Esperanto table words look as if they contain a prefix and suffix, but their pieces belong to a closed grammatical grid, not to ordinary free word formation. The safe principle is: select one of the 45 established correlatives intact; when forming a larger word, normally preserve that whole correlative. All unmarked uses on this page are neutral in register.
A closed internal system
The five fixed initials ki-, ti-, i-, ĉi-, neni- combine with the nine fixed endings -u, -o, -a, -es, -e, -am, -al, -el, -om. This architecture helps learners decode words, but it does not license arbitrary mixing with ordinary roots or affixes.
Kie vi laboras, kaj kiam vi komencas?
Where do you work, and when do you start?
Kie and kiam are each complete grammatical words. The pieces ki-, -e, and -am do not normally circulate outside the table as productive affixes.
This matters because some table endings resemble ordinary grammatical endings but mean something narrower. Table -e always selects place, while ordinary adverbial -e can express manner, time, place, measure, and more. Table -u selects an individual, while ordinary verbal -u marks the volitive.
Kiu venu ĉi tien unue?
Who should come here first?
In kiu, final -u belongs to the table word and asks about an individual. In venu, ordinary -u is a verb ending. Similar spelling does not create the same morpheme.
Whole correlatives can take ordinary endings
A complete table word can serve as the base of a larger ordinary word. The original table-word shape remains visible, and the added ending changes the resulting word class or meaning.
| Base | Derivative | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| tiam | tiama | existing at that time |
| ĉiam | ĉiama | constant, perpetual |
| tie | tiea | located there; of that place |
| kiom | kioma | which in an ordered sequence |
| kial | kialo | reason |
La tiama direktoro subskribis la unuan kontrakton.
The director at that time signed the first contract.
Mi ne konas la tieajn kutimojn, do mi demandos nian gastiganton.
I do not know the local customs there, so I will ask our host.
Kio estas la ĉefa kialo de la prokrasto?
What is the main reason for the delay?
These are ordinary derived words after formation. Tieajn takes adjective endings because tiea is an adjective, not because the original -e correlative suddenly permits plural and object marking.
Whole correlatives inside compounds
The entire correlative can also stand as the modifying element of a compound. Do not usually remove its final table element.
| Underlying phrase | Compound |
|---|---|
| de tiu speco | tiuspeca |
| en tia maniero | tiamaniere |
| en ĉiu tago | ĉiutage |
| en ĉiu fojo | ĉiufoje |
| tiom da fojoj | tiomfoje |
Tiuspeca eraro estas facile rimarkebla dum revizio.
An error of that kind is easy to notice during review.
Mi ne volas tiamaniere respondi al kolera kliento.
I do not want to answer an angry customer in that way.
Ŝi ĉiutage iras piede al la laboro, sed hodiaŭ ŝi prenis la buson.
She walks to work every day, but today she took the bus.
The retained forms tiu, tia, ĉiu, and tiom preserve the semantic relation. Forms such as tispeca and timaniere wrongly cut off part of the correlative.
For general compound structure, see compound head order.
Phrase or compound?
Spacing can reflect a real grammatical difference. A phrase has independently functioning words; a compound packages a relationship into one lexical unit.
Ĉiu tago alportis novan problemon.
Every day brought a new problem.
Ni ĉiutage kontrolis la premon.
We checked the pressure daily.
In ĉiu tago, ĉiu is a determiner agreeing conceptually with singular tago. In ĉiutage, the whole compound is an adverb. Likewise, iu fojo means “some occasion” as a noun phrase, while iufoje means “sometimes.”
Iu fojo dum tiu somero restis aparte viva en mia memoro.
One occasion during that summer remained especially vivid in my memory.
Iufoje mi ankoraŭ revas pri tiu vojaĝo.
Sometimes I still dream about that trip.
The boundary is therefore not cosmetic. Ask whether the correlative independently determines a noun or whether the expression functions as one derived word.
Ĉi and ajn remain separate in ordinary phrases
Proximity ĉi and free-choice ajn are independent particles, not pieces to attach with a hyphen:
Elektu ĉi tiun seĝon aŭ kiun ajn alian liberan seĝon.
Choose this chair or any other available chair.
