Spanish has a rich set of suffixes that turn verbs and adjectives into nouns. Learning these patterns gives you two big advantages: you can guess the meaning of unfamiliar nouns, and you can often predict a noun's gender from its ending alone.
Action and Result: -ción, -sión
The suffixes -ción and -sión turn verbs into abstract nouns that describe an action or its result. They correspond directly to English -tion and -sion, which makes them one of the easiest patterns to recognize. Nouns ending in -ción and -sión are always feminine.
La decisión del juez sorprendió a todos los presentes.
The judge's decision surprised everyone present.
Abstract Qualities: -dad, -tad, -eza, -ura
The suffix -dad (and its variant -tad) builds abstract nouns from adjectives, similar to English -ity and -ty. These nouns are always feminine.
The suffix -eza turns adjectives into feminine nouns describing a quality: bello becomes belleza (beauty), triste becomes tristeza (sadness), rico becomes riqueza (wealth).
La belleza del paisaje nos dejó sin palabras.
The beauty of the landscape left us speechless.
The suffix -ura works similarly: dulce becomes dulzura (sweetness), hermoso becomes hermosura (beauty), loco becomes locura (madness). Nouns in -ura are also feminine.
Me encanta la dulzura natural de los mangos maduros.
I love the natural sweetness of ripe mangos.
Process and Result: -miento, -aje
The suffix -miento comes from verbs and describes a process or its outcome. These nouns are masculine: mover becomes movimiento (movement), sentir becomes sentimiento (feeling), pensar becomes pensamiento (thought).
El movimiento de los planetas sigue reglas matemáticas.
The movement of the planets follows mathematical rules.
The suffix -aje forms masculine nouns, often related to actions or collections: viajar gives viaje (trip), aterrizar gives aterrizaje (landing), equipar gives equipaje (luggage).
People and Professions: -or/-dor, -ista, -ero
The agent suffixes -or and -dor turn verbs into nouns for people or machines that perform an action. The feminine forms are -ora and -dora.
Mi tía es pintora y vende sus cuadros en el mercado.
My aunt is a painter and sells her works at the market.
The suffix -ista describes someone who practices a craft, ideology, or sport. It has only one form for both genders: el artista, la artista; el dentista, la dentista.
El artista expuso sus obras en una galería del centro.
The artist exhibited his works at a downtown gallery.
The suffix -ero/-era often describes a trade related to a material or object: zapato gives zapatero (shoemaker), pan gives panadero (baker), carta gives cartero (mail carrier).
Summary Table
| Suffix | Meaning | Gender | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| -ción, -sión | action, result | feminine | acción, decisión |
| -dad, -tad | abstract quality | feminine | libertad, verdad |
| -eza | quality | feminine | belleza, tristeza |
| -ura | quality, state | feminine | dulzura, hermosura |
| -miento | process, result | masculine | movimiento, pensamiento |
| -aje | action, collection | masculine | viaje, equipaje |
| -or / -dor | agent | masc. / fem. | pintor, trabajador |
| -ista | practitioner | invariable | artista, dentista |
| -ero / -era | trade, occupation | masc. / fem. | zapatero, panadera |
Once you're comfortable with noun suffixes, continue with adjective-forming suffixes to describe those nouns in more detail.
Related Topics
- Common PrefixesB1 — Learn the most useful Spanish prefixes to expand your vocabulary and recognize word families at a glance.
- Adjective-Forming SuffixesB1 — Create Spanish adjectives from nouns and verbs using productive suffixes, including patterns for nationalities and places of origin.
- Cognate Patterns (-tion → -ción)B1 — Transform thousands of English words into correct Spanish by applying systematic sound correspondences between the two languages.