down an Latin- or English- sounding word, tack a relevant Esperanto suffix on the end, and hope the word works properly. In some cases, it can be a viable strategy – think of the verb “halti,” which means “to halt,” or the preposition “kun” (with) which is remarkably like the Latin “cum.” So, you Latin students out there might use “fi-” as a root meaning “loyal,” right?

I advise against it! In Esperanto, “fi-” is a prefix that denotes shame or a bad reputation, much like the infix “-acx-.” (Multaj dankojn, DN, pro korektis min!) With this in mind, when you encounter “fi-” in a word, don’t think of the Latin homophone. Instead, recall the Middle English word “fie,” which you might have seen in Shakespeare plays. It’s not entirely the same, but it’s similar, and a lot closer than what Latin would have you think!

Fiskribo – Graffiti

(You should have the idea…I don’t want to offer too many examples, because most of them would be impolite!)

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Comments:

  1. russ:

    Se temas pri korektoj:
    “Multaj dankojn, DN, pro korektis min!”
    estu
    “Multajn dankojn, DN, pro tio, ke vi korektis min!”
    aŭ pli simple
    “Multajn dankojn, DN, pro la korekto!”

    1. kongruaj finaĵoj por kunaj adjektivoj kaj substantivoj (“multajn dankojn”).
    2. substantivo post la prepozicio “pro”.

    salutas vin,
    russ

  2. baby moothaparambil:

    hi
    despite information on many websites i am yet to have a breakthrough to learn esperanto. HELP!

  3. Lex:

    Multajn dankojn al vi, ankauxe. Neniu estas perfekta!

    I truly appreciate any corrections to my grammar that anyone out there has to offer. We all make mistakes, and it helps contribute to a learning environment if we’re all able to look after one another like DN and Russ have thus far.

  4. Lex:

    Well, baby moothaparambil, you’ve found the right place for language help. Transparent Language, the parent site that hosts this blog, offers plenty of excellent language learning software – including several Esperanto products. I highly recommend any of them, as they tend to help you learn vocabulary with lightning speed.

    If you need a few resources to start you off, the website lernu.net has a good amount of beginner’s information, including a PDF file somewhere on their site that provides a brief overview of the Esperanto language.

    Bonan sxancon!