Learn some common noun prefixes in Spanish
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Intro |
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| Michael: What are some noun prefixes in Spanish? |
| Cesar: And why are they useful to know? |
| Michael: At SpanishPod101.com, we hear these questions often. Imagine the following situation: Sasha Lee is studying for her language exam together with her classmate, Ana Perez Barcenas. She sees an unknown word, and asks, |
| "What does "prefijo" mean?" |
| Sasha Lee: ¿Qué significa prefijo? |
| Dialogue |
| Sasha Lee: ¿Qué significa prefijo? |
| Ana Pérez Bárcenas: Significa "prefix." |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| Sasha Lee: ¿Qué significa prefijo? |
| Michael: "What does "prefijo" mean?" |
| Ana Pérez Bárcenas: Significa "prefix." |
| Michael: "It means "prefix."" |
Lesson focus |
| Michael: A noun prefix is an affix that we place before the radical in a word, creating a different meaning for that word. The affix can be either a letter or a series of letters. Let’s see an example: |
| Cesar: antebrazo |
| Michael: meaning “forearm”. Here, the prefix “ante” is added to give a meaning of “before”, “the front part of something”. Removing the prefix, we have: |
| Cesar: brazo |
| Michael: Meaning “arm”. |
| Michael: "Prefix" in Spanish is: |
| Cesar: prefijo |
| Michael: This is discussed in the conversation between Sasha Lee, who asks: |
| Cesar: ¿Qué significa prefijo? |
| Michael: "What does "prefijo" mean?". To which Ana replies: |
| Cesar: Significa "prefix." |
| Michael: "It means "prefix."" |
| [Summary] |
| Michael: In this lesson, you’ve learned that noun prefixes are a letter or a set of letters added before the radical in the word to form another word with a different meaning. Now, let’s look at some examples. Our first example is: |
| Cesar: Voy al supermercado todos los fines de semana. |
| Michael: "I go to the supermarket every weekend.". Here, the prefix "super-" adds a sense of something "superior" or "beyond" the normal level of a thing, so: |
| Cesar: supermercado |
| Michael: "supermarket" conveys the meaning of a "large shop". By removing the prefix, we'll have: |
| Cesar: mercado |
| Michael: "market", which is a regular shop where you go to buy groceries, for example. Our next example is: |
| Cesar: La autodisciplina es importante para el desarrollo personal. |
| Michael: "Self-discipline is important for personal development." Here, the prefix "auto-" gives an idea of "self": |
| Cesar: autodisciplina |
| Michael: Meaning"self-discipline". |
| Expansion |
| Michael: Some prefixes are common to English and Spanish. For example, "anti-", which is a prefix meaning "against" or "opposite of", as in: |
| Cesar: anticuerpo |
| Michael: "antibody", which is a substance produced by the body to fight disease, for example. Another example would be: |
| Cesar: antibiótico |
| Michael: "antibiotic", which is a substance that can avoid or stop the growth of bacteria. |
| These common prefixes between English and Spanish will surely be helpful in your Spanish learning process, so make sure to get acquainted with them! |
| Practice Section |
| Michael: Let's review. Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then, repeat after Cesar focusing on pronunciation. |
| Do you remember how Sasha Lee says "What does "prefijo" mean?" |
| Cesar: ¿Qué significa prefijo? |
| Michael: Listen again and repeat. |
| Cesar: ¿Qué significa prefijo? |
| Cesar: ¿Qué significa prefijo? |
| Michael: And do you remember how Ana says "It means "prefix?"" |
| Cesar: Significa "prefix." |
| Michael: Listen again and repeat. |
| Cesar: Significa "prefix." |
| Cesar: Significa "prefix." |
| Cultural Insight |
| Michael: One of the longest words in Spanish is: |
| Cesar: esternocleidooccipitomastoideo |
| Michael: A noun meaning "sternocleidomastoid", which is a muscle in the human neck. This word includes the prefix: |
| Cesar: "occipito-" |
| Michael: "occipital", which refers to the occipital bone (a bone at the back of the head). |
Outro |
| Michael: Do you have any more questions? We’re here to answer them! |
| Cesar: ¡Hasta la próxima! |
| Michael: See you soon! |
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