The suffix -ind- means “worthy or deserving of being subjected to the base action.” A leginda book is worth reading, a fidinda person deserves to be trusted, and a memorinda event deserves to be remembered. Like -ebl- and -end-, it gives the preceding action a passive interpretation: the described item is the potential object of the action.
English uses worth + -ing, deserves to be, and many lexical adjectives such as remarkable or trustworthy. Esperanto’s pattern is more systematic, but value judgments and established usage still determine which formations sound natural.
The Passive Worth Test
Start with a transitive verb and its object. If that object merits the action, -ind- can present the evaluation as an adjective:
| Verb and object | Ind-adjective | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| legi libron | leginda libro | a book worth reading |
| fidi homon | fidinda homo | a person worthy of trust |
| memori okazon | memorinda okazo | an occasion worth remembering |
| laŭdi agon | laŭdinda ago | an action deserving praise |
La muzeo estas vizitinda eĉ se vi havas nur unu liberan horon.
The museum is worth visiting even if you have only one free hour.
Ŝia decido agnoski la eraron estis laŭdinda.
Her decision to acknowledge the mistake was praiseworthy.
Ĉu tiu longa artikolo vere estas leginda?
Is that long article really worth reading?
The adjective evaluates the affected item, not the agent. Fidinda kolego is a colleague whom one can justifiably trust; it does not mean “a colleague who trusts readily.” This passive direction is central.
Mi fidas ŝin, ĉar ŝi pruvis sin fidinda en malfacilaj situacioj.
I trust her because she proved trustworthy in difficult situations.
Worthiness, Possibility, And Obligation
Three action suffixes form a useful decision system:
| Suffix | Core question | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -ebl- | Can the action be done? | legebla — able to be read |
| -ind- | Is the action worthwhile or deserved? | leginda — worth reading |
| -end- | Must the action be done? | legenda — requiring reading |
La manuskripto estas legebla, sed ne leginda.
The manuscript is readable, but not worth reading.
La kontrakto estas malfacile legebla, tamen ĝi estas legenda antaŭ ol vi subskribas.
The contract is difficult to read, yet it must be read before you sign.
La urbo estas vizitinda, sed neniu vizito estas deviga.
The city is worth visiting, but no visit is obligatory.
English should can blur recommendation and obligation. Leginda gives a recommendation or evaluative judgment; legenda gives a requirement. Legebla says neither—it states possibility. See -ebl- and -end-.
Positive And Negative Evaluation
The action need not be pleasant. Bedaŭrinda means deserving regret, “regrettable”; riproĉinda means deserving reproach; puninda means deserving punishment. -Ind- evaluates whether the action is merited, not whether the word as a whole is praise.
La perdo de tiuj historiaj dokumentoj estas profunde bedaŭrinda.
The loss of those historical documents is deeply regrettable.
Intence kaŝi tiun riskon estus riproĉinda.
Deliberately concealing that risk would be blameworthy.
Ne ĉiu eraro estas puninda; kelkfoje klarigo sufiĉas.
Not every error deserves punishment; sometimes an explanation is enough.
Negation can apply to the completed evaluation. Neleginda normally means “not worth reading.” Nefidinda means “not deserving trust, unreliable.” With some bases, lexical convention gives a strong meaning: nepardoninda is “unforgivable,” something that ought not or cannot reasonably be forgiven.
La reta fonto estas nefidinda, ĉar ĝi ne montras siajn datumojn.
The online source is unreliable because it does not show its data.
La libro ne estas malbona, sed ĝi estas neleginda por komencantoj.
The book is not bad, but it is not worth reading for beginners.
That last judgment is context-dependent: a work may be leginda por fakuloj but neleginda por komencantoj. -Ind- often expresses a speaker’s evaluation rather than an objective physical property.
Established Extensions Beyond Straight Transitivity
Because the suffix is passive, it normally builds on an object-taking verb. Several extremely common words extend the pattern from verbs that ordinarily use a preposition:
- ridinda: deserving laughter, ridiculous—from ridi pri/pro something;
- mirinda: deserving wonder, amazing—from miri pri something;
- plorinda: deserving tears, lamentable—from plori pri/pro something.
La prezo estus ridinda, se la situacio ne estus tiel serioza.
The price would be ridiculous if the situation were not so serious.
De la supro vidiĝas mirinda panoramo de la valo.
From the summit there is an amazing panorama of the valley.
— Kiel estis la koncerto? — Mirinda; la publiko aplaŭdis dum kvin minutoj.
— How was the concert? — Wonderful; the audience applauded for five minutes.
These are foundational, conventional formations. They show that lexicalized valency can support an understood relation such as “laugh at” or “wonder at.” They do not license arbitrary -ind- forms from every intransitive verb. If the passive paraphrase is obscure, use indas + infinitive, meritas, or a fuller clause.
Indas alveni frue por eviti la vicon.
It is worthwhile to arrive early to avoid the line.
Here indas is the ordinary verb from the root ind-, followed by an infinitive. It evaluates an action without pretending that alveni has a passive object.
