A handful of suffixes do most of the work of building new Afrikaans words from ones you already know. Learn the eight on this page and you can turn an adjective into an abstract noun, a verb into an action noun or a doer, and a noun into an adjective — often guessing the result correctly the first time. These suffixes are productive, meaning they still actively form new words, so they are worth more than any vocabulary list: they let you generate vocabulary on demand. We exclude the diminutive -tjie/-jie and compounding here; this page is strictly about derivation, the broader picture of which lives on the word-formation overview.
-heid: quality and abstraction (the -ness suffix)
-heid attaches to an adjective and produces an abstract noun naming the quality. It is the workhorse equivalent of English -ness and -ity. The resulting noun is always common gender (takes die).
Vryheid van spraak is in die Grondwet vasgelê.
Freedom of speech is enshrined in the Constitution.
Haar skoonheid het almal stil laat raak.
Her beauty made everyone fall silent.
Eerlikheid is op die lange duur die beste beleid.
Honesty is the best policy in the long run.
So vry ("free") becomes vryheid ("freedom"), skoon ("beautiful/clean") becomes skoonheid ("beauty"), eerlik ("honest") becomes eerlikheid ("honesty"). When the adjective already ends in -ig or -lik, the suffix surfaces as -heid all the same: moeilik → moeilikheid ("difficulty"), gelukkig → geluk is irregular (use geluk, not gelukkigheid, for "happiness/luck"), but waardig → waardigheid ("dignity") is regular.
-ing: the action or result of a verb (the -ation suffix)
-ing attaches to a verb stem and names the action or its result. It is the closest thing Afrikaans has to English -ing/-ation/-ment nominalisation. Critically, the stem often keeps any prefix and the -ing sits on the end of the whole verb.
Die opleiding duur ses maande.
The training lasts six months.
Daar was 'n groot verbetering in haar punte.
There was a big improvement in her marks.
Die regering het 'n nuwe wet aangekondig.
The government announced a new law.
Here oplei ("to train") gives opleiding, verbeter ("to improve") gives verbetering, and regeer ("to govern") gives regering. Watch the spelling: when the stem ends in a g that would clash with the suffix, Afrikaans drops it — beweeg ("to move") becomes beweging ("movement"), not bewegging. This g-deletion is the one orthographic trap with -ing.
-er: the doer or the tool (the agent suffix)
-er turns a verb into the person or instrument that performs it — the agent or instrument suffix, exactly like English -er. A doubled final consonant often appears to keep the preceding vowel short: bak → bakker ("baker"), swem → swemmer ("swimmer").
Die bakker maak elke oggend vars brood.
The baker makes fresh bread every morning.
Ons soek 'n ervare werker vir die fabriek.
We're looking for an experienced worker for the factory.
Hierdie oopmaker werk nie meer nie.
This (bottle) opener doesn't work any more.
Werk ("to work") gives werker ("worker"), bak ("to bake") gives bakker ("baker"), and oopmaak ("to open") gives oopmaker ("opener", an instrument). The same suffix forms inhabitants and origin nouns too (Kaapstad → Kapenaar is irregular, but Pretoria → Pretorianer). For the full agent-noun picture, see agent and derived nouns.
-te: abstract nouns from adjectives (a smaller class)
-te also builds abstract nouns from adjectives, but it is far less productive than -heid — it survives mostly in a fixed set you should simply learn as vocabulary.
Die hoogte van die berg is meer as drieduisend meter.
The height of the mountain is over three thousand metres.
Die diepte van die meer is onbekend.
The depth of the lake is unknown.
Hoog ("high") gives hoogte ("height"), diep ("deep") gives diepte ("depth"), lank/lang ("long") gives lengte ("length", irregular). You cannot freely coin new -te nouns; treat this class as closed.
-lik: the -ly / -able adjective suffix (the cognate trap)
-lik builds adjectives (and the adverbs that look identical to them) from nouns, verbs, and other adjectives. It corresponds to Dutch -lijk and to English -ly and -able — and this is exactly where Dutch and English cognates can mislead you. The Afrikaans spelling is always -lik, never -lijk (that is the Dutch form) and never -like (that would be the literal but wrong English mapping).
Die nuwe bure is baie vriendelik.
The new neighbours are very friendly.
Dit is 'n persoonlike vraag — ek hoef nie te antwoord nie.
That's a personal question — I don't have to answer.
Die water is gelukkig weer drinkbaar.
Fortunately the water is drinkable again.
Vriend ("friend") gives vriendelik ("friendly") — note that despite the spelling it means "friendly", not "friend-like"; the English-cognate intuition would mistranslate it. Persoon ("person") gives persoonlik ("personal"), and moontlik ("possible") shows the suffix on a non-obvious stem. If you have studied Dutch, your instinct will be to write -lijk; resist it. Afrikaans simplified the spelling to -lik across the board.
-baar: the -able / -ible suffix
-baar attaches to a verb stem and produces an adjective meaning "able to be V-ed" — precisely English -able/-ible. It is fully productive, so you can form new ones with confidence.
