Suffix · forms adjectives
Indicates geographic direction or relative position: north becomes northern.
Written by Bryan López, English teacher · Updated
The suffix -ern turns compass direction words into adjectives meaning "coming from the direction of" or "relating to that side": north → northern, south → southern, east → eastern, west → western. "Modern" also ends in -ern but comes from Latin "modernus" rather than from a direction word.
The four fundamental forms: north + ern = northern: Northern Europe, Northern Ireland. south + ern = southern: Southern Spain, a Southern accent. east + ern = eastern: Eastern Europe, Eastern culture. west + ern = western: Western countries, a western (cowboy film). All four can also be used as nouns to name a person from that region: "a Southerner".
"Western" deserves special attention because it has a concrete cultural meaning in English: besides the adjective ("Western countries"), it names the cowboy film genre. "Have you seen any good westerns lately?" "Eastern" is also used as an adjective for religion and philosophy: "Eastern philosophy" (Buddhism, Taoism, etc.).
Compass direction + ern. Closed class — only works with the four cardinal directions.
-ern is only productive with the four cardinal directions. "modern", "intern", "pattern" contain -ern for separate etymological reasons, not because they were formed with this suffix.
-ern/ərn/ · sounds like 'ern'
Tap the button to hear how the ending sounds. Each word in the table has its own audio.
north + ern = northern (with r: nor-THERN). Not "northen" or "nothern".
south + ern = southern. Pronunciation: SU-dhern (the -th- is voiced, as in "the").
"Eastern" applies to anything in the east direction: Eastern Europe, the eastern coast. Use "Far Eastern" or "Asian" to refer specifically to Asia.
A trick to remember it
Four key words: northern, southern, eastern, western. Always with -ern. And one cultural note: "a western" as a noun = a cowboy movie.
Exercise 1 · Form the word
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
"Eastern Europe" means...
Exercise 3 · Pick the right one
"A western" as a noun in English means...
The suffix -ern indicates geographic direction or relative position: north becomes northern. In Spanish it usually maps to del ... / norteño/sureño/oriental/occidental.
The ending -ern is pronounced /ərn/ · sounds like 'ern'. For example, "northern".
"north" becomes "northern". It is a typical example of the -ern suffix.
Turns a noun into an adjective meaning "related to" or "belonging to": nation becomes national.
Turns a noun into an adjective meaning "of", "relating to" or "characteristic of": economy becomes economic.
From Old English "-weard" (direction): forms adverbs and adjectives of direction or tendency. Inward, outward, forward, wayward, awkward.
-tion, -ness, -ful, -ly, -able... every ending you need to understand thousands of words at once.