Notes: Litvish only has two genders, with inanimate objects being mostly assigned a feminine gender. Diminutives retain their base noun gender.
Inflectional
editVerbal
edit| Affix | Function | Examples | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Affix | Function | Examples | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| -∅ | First person singular
Imperative singular |
||
| ־סט (-st) | Second person singular | ||
| ־ט (-t) | Third person singular
Second person plural Imperative plural |
||
| -ṇ ־ן (-n) | Infinitive (regular verbs)
First person plural Third person plural |
||
| -ṇdik ־נדיק (-ndik) | |||
| ge- + umlaut + -ən ־ן (-n) + גע־ (ge-) | Past participle (strong verbs) | רײַסן (raysn) ⇾ געריסן (gerisn) | |
| ge- + umlaut + -t ־ט (-t) + גע־ (ge-) | Past participle (weak verbs) | מאַכן (makhn) ⇾ געמאַכט (gemakht) | |
| ge- גע־ (ge-) | Derivational/fossilised historic prefixations (greykhṇ) | greykhṇ גרייכן (greykhn) |
nominal
edit| Affix | Function | Examples | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ~-s[1] ־ס (-s) | Plural formation of nouns | Most nouns with unstressed final -ə ־ע (-e), -m ־ם (-m), -əm ־עם (-em), -ṇ ־ן (-n), -en ־ען (-en). Words of foreign origin with unstressed, non-reduced final vowel (auto, radio, etc.) Nouns in -er ־ער (-er) not referring to humans[2]; in some contexts, also human agentives in -er ־ער (-er) | Sometimes alternates with ־ן (-n), ־ען (-en), especially in journalistic and some formal usage; where both exist, the latter usually engenders a more abstract meaning.[3] |
| -ṇ ־ן (-n), ־ען (-en) | Plural formation | Some inherited Germanic vocabulary; Daytshmerisms; some non-diminutives in syllabic -ḷ ־ל (-l) | Common in political terminology borrowed from German in the 19th century.[3] |
| -er ־ער (-er) | Plural formation | Many inherited Germanic words; a very small number of words of Semitic origin, e.g. pónəm פּנים (pnim) ⇾ pénəmər פּנימער (pnimer). | May or may not also involve vowel shift (umlaut) |
| ∅ + umlaut | Plural formation | Many inherited Germanic words | |
| ∅ | Plural formation | Nouns referring to humans in -er ־ער (-er) (with some exceptions); handful of nouns with various endings | In some contexts, human agentives in -er ־ער (-er) pluralise instead with ־ס (-s)[4] |
| ~-s[1] ־ס (-s), | Plural formation | Family names | ־עס (-es) after names ending in sibilants: ־ז, ־זש, ־סש, ־ס, ־צ, ־ש |
| ~-əs[1] ־עס (-es) | Plural formation | Some nouns, mostly those of Slavic origin. | Sometimes stem undergoes vowel changes |
| -im, -əm ־ים (-im) | Plural formation | 1) Some nouns of Semitic origin in unstressed -ə ־א (-a), -ə ־ה (-h), e.g. יום־טובֿ (yontev) ⇾ יום־טובֿים (yontoyvem);
2) Small number of nouns of non-Semitic origin, e.g. דאָקטער (dokter) ⇾ דאָקטוירים (doktoyrim); נאַר (nar) ⇾ נאַראָנים (naronim); פּויער (poyer) ⇾ פּויערים (poyerim); |
Stress shifts to penultimate syllable; many stems undergo vowel changes[5]; Sometimes a syllable is added or changed between stem and suffix
Most nouns in -er ־ער (-er), -or ־אָר (-or) acquire a pejorative or sarcastic sense when pluralised this way |
| -əs ־ותֿ (-us) | Plural formation | Mostly nouns of Semitic origin (most in unstressed -ə ־א (-a), -ə ־ה (-h); some ending in a consonant); מעשׂה (mayse/manse) ⇾ מעשׂיות (mayses/manses); אות (os) ⇾ אותיות (oysyes); | Stress shifts to penultimate syllable; many stems undergo vowel changes;[5] final -ə ־ה (-h) is dropped; phonetically identical with ~-əs ־עס (-es) |
