15.7 - Noun suffixes
If you are able to identify the various segments which make up a Ukrainian noun, you can usually work out what it means. For example, in the phrase потойбічний світ, if you know that бічний comes from бік (similarly to річний – рік) you can probably work out that the world being referred to, по-той-біч-ний, по тому боці, is "on the other side" or "not of this world".
The three elements which help us work out the meaning of a noun are its stem (біч – бік), its prefix(es) по-той- and its ending -ний, which tells us the word is an adjective.
If you recognise the stem of a noun, and have an idea of what the various suffixes denote, you can generally work out the overall meaning, for example, the suffix -ник generally denotes a person or thing which carries out a function: година (hour, time) – годинник (watch, clock); робота (work) – робітник (workman).
Below are the more important noun (nominal) suffixes, with their most frequent meanings and examples. Please note that this list does not aim to be exhaustive.
| suffix masc. |
suffix fem. |
suffix neut. |
predominant use | examples |
| -ак -як |
-ачка -ячка |
belonging to a profession or ethnic or social group | моряк (sailor, seaman), співак -ачка (singer), земляк -ячка (fellow countryman/woman) | |
| -анин -янин |
-анка -янка |
see page 15.6 | киянин -янка (Kyivite), галичанин -анка (Galician, from Halychyna) | |
| -ар -яр |
-арка -ярка |
person or object performing an activity or function | санітар -арка (medical orderly), лікар -арка (doctor), косар (reaper), косарка (mowing machine) | |
| -ач | -ачка | person or object performing an activity or function | викладач -ачка (lecturer), спостерігач (observer), вимикач (on-off switch) | |
| -ець | origin, qualities or function of person or object | промовець (speaker), мистецтвознавець (art historian), ссавець (mammal), видавець (publisher) | ||
| -ик | -иця | person or object performing an activity or function; diminutive; endearment | попередник, попередниця (predecessor), однокласник -иця (classmate), художник -иця (artist) | |
| -исько | -ище | object of large size; exaggeration; place or environment where an activity takes place | чоботище (great big boot), водосховище (reservoir), середовище (environment), урвище (precipice), вовчисько (big nasty wolf) | |
| -ість | quality; abstract noun formed from adjective | вічність (eternity), молодість (youth), радість (joy), якість (quality) | ||
| -ство -цтво |
group of people of similar social or other status; quality or abstract concept; frequently equivalent to English '‑hood' or '‑ship' (e.g. childhood) | козацтво (cossacks collectively), селянство (peasantry), керівництво (management), співробітництво (co-operation), слов'янофільство (slavophilia) | ||
| -ання -яння -ення -єння note* |
action or process; result of action or process | занепокоєння (anxiety, turmoil), вирішення (resolution, e.g. of a problem), рішення (decision), зменшення (decrease), визволення (freeing, liberation), визволяння (process of liberating), рівняння (equating, equation), кохання (love, loving), виконання (performing, performance) |
* also other nouns ending in a double consonant plus -я, e.g. зайняття, чуття.
Most of the suffixes used for diminutives (frequently doubling up as terms of endearment) have not been listed in the chart, but include -ик, -ичка, -инка, -ина, -иця, -ок, -очка etc.