Most Commonly-Used Prefixes
This list, compiled by White, Sowell, and Yanagihara (The Reading Teacher, 42, p. 306), has the
twenty most frequently-used prefixes. In fact these prefixes make up 97% of all prefixed words.
Rank/Prefix Meaning
1. un not
2. re again
3. in, im, il, ir not
4. dis away from
5. en, em in
6. non not
7. in, im in
8. over above
9. mis not
10. sub under
11. pre before
12. inter between
13. fore in front
14. de apart from
15. trans across
16. super above
17. semi half
18. anti against
19. mid middle
20. under too little Frequently-Used Roots
Root Meaning Origin Example
aud hear Latin auditorium
mis send Latin mission
astro star Greek astrology
ped foot Latin pedal
bio life Greek biology
phon sound Greek telephone
dict say Latin predict
port carry Latin import
geo earth Greek geography
scrib, scrip write Latin scribble, scripture
meter measure Greek thermometer
min little, small Latin minimum
spect see Latin inspect
mit, mis send Latin transmit, mission
struct build, form Latin instruct
Adapted from Stahl, S.A. and Shiel, T.G., Reading and Writing Quarterly: Overcoming Learning
Disabilities, 8, 223-241
Most Commonly-Used Suffixes
Suffix Meaning Examples
_s, _es plural or verb tense cats, pushes
_ed past verb tense, past participle helped, had helped
_ing verb tense or noun form indicating on-going action was going, listening
_ly how, when, where, or under what conditions slowly
_er, _or one who writer, actor
_er comparative adjective bigger
_tion, _ion, the process or act of notion, onion,
_sion, _ition, tension, partition,
_ation decoration
_able, _ible able to be comparable, invisible
_al, _ial related to mortal, partial
_y consisting of or inclined toward rainy
_ness state, quality, condition, degree brightness
This list was adapted from the research compiled by Cooper 2000.
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