Prefixes – II Posted by Nitin Kumar on Feb 23, 2012 in Hindi Language
In Hindi, there are several groups under which prefixes could be defined. As you already know, there are several loan words in Hindi. These loan words could be from Persian, Arabic, English and etc.
Let me show you some of the prefixes with some examples. I have selected some prefixes that make words in Hindi, Persian and English. Romanized form of prefixes as well as their meaning will help you to learn them. Meaning of example words have not been given and left to you as an exercise.
Hindi Prefixes
| No. | Prefix | Meaning | Example |
| 1 | अ | कमी/ निषेध (shortage/not permitted) | अमर, अटल, अचल |
| 2 | अन (an) | नहीं /अभाव (no/shortage) | अनपढ़, अनजान, अनमोल |
| 3 | अध (ad) | आधा (half) | अधपका, अधजला |
| 4 | उन (un) | कम (less) | उनतीस, उन्नीस |
| 5 | क/कु (ka/ku) | बुरा/बुरी (bad(mas.)/bad(fem.)) | कपूत, कुरूप |
| 6 | स/सु (sa/su) | अच्छा/सहित (good/with) | सपूत, सुडौल |
| 7 | दु (du) | बुरा/कम (bad/less) | दुबला, दुखद |
| 8 | भर (bhar) | ठीक/पूरा (correct/complete) | भरपेट, भरपूर |
| 9 | बिन (bin) | बिना (without) | बिनखाए, बिनब्याहा |
| 10 | चौ (chau) | चार (four) | चौराहा, चौकन्ना |
Urdu – Persian Prefixes
| No. | Prefix | Meaning | Example |
| 1 | बे (be) | बिना/अभाव (without/shortage) | बेरहम, बेगुनाह |
| 2 | बद (bad) | बुरा (bad) | बदनाम, बदबू |
| 3 | खुश (khush) | अच्छा (good) | खुशबू, खुशहाल |
| 4 | ना (naa) | नहीं/निषेध (no/not permitted) | नालायक, नाराज |
| 5 | गैर (gaer) | भिन्न/अलग (different) | गैरकानूनी, गैरहाजिर |
| 6 | ला (laa) | बिना/नहीं (without/no) | लाइलाज, लापरवाह |
| 7 | कम (kam) | थोड़ा (less) | कमउम्र, कमजोर |
| 8 | दर (dar) | में (in) | दरमियान, दरअसल |
| 9 | बा (baa) | साथ/सहित (with) | बाकायदा, बाइज्ज़त |
| 10 | हम (ham) | समान/साथ (same/with) | हमशकल, हमउम्र |
| 11 | हर (har) | प्रत्येक (every) | हरएक, हरसाल |
| 12 | ब (ba) | साथ/अनुसार (with) | बनाम, बैगेर |
| 13 | ऐन (aen) | ठीक (correct) | ऐनवक्त, ऐनमौका |
English Prefixes
| No. | Prefix | Meaning | Example |
| 1 | सब (sab) | Sub | सबइंस्पेक्टर |
| 2 | हेड (head) | Head | हेड मास्टर, हेड क्लेर्क |
| 3 | चीफ (chief) | माँग (mang) | चीफ मिनिस्टर, चीफ जज |
| 4 | जनरल (general) | अंधकार (andhkar) | जनरल मेनेजर, जनरल स्टोर |
| 5 | असिस्टंट (assistant) | निर्बल (nirbal) | असिस्टंट टीचर, असिस्टंट कमिश्नर |
| 6 | वाइस (vice) | विच्छेद (viched) | वाइस प्रिंसिपल, वाइस कैप्टेन |
| 7 | हाफ (half) | नालायक (naalaayak) | हाफ पेंट |
| 8 | डिप्टी (deputy) | अपमान (apmaan) | डिप्टी कमिश्नर, डिप्टी डारेक्टर |
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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.