In today’s blog, we are going to introduce

5 common Chinese suffixes

which are -儿、-家、-们、-子 and -头. Let’s see how are they used in Chinese words and phrases.

The -儿 Suffix

儿(er2) is a retroflex final that is often transcribed as “r” is Pinyin. There are several situations where 儿 is added.

儿 could be added to nouns to indicate littleness and intimacy. For example:

• 小鸟儿(xiao3 niaor3, little bird)

• 小孩儿(xiao3 hair2, little child)

儿 could be added to verbs, adjectives or measure words to form nouns. For example:

• 盖儿(gair4, lid)

• 错儿(cuor4, mistake)

• 片儿(pianr4, piece)

Lastly, 儿 can also be added to certain verbs to make it colloquial. For example:

• 玩儿(wanr2, play)

The -家 Suffix

This suffix is used after certain nouns to indicate a specified group of people. For example:

• 小孩子家(xiao3 hai2 zi0 jia0, children)

• 姑娘家(gu1 niang0 jia0, girls)

This suffix could also be used to express certain occupations, for example:

• 作家(zuo4 jia1, writer)

• 画家(hua4 jia1, painter)

The -们 Suffix

This suffix is used after a personal pronoun or a noun to show plural number. For example:

• 女士们、先生们(nv3 shi4 men0, xian1 sheng0 men0, ladies & gentlemen)

• 你们(ni3 men0, you plural)

• 他们(ta1 men0, they)

• 我们(wo3 men0, us)

• 朋友们(peng2 you0 men0, friends)

The -子 Suffix

This is commonly used as a noun suffix, for example:

• 桌子(zhuo1 zi0, table)

• 帽子(mao4 zi0, hat)

• 鼻子(bi2 zi0, nose)

This can also be added after a verb or an adjective to form a noun, for example:

• 夹子(jia2 zi0, tongs)

• 胖子(pang4 zi0, fatty)

The -头 Suffix

This suffix is commonly added to a noun, for example:

• 石头(shi2 tou0, stone)

• 木头(mu4 tou0, wood)

• 骨头(gu3 tou0, bone)

It could also be added to a word of location, for example:

• 里头(li3 tou0, inside)

• 外头(wai4 tou0, outside)

• 上头(shang4 tou0, top)

• 下头(xia4 tou0, bottom)

To learn more about the use of suffixes in Chinese or Chinese in general, you can contact us for a free trial and consultation. We offer a variety of courses and are located in the convenient CBD area in Singapore. Stay tuned to this blog to learn Mandarin Chinese with us.