Sanskrit Prefixes in Hindi Posted by Nitin Kumar on Sep 24, 2012 in Hindi Language
Prefix (उपसर्ग – Upsarg) 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. In Hindi, there are various types of suffixes which include prefixes from Sanskrit (संस्कृत) and Hindi. Prefixes from Sanskrit are very important as most of the Hindi words are words which have been derived from Sanskrit words. Study of these prefixes will not only be helpful for Hindi learning but will also shed light on the linguistic connection between Sanskrit and Hindi.
Let us explore the topic of prefix from Sanskrit in more detail. Romanised spellings are given for all prefixes. Example words are given along with their meaning.
| Prefix | Meaning | Example Words |
| अ (a) | नहीं (nahi – not) | अज्ञान (agyan – ignorance), अभाव (abhaav – lack) |
| अति (ati) | अधिक (adhik – more, much) | अत्याचार (atyaachar – oppression), अत्यधिक (atyaadhik – very much) |
| स्व (sva) | अपना (apna – ours), निजी (nizi – private) | स्वदेश (svaadesh – motherland), स्वतन्त्र (savatantr – self-rule) |
| प्रति (prati) | विरोध (virodh – against) | प्रत्येक (pratyek – every), प्रतिकूल (pratikul – opposite) |
| वि (vi) | विशेष (vishesh – special), अलग (alag – different), उल्टा (ulta – opposite) | विदेश (videsh – foreign land), विभाग (vibhag – department) |
| स (sa) | साथ (sath – with) | सफल (safal – successful), सपरिवार (saparivaar – with family) |
| अव (av) | बुरा (bura – bad), नीच (nich – mean) | अवगुण (avgurn – bad attribute), अवनति (avanati – decline) |
| अन (an) | नहीं (nahi – not), अभाव (abhaav – scarcity) | अनादर (anaadar – insult), अनुपस्थित (anupasthit – absent) |
| अधि (adhi) | उप्पर (uppar – up), समीप (samip – near), बड़ा (bada – big) | अधिकारी (adhikari – officer), अधिनायक (adhinaayak – dictator) |
| अभि (abhi) | सामने (samane – in front of), पास (paas – near) | अभियोग (abhiyog – indictment), अभिनेता (Abhineta – Actor) |
| अनु (anu) | सामने (samane – in front of), पीछे (piche – behind) | अनुरूप (anurup – analogue), अनुज (anuj – younger brother) |
| अप (ap) | बुरा (bura – bad), हीन (hin – deficient, inferior) | अपमान (apmaan – insult), अपकार (apkar – letdown) |
| आ (aa) | तक (tak – upto), भर (bhar – upto), पूर्ण (purn – complete) | आजीवन (aajeevan – lifelong), आदान (aadan – exchange) |
| उत (ut) | ऊँचा (uncha – high), श्रेष्ठ (shristh – best) | उत्साह (utsaah – enthusiasm), उत्तम (uttam – superb) |
| उप (up) | छोटा (chota – small), समीप (samip – near) | उपदेश (updesh – preaching), उपनाम (upnaam – surname) |
| नि (ni) | अच्छी तरह (acchi tarah – in a good way) | निवास (nivas – residence), निवेदन (nivedan – request) |
| कु (ku) | बुरा (bura – bad), नीचता (nichta – meanness) | कुकर्म (kukarm – misdeed), कुरूप (kuroop – ugly) |
| दुर (dur) | बुरा (bura – bad), कठिन (kathin – difficult) | दुर्जन (durjan – villain), दुर्बल (durbal – weak) |
| परि (pari) | सब ओर (sab aur – in every direction) | परिमाण (parimaan – magnitude), परिवर्तन (parivartan – change) |
| सम (sam) | पूर्णता (purnta – completeness), अधिकता (adhikta – excess of), समीपता (samipta – closeness) | संपूर्ण (sampurn – overall), संगम (sangam – confluence), संतोष (santosh – satisfaction) |
| प्र (pr) | आगे (aage – ahead), अधिक (adhik – more), उप्पर (uppar – above) | प्रबल (prabal – prevail), प्रगति (pragati – progress), प्रचार (prachar – promotion) |
| परा (para) | उल्टा (ulta – opposite), पीछे (piche – behind) | पराक्रम (parakarm – courage), पराजय (parajay – defeat) |
| सु (su) | अच्छा (accha – good), सहज (sahaj – innate) | सुफल (sufal – successful), सुर्लभ (surlab – accessible) |
| निस (ni) | बिना (bina – without) | निस्संदेह (nirsandah – Undoubtedly), निश्चय (nishchay – certainty) |
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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:
pushpanjali parida:
Thank you for giving help