Write ĉi tiu, not ĉi-tiu; write kiun ajn, not kiun-ajn. When a whole phrase with ĉi becomes an adjective or adverb, however, a true compound arises and a hyphen after ĉi is conventional: ĉi-jara, ĉi-nokte, ĉi-flanke, ĉi-tiea.
La ĉi-jara festivalo komenciĝos ĉi-vendrede.
This year's festival will begin this Friday.
Unhyphenated spellings such as ĉijara are theoretically possible but scarcely used. The conventional hyphen makes the compound boundary readable. The proximity particle ĉi page explains why ordinary ĉi tiu remains unhyphenated.
Lexicalized exceptions are not a template
A small traditional group replaces final -o or -a with another suffix: neniaĵo “a worthless/nothing-like thing,” nenieco “nonexistence,” neniigi “annihilate,” neniiĝi “cease to exist,” and tiaĵo “a thing of that kind.” These established words do not make arbitrary surgery on correlatives productive.
La fajro neniigis la malnovajn dokumentojn.
The fire destroyed the old documents completely.
Mi ne atendis tiaĵon de fidinda kolego.
I did not expect such a thing from a reliable colleague.
Treat these as conventional lexical items. When no established form exists, retain the whole correlative or use a transparent phrase.
The proposed ali- series
Forms such as aliel, aliam, and alies have been proposed as a new table-word row meaning “otherwise,” “at another time,” and “someone else's.” They occur in some usage, but they are nonstandard reform forms and create conflicts with ordinary alia, alio, and alie.
Normative and pedagogical recommendation: use established ordinary formations—alimaniere or alie, alifoje/alitempe, and de alia persono or aliula. Do not present the proposed forms alongside the 45 foundational table words as if their status were equal.
Ni provu alimaniere, se ĉi tiu metodo ne funkcias.
Let us try another way if this method does not work.
Tiu mantelo ne estas mia; ĝi apartenas al alia persono.
That coat is not mine; it belongs to another person.
Common Mistakes
Cutting off part of a table word
❌ Mi neniam vidis tispecan aparaton.
Incorrect — the compound retains the complete table word tiu.
✅ Mi neniam vidis tiuspecan aparaton.
I have never seen a device of that kind.
Writing a phrase as a hyphenated word
❌ Ĉi-tiu raporto estas tro longa.
Incorrect — ordinary proximity ĉi remains a separate word.
✅ Ĉi tiu raporto estas tro longa.
This report is too long.
Separating a true compound
❌ Ŝi ĉiu tage promenas al la laboro.
Incorrect for adverbial ‘daily’ — ĉiu cannot modify tage as a separate determiner.
✅ Ŝi ĉiutage promenas al la laboro.
She walks to work every day.
Treating ajn as a suffix
❌ Prenu kiun-ajn libron vi volas.
Incorrect — ajn is a separate word, not a hyphenated suffix.
✅ Prenu kiun ajn libron vi volas.
Take whichever book you want.
Expanding the table with ali-
❌ Aliel ni ne povos solvi la problemon.
Nonstandard reform usage — aliel is not part of the foundational table.
✅ Alie ni ne povos solvi la problemon.
Otherwise we will not be able to solve the problem.
Key Takeaways
The internal pieces of table words form a closed system. Preserve the full correlative in regular derivatives and compounds: tiea, tiuspeca, tiamaniere, ĉiutage. Keep ordinary ĉi tiu and kiu ajn as separate words, but recognize true compounds such as ĉi-jara. Memorize the few lexicalized truncations and avoid nonstandard attempts to add an ali- row.
Related Topics
- The Table-Word SystemA1 — Learn Esperanto's 45 table words as a five-by-nine meaning system for questions, demonstrations, indefinites, universals, and negatives.
- Correlative Endings and Their MeaningsA1 — Learn the nine fixed correlative endings that select identity, thing, kind, possessor, place, time, reason, manner, and quantity.
- Ĉi as a Proximity ParticleA2 — Use the separate invariant particle ĉi with demonstratives to mark physical or discourse proximity, with correct spacing and agreement.
- Ajn for Free ChoiceB1 — Place ajn after a correlative to express unrestricted choice, indifference, or concessive ‘no matter’ meanings.
- Compound Head OrderA2 — Interpret and build ordinary Esperanto compounds with the general head on the right and its modifier before it.