Hierdie sampioene is eetbaar, maar daardie nie.
These mushrooms are edible, but those aren't.
Die foute is maklik herstelbaar.
The faults are easily repairable.
Eet ("to eat") gives eetbaar ("edible"), herstel ("to repair") gives herstelbaar ("repairable"), lees ("to read") gives leesbaar ("legible/readable"). When you are unsure whether an -able word exists, -baar is the suffix to reach for.
-loos and -ig: "-less" and "characterised by"
-loos means "without", exactly like English -less, and attaches to nouns. -ig turns nouns and verbs into adjectives meaning "having / characterised by", a rough match for English -y or -ous.
Hy is al ses maande werkloos.
He's been unemployed for six months now.
Dit was 'n moedelose situasie.
It was a hopeless situation.
Die pad is baie klipperig na die reën.
The road is very stony after the rain.
Werk ("work") plus -loos gives werkloos ("workless, unemployed"); moed ("courage") gives moedeloos ("dispirited, hopeless"). For -ig, klip ("stone") gives klipperig ("stony"), son ("sun") gives sonnig ("sunny"). Note that -loos often inserts a linking -e- (moed-e-loos), which you learn per word.
Quick reference
| Suffix | Attaches to | Produces | Example | English match |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -heid | adjective | abstract noun | vry → vryheid | -ness / -ity |
| -ing | verb | action/result noun | oplei → opleiding | -ing / -ation |
| -er | verb | agent / instrument | werk → werker | -er |
| -te | adjective | abstract noun (closed) | hoog → hoogte | -th / -ity |
| -lik | noun / verb | adjective | vriend → vriendelik | -ly / -al |
| -baar | verb | adjective | eet → eetbaar | -able / -ible |
| -loos | noun | adjective | werk → werkloos | -less |
| -ig | noun / verb | adjective | son → sonnig | -y / -ous |
Common mistakes
❌ Sy waardeer my vriendelijkheid.
Incorrect — Dutch -lijk spelling; Afrikaans writes -lik: vriendelikheid.
✅ Sy waardeer my vriendelikheid.
She appreciates my friendliness.
❌ Daar was 'n groot beweegging in die mark.
Incorrect — the stem-final g is deleted before -ing: beweging.
✅ Daar was 'n groot beweging in die mark.
There was a big movement in the market.
❌ Die nuwe gebou se bouing het twee jaar geduur.
Incorrect — '-ing' names the action, not the object; here 'building' (the act) is bou/bouwerk, and the structure itself is 'n gebou.
✅ Die bou van die nuwe gebou het twee jaar geduur.
The building of the new building took two years.
❌ Hierdie sampioene is eetlik.
Incorrect — 'edible' uses -baar, not -lik: eetbaar.
✅ Hierdie sampioene is eetbaar.
These mushrooms are edible.
❌ Hy is al ses maande werkloosheid.
Incorrect — werkloos is the adjective; the abstract noun 'unemployment' is werkloosheid, but here you need the adjective: werkloos.
✅ Hy is al ses maande werkloos.
He's been unemployed for six months.
Key takeaways
- -heid (from adjectives) builds abstract "quality" nouns — the -ness/-ity suffix: vryheid, skoonheid, eerlikheid.
- -ing (from verbs) names an action or result; beware stem-final g-deletion (beweeg → beweging) and don't equate it with English concrete -ing nouns.
- -er (from verbs) makes the agent or instrument: werker, bakker, oopmaker — see agent and derived nouns.
- -lik is the cognate trap: spelled -lik (never Dutch -lijk or English -like), and vriendelik means "friendly", not "friend-like".
- -baar is the productive -able suffix (eetbaar, herstelbaar); -loos is -less (werkloos); -ig is -y/-ous (sonnig).
- Productive suffixes let you generate vocabulary — see also prefixes and conversion for the rest of the derivation toolkit.
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Start learning Afrikaans→Related Topics
- Derived Nouns: Agents, Actions, QualitiesB1 — How Afrikaans builds nouns from verbs and adjectives — agent and instrument nouns in -er/-aar, action nouns in -ing, and the workhorse abstract suffix -heid — with their plurals and the few traps.
- Derivational Prefixes: on-, ver-, be-, her-, wan-B2 — How Afrikaans builds new words with prefixes — negative on-, verb-forming ver-/be-/ont-/her-, and pejorative wan-/mis- — and why the inseparable prefixes that block ge- in the past are exactly the ones here.
- Word Formation: OverviewA2 — Afrikaans builds new words with a small but powerful toolkit — a pervasive diminutive, solid compounding, prefixes and suffixes, and a distinctive reduplication that English handles with separate words.
- Conversion: Verbs from Nouns and BackC1 — Zero-derivation in Afrikaans — turning nouns into verbs (hamer to hamer, fiets to fiets) and verbs into nouns (die loop) with no suffix, the living engine that absorbs English loan-verbs like gegoogle.