| -əkh, -akh ־עך (-ekh) | Plural formation | Nouns ending in syllabic -ḷ ־ל (-l) | Mandatory for diminutives; some non-diminutives alternate with ־ען (-en) |
adjectival
edit| Affix | Function | Examples | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ∅ | |||
| er (-ṇ)? [Term?] | |||
| e [Term?] | |||
| en [Term?] | |||
| em [Term?] | |||
| s [Term?] | |||
| er [Term?] | |||
| et [Term?] |
| Affix | Function | Examples | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| prefixes: | |||
| ge- גע־ (ge-) | verbal (past tense & derivational/historic) & nominal? (collective) | ||
| גע־ (ge-) |
Derivational:
editverbal
edit| Affix | Function | Examples | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| -ke- [Term?] | |||
| -eve- [Term?] |
nominal
edit| Affix | Function | Examples | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| -∅ | Nominalisations from verbal stems | Masculine; vowel often follows past participle[6] | |
| -or ־אָר (-or) | Forms masculine agentives | ||
| -íst ־יסט (-ist) | Forms masculine agentives | Stressed | |
| -nik ־ניק (-nik) | Forms masculine agentives | See also: ־ניצע (-nitse) | |
| -ént ־ענט (-ent) | Forms masculine agentives | Stressed | |
| -éts ־עץ (-ets) | Forms masculine agentives | ||
| -er ־ער (-er) | Forms masculine agentives | ||
| -úk ־וק (-uk) | Forms masculine agentives | Pejorative; stressed[6] | |
| -ák ־אַק (-ak)-yák ־יאַק (-yak) | Forms masculine agentives | Pejorative; stressed[6] | |
| -ə ־א (-a) | Unstressed final vowels generally feminine, except where semantic masculinity overrides[7] | ||
| -ə ־ה (-h) | Unstressed final vowels generally feminine, except where semantic masculinity overrides[7] | ||
| -ə ־ע (-e) | Unstressed final vowels generally feminine, except where semantic masculinity overrides[7] | ||
| -hayt ־הײַט (-hayt) | Generally feminine[7] | ||
| -kayt ־קײַט (-kayt) | Generally feminine[7] | ||
| -ung ־ונג (-ung) | Generally feminine[7] | ||
| -úr ־ור (-ur) | Generally feminine[7] | ||
| -əs ־ותֿ (-us) | Generally feminine; occasionally neuter[7][8] | ||
| -ik ־יק (-ik) | Generally feminine[7] | ||
| -ənish ־עניש (-enish) | Generally feminine; occasionally neuter[7][8] | ||
| -énts [Term?] | Generally feminine[7] | ||
| -ék ־עק (-ek) | Generally feminine[7] | ||
| -əráy ־ערײַ (-eray) | Generally feminine; occasionally neuter[7][8] | ||
| -shaft ־שאַפֿט (-shaft) | Generally feminine[7] | ||
| -tə ־טע (-te) | Forms feminine agentives | Most frequent feminizing suffix for Semitic component agentives[9] | |
| -tsə ־יצע (-itse) | Forms feminine agentives | ||
| -in ־ין (-in) | Forms feminine agentives | ||
| -kə ־קע (-ke) | Forms feminine agentives | ||
| -∅ (+stem vowel ablaut) | Nominalisations of adjectival stems | קעלט (kelt, “cold”, noun) (c.f. קאַלט (kalt, “cold”, adj), קעלטער (kelter, “colder”, comparative degree)) | Compare German Kälte f (“cold”, noun), kalt (“cold”, adj), kälter (“colder”, comparative degree). Unlike German, there is no final vowel. |
| syllabic -ḷ ־ל (-l) | Diminutive: little | Almost always neuter, except in very rare cases when semantic gender overrides[10] | |
| -ḷe ־עלע (-ele) | Diminutive, 2nd degree: very little | Almost always neuter, except in very rare cases when semantic gender overrides[10] | |
| gə- גע־ (ge-) | Collective | Generally neuter[11] | |
| -varg ־וואַרג (-varg) | "ware" | Generally neuter[11]; Albright argues that this behaves more like a bound stem than a suffix[12] | |
| -tum ־טום (-tum) | Generally neuter[11] | ||
