Russian Morphology
Word formation
Russian has on hand a set of prefixes, suffixes, and infixes that can be stacked one upon the other to produce multiple derivatives of a given word.
First, we will look at a set of Russian prefixes as an example.
The image below is a visual representation of different Russian prefixes and their meanings. Start from the center of the left circle and end at the center of the right circle. Everything that happens along the way can be described using one of the prefixes.
Russian has on hand a set of prefixes, suffixes, and infixes that can be stacked one upon the other to produce multiple derivatives of a given word.
First, we will look at a set of Russian prefixes as an example.
The image below is a visual representation of different Russian prefixes and their meanings. Start from the center of the left circle and end at the center of the right circle. Everything that happens along the way can be described using one of the prefixes.
First, let's look at the beginning, and how we can describe going away from a place of origin.
Next, we'll skip to the end and look at how to describe getting to a destination.
In getting from the beginning to the end, there are a few things that can happen.
The rest:
Suffixes
A great example of Russian suffixes can be seen in the formation of Russian names. Russian names consist of three parts:
A given name corresponds to the first name in English tradition. The majority of Russian names are common Christian names from the Bible as well as of Greek and Latin origin.
The Patronymic is a modified version of the father's name. It consists of the father's name followed by a suffix. The suffixes ich, vich, evich are used for males, and the suffixes ovna, evna, ichna are used for females. For instance, the the patronymic in the name "Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin" means "son of Vladimir." Likewise, the patronymic in the name "Natasha Ivanovna Petrova" means "daughter of Ivan."
A family name corresponds to the last name. Usually this is a derivative of an ordinary words (primarily names). The suffixes of the family name is different for males and females. The male suffixes are: ov, ev, öv, in, ih, yh, and the famale suffixes are: ova, eva, öva, ina, ih, yh. The suffixes express "belonging to." For example, the wife of "Boris Yeltsin" would be "Naina Yeltsina." The -in suffix is masculine, and the -ina suffix is feminine.
- от-off, aside.
- вы-out.
- у-away.
- из-from.
Next, we'll skip to the end and look at how to describe getting to a destination.
- под-approach; coming "up to".
- в-in. within.
- при-arrival.
- до-reaching.
In getting from the beginning to the end, there are a few things that can happen.
- пере-across; over.
- про-through
- на-on.
- за-drop in
- воз-up.
- с-down.
The rest:
- раз-out in all directions.
- со-in from all directions.
- об-around. about. (not pictured)
- по-by increment of. a bit of. (not pictured)
Suffixes
A great example of Russian suffixes can be seen in the formation of Russian names. Russian names consist of three parts:
- Given name
- Patronymic, or a modified version of the father's name
- Family name
A given name corresponds to the first name in English tradition. The majority of Russian names are common Christian names from the Bible as well as of Greek and Latin origin.
The Patronymic is a modified version of the father's name. It consists of the father's name followed by a suffix. The suffixes ich, vich, evich are used for males, and the suffixes ovna, evna, ichna are used for females. For instance, the the patronymic in the name "Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin" means "son of Vladimir." Likewise, the patronymic in the name "Natasha Ivanovna Petrova" means "daughter of Ivan."
A family name corresponds to the last name. Usually this is a derivative of an ordinary words (primarily names). The suffixes of the family name is different for males and females. The male suffixes are: ov, ev, öv, in, ih, yh, and the famale suffixes are: ova, eva, öva, ina, ih, yh. The suffixes express "belonging to." For example, the wife of "Boris Yeltsin" would be "Naina Yeltsina." The -in suffix is masculine, and the -ina suffix is feminine.