New nouns
There are several prefixes (beginning letters) that make new nouns from other words. These are called derivational prefixes. Each are listed in the dictionary with a dash - to show that it must be attached to a word. For example, the derivational word gi- ‘small, little’ changes maa ‘child’ into gimaa ‘baby’.
Derivational prefix | Original noun | New noun with
derivational prefix |
|||
gi- | small, little (diminuative) | maa | child | gimaa | baby |
ꞌbi- | (agentive,
person who does the action) |
anduꞌba | beg | ꞌbinduꞌba | beggar |
bi- | to (infinitive,
the action used as a noun) |
aga̱ | cut | biga̱ | harvest |
do- | on, over | rüü | hut | dörüü | roof |
hi- | in, inside | rüü | hut | hïrüü | floor |
ma- | (descriptive) | hïmü | blood relative | mähïmü | relative |