Prefixes in Hindi Posted by Nitin Kumar on Apr 26, 2011 in Hindi Language
Prefix (उपसर्ग) is a word that comes before the stem of a word, here a Hindi word. They are used to alter the meaning of a word. Study of prefixes is important as it can help us to determine the meaning of a given word.
Let us explore the topic of prefix in more detail. Romanised spellings are given for all prefixes. Example words are given along with their meaning.
In Hindi language, there are four types of prefix :
1. संस्कृत के उपसर्ग (Prefixes from Sanskrit)
These prefixes are taken from ancient Indian language, Sanskrit (mother of Hindi language).
| Prefix | Meaning | Example Words |
| अ (a) | नहीं (not) | अज्ञान (ignorance), अभाव (lack) |
| अति (ati) | अधिक (more, much) | अत्याचार (Oppression), अत्यधिक (very much) |
| स्व (sva) | अपना (ours), निजी (private) | स्वदेश (motherland), स्वतन्त्र (self-rule) |
| प्रति (prati) | विरोध (against) | प्रत्येक (every), प्रतिकूल (opposite) |
| वि (vi) | विशेष (special), अलग (different), उल्टा (opposite) | विदेश (foreign land), विभाग (department) |
| स (sa) | साथ (with) | सफल (successful), सपरिवार (with family) |
| अव (av) | बुरा (bad), नीच (mean) | अवगुण (bad attribute), अवनति (decline) |
2. हिंदी के उपसर्ग (Prefixes from Hindi)
These prefixes are taken from Hindi language itself.
| Prefix | Meaning | Example Words |
| अध (ada) | आधा (half) | अधपका (half cooked), अधमरा (weak) |
| अन (an) | अभाव (lack), निषेध (ban) | अनजान (strange), अनपढ़ (illiterate) |
| उन (un) | एक कम (one less) | उनतीस (29), उनीस (19) |
| अ (a) | अभाव (lack), निषेध (ban) | अचूक (unmistakable), अछूत (untouchable) |
| नि (ni) | निषेध (ban), रहित (without) | निकम्मा (unutilized), निहत्था (unarmed) |
| भर (bhar) | पूरा (full, complete) | भरपेट (full stomach), भरपूर (plentiful) |
| दु (du) | बुरा (bad), हीन (Inferior) | दुबला (lean, thin), दुर्बल (weak) |
3. उर्दू के उपसर्ग (Prefixes from Urdu)
These prefixes are from Urdu language which has a majority of derived words from Persian, Arabic and Turkish. Many Urdu words are interchangeably used in Hindi.
| Prefix | Meaning | Example Words |
| कम (kam) | थोडा (less) | कम-अकाल (less/unintelligent) , कमजोर (weak), |
| ना (na) | नहीं (not), अभाव (lack) | नापसंद (unlikable), नालायक, नासमझ |
| बे (be) | रहित (without) | बेदाग (Immaculate), बेकाबू (uncontrollable) |
| बद (bad) | बुरा (bad) | बदनाम (infamous), बदकिस्मत (unfortunate) |
| खुश (khush) | अच्छा (good) | खुशकिस्मत (fortunate), खुशखबरी (good news) |
| हम (hum) | साथ (with) | हमउम्र (same age) , हमदर्द (solidary) |
| ला (la) | अभाव (lack), बिना (without) | लाइलाज (incurable), लापरवाह (careless) |
4. संस्कृत शब्द से उपसर्ग (Sanskrit words used as prefixes)
These prefixes are from Sanskrit word roots.
| Prefix | Meaning | Example Words |
| अध: (adah) | नीचे (under) | अधोगति (declination), अध: पतन (premature end) |
| अंतर (antar) | अन्दर (inside) | अंतरात्मा (conscience) , अंतरराष्ट्रीय (international) |
| आवि (aavi) | प्रकट (visible, revealed) | आविष्कार (invention), आविर्भाव (emergence) |
| पुन: (punh) | फिर (again) | पुनर्जनम (reincarnation), पुनर्निर्माण (reconstruction) |
| सह (sah) | साथ (with) | सहपाठी (classmate), सहयोग (support) |
| न (na) | अभाव (lack) | नास्तिक (atheist), नेति (endless) |
| स (sa) | सहित (with) | सहर्ष (with happiness), सपरिवार (with family) |
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About the Author: Nitin Kumar
Nitin Kumar is a native Hindi speaker from New Delhi, India. His education qualification include Masters in Robotics and Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering. Currently, he is working in the Research and Development in Robotics in Germany. He is avid language learner with varied level of proficiency in English, German, Spanish, and Japanese. He wish to learn French one day. His passion for languages motivated him to share his mother tongue, Hindi, and culture and traditions associated with its speakers. He has been working with Transparent Language since 2010 and has written over 430 blogs on various topics on Hindi language and India, its culture and traditions. He is also the Administrator for Hindi Facebook page which has a community of over 330,000 members.
Comments:
Amaya patel:
Thanx a lot!!!!!!