Opposites and Reversals
Esperanto Word-Building
Chapter 2 · Opposites and Reversals
↔️ Opposites and Reversals — Kontraŭaĵoj
Four prefixes change a word's direction rather than its type. mal- turns a word into its opposite, re- sends it back or does it again, for- sends it away and ek- starts it. They go at the front of a root, ahead of everything else.
mal-: the logical opposite
The Reta Vortaro defines mal- as giving the idea that is logically opposite to the root. It works on words of every kind:
| Word | Opposite | Parts |
|---|---|---|
| longa long | mallonga short | mal + long + a |
| plena full | malplena empty | mal + plen + a |
| utila useful | malutila useless | mal + util + a |
| dekstre on the right | maldekstre on the left | mal + dekstr + e |
| supre above | malsupre below | mal + supr + e |
| lumo light | mallumo darkness | mal + lum + o |
| fermi close | malfermi open | mal + ferm + i |
| kovri cover | malkovri uncover | mal + kovr + i |
| aperi appear | malaperi disappear | mal + aper + i |
These pairs all come from the dictionary's own list. The everyday adjectives work the same way: bona / malbona (good / bad), granda / malgranda (big / small), juna / maljuna (young / old), varma / malvarma (warm / cold). A person you like is an amiko; the opposite, an enemy, is a malamiko.
When the opposite is a different root
Not every pair is built with mal-. Many opposites are separate roots, and you simply learn them:
| Word | Opposite |
|---|---|
| vivi to live | morti to die |
| doni to give | preni to take |
| komenci to begin | fini to finish |
So when you want an opposite, first ask whether the language already has a word for it. malvivi is not the normal way to say "to die"; use morti.
re-: back, and again
ReVo gives re- two senses: returning to a previous place or state, and repeating.
| Sense | Word | Parts | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| back | reveni | re + ven + i | to come back |
| back | redoni | re + don + i | to give back |
| again | revidi | re + vid + i | to see again |
| again | relegi | re + leg + i | to read again |
| again | refoje | re + foj + e | once more |
for-: away
The adverb for means away. As a prefix it usually keeps that sense: movement or disappearance into the distance.
| Word | Parts | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| forveturi | for + vetur + i | to travel away, to drive off |
| forpafi | for + paf + i | to shoot away |
| foriri | for + ir + i | to go away |
The word forigi is a separate entry in ReVo: to remove, as in forigi eraron (remove a mistake). It is built from the adverb for plus the suffix -ig- (Chapter 6).
ek-: the start of an action
ReVo describes ek- as an aspect prefix: a process begins suddenly, at a precise moment. It has two uses.
| Use | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| starts, and may continue | ekparoli | to begin to speak |
| starts, and may continue | eksoni | to begin to ring (bells) |
| starts, and may continue | eksidi | to sit down (roughly sidiĝi) |
| a single brief event | ekkrii | to cry out |
| a single brief event | eksalti | to jump (from surprise) |
Compare komenci, "to begin", which names a deliberate start of something that takes time. ek- is the sudden version: ekvidi is "to catch sight of". Use ek- for a moment, komenci for a project.
Stacking prefixes
Prefixes can combine, and each one acts on everything to its right. ReVo has remalsaniĝo, a relapse into illness. Take it apart:
| Part | Job |
|---|---|
| san | root: healthy |
| mal- | opposite: ill (malsana) |
| -iĝ- | to become: to fall ill (malsaniĝi) |
| re- | again: to fall ill again |
| -o | noun: a relapse |
📖 A Short Text — Mallonga teksto
Find every prefix and say what it does.
La fenestro
Show a translation
Yesterday I opened the window and the cold wind came in. I shivered suddenly, so I closed it again. Then I reread the letter and removed a few mistakes.
✏️ Try It Yourself — Ekzercoj
Say the answer first, then click to check.
1. Give the opposite of: granda, juna, varma, fermi.
Show answer
malgranda, maljuna, malvarma, malfermi.
2. Take apart malplena and malaperi.
Show answer
mal + plen + a (empty); mal + aper + i (to disappear).
3. What is the difference between ne bona and malbona?
Show answer
ne bona only denies "good" (not good); malbona is the positive opposite: bad.
4. Which of these is built with mal-, and which has its own root: maldormi, mortis, preni?
Show answer
maldormi is built with mal- (ReVo lists it as the opposite of dormi, to be awake), while mortis (died) and preni (to take) are separate roots.
5. Say in Esperanto: "to come back", "to give back", "to see again".
Show answer
reveni, redoni, revidi.
6. Why should you not read reprezenti as "present again"?
Show answer
Because its meaning (to represent) has moved away from "again"; many dictionaries treat it as a separate root, not re- + prezenti.
7. What does the prefix for- add to iri and veturi?
Show answer
"Away": foriri (go away) and forveturi (travel away).
8. Which suits "he cried out in surprise", li komencis krii or li ekkriis, and why?
Show answer
li ekkriis: a single sudden event. komenci suggests a deliberate start of something that continues.
9. Take apart remalsaniĝo in the order the prefixes act.
Show answer
san (healthy), malsan (ill), malsaniĝ (fall ill), remalsaniĝ (fall ill again), plus -o: a relapse.
10. Write one sentence about your morning using at least one of mal-, re- and ek-.
Show answer
One possibility: Matene mi malfermis la fenestron kaj ekvidis la sunon. (In the morning I opened the window and caught sight of the sun.)
Words used in this chapter
malfermi open · malkovri uncover · malaperi disappear · malamiko enemy · reveni come back · relegi reread · foriri go away · forigi remove · ekparoli begin to speak · ekkrii cry out · erari make a mistake · fenestro window · vento wind · tremi tremble