Word Building

🧱 Russian Word Building: The LEGO of Language

Imagine you have a box of LEGO bricks. With just a few special pieces, you can build castles, cars, or robots. Russian words work the same way! You start with a simple word and add tiny pieces to make new words.

🎯 What You’ll Learn

• Diminutives – Making words small, cute, and friendly
• Word Formation Basics – How Russian builds new words
• Common Prefixes – Pieces that go at the START
• Common Suffixes – Pieces that go at the END

🐱 Diminutives: Making Words Cute and Small

The Magic of Tiny Words

Think about how you talk to a baby or a puppy. You might say “doggy” instead of “dog” or “kitty” instead of “cat.” Russian does this ALL the time!

In Russian, adding special endings makes words sound:

• 🥰 Cute and adorable
• 👶 Small or tiny
• 💕 Loving and affectionate

The Most Common Diminutive Endings

graph TD
    A["Original Word"] --> B["Add Diminutive Suffix"]
    B --> C["-ик / -ек"]
    B --> D["-очка / -ечка"]
    B --> E["-онька / -енька"]
    B --> F["-ушка / -юшка"]

Real Examples You Can Use Today

💡 Remember This!

Russians use diminutives EVERYWHERE. A grandmother calls her grandchild “солнышко” (little sun). A shop seller might call bread “хлебушек” (dear little bread). It shows warmth and affection!

🔧 Word Formation Basics: Building Blocks

How Russian Builds Words

Imagine building a snowman:

1. The body = the ROOT (the main meaning)
2. The hat = PREFIX (changes direction or meaning)
3. The buttons = SUFFIX (changes what kind of word it is)

graph TD
    A["PREFIX"] --> B["ROOT"]
    B --> C["SUFFIX"]

    style A fill:#ff6b6b
    style B fill:#4ecdc4
    style C fill:#ffe66d

The Root is the Heart

Every Russian word has a root – the core meaning that never changes.

Example: ход (walking/going)

One root, many words! Just like one LEGO brick can be part of many different creations.

⬅️ Common Prefixes: The Steering Wheel

What Prefixes Do

Prefixes are like a steering wheel – they change the direction or completeness of an action.

The 8 Most Important Prefixes

1. вы- (out, completely)

• ходить (to walk) → вы-ходить (to exit)
• Think: walking OUT

2. в- (into, in)

• ходить (to walk) → в-ходить (to enter)
• Think: walking INTO

3. пере- (across, re-do)

• писать (to write) → пере-писать (to rewrite)
• Think: doing ACROSS or AGAIN

4. при- (arrival, attachment)

• ехать (to go by vehicle) → при-ехать (to arrive)
• Think: coming TO a place

5. у- (away from)

• ехать (to go) → у-ехать (to leave)
• Think: going AWAY

6. за- (behind, starting)

• петь (to sing) → за-петь (to start singing)
• Think: starting something or going BEHIND

7. по- (a little, for a while)

• читать (to read) → по-читать (to read for a bit)
• Think: doing something for A WHILE

8. про- (through, past)

• читать (to read) → про-читать (to read through)
• Think: going THROUGH completely

🎯 Quick Memory Trick

graph LR
    A["в-/вы-"] --> B["IN/OUT"]
    C["при-/у-"] --> D["ARRIVE/LEAVE"]
    E["за-/про-"] --> F["START/THROUGH"]
    G["по-/пере-"] --> H["A BIT/REDO"]

➡️ Common Suffixes: The Transformer

What Suffixes Do

Suffixes are magic transformers. They can turn:

• A verb into a noun
• A noun into an adjective
• A word into a person

Person/Agent Suffixes (Who does it?)

Noun Suffixes (Making Things)

Adjective Suffixes (Describing)

💡 The Power of Combining

Watch how one root becomes many words:

Root: уч- (learning)

graph TD
    A["уч-"] --> B["уч-ить<br>to teach"]
    A --> C["уч-иться<br>to study"]
    A --> D["уч-итель<br>teacher"]
    A --> E["уч-ебник<br>textbook"]
    A --> F["уч-еник<br>student"]
    A --> G["на-уч-ить<br>to teach completely"]

🎮 Putting It All Together

Word Building Formula

PREFIX + ROOT + SUFFIX = NEW WORD

Example Journey:

1. писать = to write (basic verb)
2. за-писать = to write down (prefix adds “start”)
3. записка = a note (suffix makes it a thing)
4. записочка = a little note (diminutive ending!)

🌟 Your First Builds

Try thinking about these patterns:

🎯 Key Takeaways

Remember These Forever:

1. Diminutives make words cute: -ик, -очка, -ушка
2. Roots hold the core meaning – find them!
3. Prefixes change direction: вы (out), в (in), пере (across)
4. Suffixes transform word types: -тель (person), -ость (quality)

🚀 You’re Now a Word Builder!

You don’t need to memorize thousands of Russian words. Learn the pieces, and you can BUILD thousands of words yourself!

“Give someone a word, they know one word. Teach someone to BUILD words, they know thousands.”

📚 Quick Reference

Top 5 Diminutive Endings

1. -ик/-ек → маленький домик (little house)
2. -очка/-ечка → дочка, доченька (daughter, dear daughter)
3. -ушка/-юшка → бабушка (grandmother)
4. -онька/-енька → берёзонька (dear birch tree)
5. -ок/-ек → сынок (sonny)

Top 8 Prefixes

вы-, в-, пере-, при-, у-, за-, по-, про-

Top 6 Suffixes

-тель, -ник, -ость, -ние, -ский, -ный

Now go practice! Every time you see a Russian word, try to find its ROOT, PREFIX, and SUFFIX. You’ll be amazed how many words suddenly make sense! 🎉