Deutsch — adjective suffixes
German builds many adjectives with productive suffixes attached to a noun or verb stem. Each suffix carries a typical meaning: machbar signals possibility, arbeitslos signals lack, wertvoll signals abundance. Knowing them lets you decode and coin adjectives you have never seen.
How it works
A suffix attaches to a noun or verb stem and turns it into an adjective with a predictable sense. Possibility comes from -bar (machbar 'doable'); presence of a quality from -lich (freundlich 'friendly'), -ig (sonnig 'sunny') and -haft (fehlerhaft 'faulty'); a tendency from -sam (sparsam 'thrifty'); absence from -los (arbeitslos 'unemployed'); and abundance from -voll (wertvoll 'valuable') and -reich (erfolgreich 'successful').
The suffixes
| Suffix · example | Typical meaning |
|---|---|
| -bar · machbar, essbar, lesbar | possibility: 'able to be done' (from verbs) |
| -lich · freundlich, täglich, natürlich | quality or relation: 'having / pertaining to' |
| -ig · sonnig, ruhig, hügelig | characterized by / full of a feature |
| -sam · sparsam, langsam, sorgsam | tendency or disposition toward something |
| -los · arbeitslos, hilflos, kostenlos | absence: 'without / lacking' (= English -less) |
| -voll · wertvoll, liebevoll, sinnvoll | abundance: 'full of' (= English -ful) |
| -haft · fehlerhaft, vorbildhaft, ekelhaft | having the character or manner of |
| -reich · erfolgreich, zahlreich, einfallsreich | rich in / abounding in something |
Good to know
The meanings are typical, not automatic — you cannot freely coin every combination. -sam is no longer productive (langsam, sparsam are fixed), and -haft can shift between 'defective' (fehlerhaft) and 'exemplary' (vorbildhaft). Note also that -bar is the only opposite pair partner of -los that maps cleanly to English -able/-less; the others have no single English equivalent, so learn each word rather than translating the suffix mechanically.