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English Suffixes: What They Are, Types, and a List With Examples
A suffix goes at the end of the word and can change its part of speech: happy (adjective) → happiness (noun).
Written by Bryan López, Profesor de inglés · Updated
An English suffix is a group of letters added to the end of a word, and unlike a prefix, it can change its part of speech: happy (adjective) becomes happiness (noun) or happily (adverb). Recognizing the most common suffixes helps you tell whether an unfamiliar word is a noun, adjective, verb, or adverb just by looking at its ending.
The most common suffixes by category
The key rule: a suffix changes the part of speech
Unlike a prefix, which never changes a word's part of speech, a suffix almost always does. Care is a verb or noun, but careful is an adjective and carefully is an adverb: the same root changes function depending on the suffix you add.
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Explore all 344 English suffixes
Meaning, formation, real audio pronunciation, and examples, organized by category.
Recognizing the part of speech just from the ending
With practice, you can guess whether a word is a noun, adjective, or adverb just by its ending: a word ending in -tion, -ness, or -ment is almost always a noun; one ending in -ful, -less, or -ous is almost always an adjective; and almost any word ending in -ly is an adverb.
Common mistakes with suffixes
The most frequent mistake is using the wrong form of the same root: saying "I am boring" when you mean "I am bored." Both come from bore, but -ing describes something that causes the feeling and -ed describes the person who feels it. The same pattern applies to interesting/interested, confusing/confused, and many more.
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Frequently asked questions
What is a suffix in English?
It's a group of letters added to the end of a word that, unlike a prefix, can change its part of speech. For example, happy (adjective) becomes happiness (noun).
What are the most common English suffixes?
For nouns: -ness, -ment, -tion, -ity. For adjectives: -ful, -less, -able, -ous. For adverbs: -ly. For professions: -er, -or, -ist.
How do I know if a word is a noun or an adjective from its ending?
Endings like -tion, -ness, and -ment almost always signal a noun. Endings like -ful, -less, and -ous almost always signal an adjective. Almost any word ending in -ly is an adverb.
What's the difference between a suffix and a prefix?
A suffix goes at the end of a word and can change its part of speech (happy → happiness). A prefix goes at the start and never changes the part of speech (happy → unhappy, still an adjective).
Why do people mix up "boring" and "bored"?
Because both come from the same root (bore) but with different suffixes: -ing describes what causes the feeling ("This movie is boring") and -ed describes the person who feels it ("I am bored"). The same pattern repeats with interesting/interested and confusing/confused.
Why is it useful to learn English suffixes?
It lets you identify a new word's part of speech just from its ending, and correctly form nouns, adjectives, and adverbs from the same root.
Explore all 344 English suffixes
Meaning, formation, real audio pronunciation, and examples, organized by category.