| -s ־ס (-s) | Generally neuter[11] | ||
| -əkhts, -akhts ־עכֿץ (-ekhts) (־עכץ (-ekhts)) | Generally neuter[11] | ||
| -∅ | Nominalisations of: 1) infinitives; 2) adjectives ending in ־ע | Neuter[13] | |
| lekh/-elekh ־עלעך (-elekh)/־לעך (-lekh) | |||
| -lich (very rare) | |||
| ke [Term?] | |||
| -nost -nost ־נאָסט (-nost) | פּאָטעפֿאַלנאָסט (potefalnost, “audacity”) < פּאָטעפֿאַלנע (potefalne, “audacious”); דאָוויערענאָסט (dovyerenost, “power of attorney”) < Russian доверенность (doverennostʹ) | Extremely rare, only in Slavic loanwords | |
| izm ־יזם (-izm) | |||
| -em ־עם (-em) | |||
| ṇ ־עם (-em) | syllabic | ||
| tshik ־טשיק (-tshik) | |||
| in [Term?] | |||
| te [Term?] | |||
| tel/-stel [Term?] |
| Affix | Function | Examples | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| erheyt [Term?] | |||
| lekh ־לעך (-lekh) | |||
| ik ־יק (-ik), ־יִק (-ik); ־יג (-ig) (daytshmerish) |
prefixes:
verbal
edit| Affix | Function | Examples | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ant- אַנט־ (ant-)^ | Unstressed prefix | ||
| ba- באַ־ (ba-)^ | Unstressed prefix | ||
| der- דער־ (der-)^ | Unstressed prefix | ||
| far- פֿאַר־ (far-)^ | 'completeness of action; initiation of a change in circumstances; debasement of the value or success of the action' | Unstressed prefix | |
| ge- גע־ (ge-)^ | Unstressed prefix | ||
| tse- צע־ (tse-)^ | Unstressed prefix | ||
| oys- אויז־ (oyz-) [óys] | Stressed prefix | ||
| uf- אויפֿ־ (oyf-) [úf] | Stressed prefix | ||
| um- אומ־ (um-) [úm] | Stressed prefix | ||
| unter- אונטער־ (unter-) | Stressed prefix | ||
| iber- איבער (iber) | Stressed prefix | ||
| ayn- אײַנ־ (ayn-) | 'enter a new state; change of situation' | Stressed prefix | |
| on- אָנ־ (on-) | Stressed prefix | ||
| op- אָפּ־ (op-) past tense: [óp] / [ó] | Stressed prefix | ||
| bay- בײַ־ (bay-) | Stressed prefix | ||
| for- פֿאָר־ (for-) | Stressed prefix | ||
| tsu- צו־ (tsu-) | Stressed prefix | ||
| (free stressed prefixes) | |||
| (a)dú(r)kh- אַדורכ־ (adurkh-)/דורכ־ (durkh-) | |||
| ahin- אַהינ־ (ahin-) | |||
| aher- אַהער (aher) | |||
| avek- אַװעק־ (avek-) | |||
| mit- מיט־ (mit-) | |||
| a(nt)kegen- (antkegṇ-)? אַנטקעגנ־ (antkegn-)/אַקעגענ־ (akegen-) | |||
| anider אַנידער־ (anider-) | |||
| arop- אַראָפּ־ (arop-) | |||
| aroys- אַרויס־ (aroys-) | |||
| arúf- אַרויפֿ־ (aroyf-) | |||
| arum- אַרומ־ (arum-) | |||
| arayn- אַרײַנ־ (arayn-) | |||
| arunter- אַרונטער־ (arunter-) | |||
| ariber- אַריבער־ (ariber-) | |||
| nokh- נאָכ־ (nokh-) | |||
| farbay- פֿאַרבײַ־ (farbay-) | |||
| faroys- פֿאַרויס־ (faroys-) | |||
| funander- פֿונאַנדער־ (funander-) | |||
| tsuzamen- צוזאַמענ־ (tsuzamen-) | |||
| tzunoyf- צונויפֿ־ (tsunoyf-) |
adverbial
edit| Affix | Function | Examples | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| a- [Term?] | |||
| am- [Term?] |
Notes
edit- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 The 's' is pronounced somewhere between /s/ and /z/
- ^ Katz, p.56
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Katz, p.54
- ^ Katz, p.62
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Katz, p.57
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Katz, p.49
- ↑ 7.00 7.01 7.02 7.03 7.04 7.05 7.06 7.07 7.08 7.09 7.10 7.11 7.12 7.13 Katz, p.49
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Katz, p.52
- ^ Katz, p.51
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Katz, p.52
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Katz, p.52
- ^ Albright, p.7
- ^ Katz, p.53