Suffix · forms adjectives
Turns a noun into an adjective meaning "full of" or "having": rain becomes rainy.
Written by Bryan López, English teacher · Updated
The suffix -y turns a noun into an adjective meaning "full of X", "having X" or "resembling X". From "rain" you get "rainy"; from "sun" you get "sunny"; from "wind" you get "windy". It is one of the most productive and frequent adjective suffixes in everyday English. If you know a noun in English, you can almost always add -y to create a descriptive adjective.
The most natural use of -y is for weather and textures: Weather: rainy, sunny, windy, cloudy, foggy, stormy, snowy, icy. Textures and appearance: dusty, dirty, muddy, greasy, crunchy, creamy, chunky. Emotions and qualities: lucky, funny, noisy, healthy, tasty, tricky, risky.
-y and -ly look similar but are completely different: -y forms adjectives from nouns: rain (noun) → rainy (adjective). -ly forms adverbs from adjectives: quick (adjective) → quickly (adverb). "It is rainy today" = adjective (-y). "It rains heavily" = adverb (-ly). Some -ly words are also adjectives (friendly, lovely, lively), but that is a separate case.
Noun + y. Some spelling rules depending on the ending.
The doubling rule applies when the noun has one syllable in a consonant-vowel-consonant pattern: sun → sunny, fog → foggy, mud → muddy. If the noun ends in two consonants, no doubling: wind → windy (not "winddy").
-y (adjective)/i/ · short 'ee' sound
Tap the button to hear how the ending sounds. Each word in the table has its own audio.
-y forms adjectives from nouns. -ly forms adverbs from adjectives. "rainy" = full of rain. "rainly" does not exist.
Weather adjectives use -y, not -ly: sunny, rainy, windy, cloudy, foggy.
fun → funny (double n), mud → muddy (double d). Short CVC nouns double the final consonant.
A trick to remember it
For weather in English, use -y: sunny, rainy, cloudy, windy, foggy, stormy. For textures or qualities: dirty, noisy, lucky, healthy, tasty. Noun + y = adjective. Do not confuse with -ly (adverb).
Exercise 1 · Form the word
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
What is the difference between "rainy" and "rainly"?
Exercise 3 · Pick the right one
"funny" comes from "fun". What spelling change happens?
The suffix -y (adjective) turns a noun into an adjective meaning "full of" or "having": rain becomes rainy. In Spanish it usually maps to -oso / -ado / full of.
The ending -y (adjective) is pronounced /i/ · short 'ee' sound. For example, "rainy".
"rain" becomes "rainy". It is a typical example of the -y (adjective) suffix.
-tion, -ness, -ful, -ly, -able... every ending you need to understand thousands of words at once.