Final Endings And Discourse Adverbs
The root can take ordinary endings: inda “worthy,” indo “worth/merit,” indigi “make worthy,” and indas “it is worthwhile.” Derived adverbs often evaluate a whole situation.
Bedaŭrinde, la lasta buso jam foriris.
Unfortunately, the last bus has already left.
La volontuloj laŭdinde finis la laboron antaŭ la limdato.
The volunteers commendably finished the work before the deadline.
Bedaŭrinde is a fully established sentence adverb in neutral speech and writing. Its literal morphology is “in a way deserving regret,” but speakers use it simply to frame an unfortunate fact. Laŭdinde can similarly evaluate conduct, though it is more at home in careful or (formal) prose than in casual conversation.
Memorinde, la unua propono havis multe pli malaltan koston.
It is worth remembering that the first proposal had a much lower cost.
In an informational sentence, notinde “notably” or rimarkinde “remarkably/noteworthily” may be more idiomatic depending on the intended emphasis. Lexical choice remains important even in a productive system.
-Ind- And -End- Sometimes Overlap
Historically, -ind- also served some meanings now expressed by -end-. That overlap survives. Kaŝinda can mean “worth concealing” and, in context, almost “needing to be concealed.” Konsiderinda is “worthy of consideration,” but a sufficiently important factor effectively demands consideration. Nepardoninda is normally stronger than a calm recommendation not to forgive.
La propono havas konsiderindajn avantaĝojn, sed ankaŭ gravajn riskojn.
The proposal has considerable advantages, but also serious risks.
La nomo de la atestanto estas kaŝenda por ŝia sekureco.
The witness’s name must be concealed for her safety.
The first is evaluative: the advantages deserve notice and are substantial. The second states a requirement, so kaŝenda is clearer than kaŝinda. The boundary is sometimes fuzzy in established vocabulary, but productive modern use benefits from keeping worth and obligation distinct.
Scope And Nonstandard-Looking Formations
In ordinary suffix use, the base is understood as an action: vid-ind-a, memor-ind-a, ne-forges-ind-a. Neforgesinda is something that deserves not to be forgotten—memorable. Each layer has recoverable scope.
La unua vojaĝo sola tra fremda lando estis neforgesinda sperto.
The first solo journey through a foreign country was an unforgettable experience.
Forms such as mortinda “deserving death” and prezoinda “worth its price” do not follow the normal passive-action pattern. Here ind- behaves more like the independent root “worthy of,” and prezoinda even retains a linking -o-. These forms are rare or specialized; do not treat them as the main productive model. A phrase such as inda je sia prezo or valora por la prezo is clearer.
Common Mistakes
Confusing Worthiness With Possibility
❌ La pordo estas malferminda, ĉar la ŝlosilo funkcias.
Wrong suffix for mere possibility — a working key shows that the door can be opened, not that opening it is worthwhile.
✅ La pordo estas malfermebla, ĉar la ŝlosilo funkcias.
The door can be opened because the key works.
Confusing Recommendation With Obligation
❌ La sekureca regularo estas nur leginda antaŭ laboro.
Too weak if reading it is mandatory — leginda means worth reading.
✅ La sekureca regularo estas legenda antaŭ laboro.
The safety regulations must be read before work.
Giving The Suffix An Active Meaning
❌ Fidinda homo estas homo, kiu facile fidas aliajn.
Incorrect — fidinda is someone who deserves to be trusted.
✅ Fidinda homo plenumas siajn promesojn.
A trustworthy person keeps their promises.
Extending The Pattern Without A Clear Passive Relation
❌ La hotelo estas dorminda, ĉar ni povas dormi tie.
Unclear coinage — dormi normally has no object that the hotel could represent.
✅ Indas dormi en tiu hotelo, ĉar ĝi estas trankvila.
It is worth sleeping in that hotel because it is quiet.
Key Takeaways
- -Ind- marks the described item as worthy or deserving of the base action.
- Its direction is passive: fidinda deserves to be trusted, not “inclined to trust.”
- Contrast -ebl- “can be done,” -ind- “is worth doing,” and -end- “must be done.”
- Established extensions such as ridinda, mirinda, and bedaŭrinde are conventional and widely used.
- Historical overlap with -end- remains, but clear modern coinages should distinguish evaluation from obligation.
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Start learning Esperanto →Related Topics
- -ebl-: Passive PossibilityB1 — Use -ebl- to describe something as capable of undergoing the action of a transitive base verb.
- -end-: Obligation Requiring An ActionB1 — Use -end- to describe something that must undergo a required action, and distinguish necessity from possibility and worthiness.
- Root Character and CategoryA2 — Understand how a root's inherent meaning shapes its noun, adjective, adverb, and verb forms.
- Affix Stacking and ScopeB2 — Interpret and build multi-affix Esperanto words by applying each layer in order and keeping the semantic head and participant roles clear.
- Lexicalization and ConventionalityB2 — Understand why structurally transparent Esperanto words develop conventional meanings that cannot be predicted from morphology alone.