Translation
direct opposite of the root
Examples
.
The small house stands beside the road.
, .
He is old, but his brother is young.
.
Please open the window.
.
The weather today is cold.
.
I found the work difficult.
- flips a root to its exact contrary, and it is the single biggest reason Esperanto vocabulary is smaller than it looks. Learn , , and and you have also learned , , and for nothing. The prefix changes no grammar: whatever ending the root carried, the opposite keeps it, so an adjective stays an adjective and a verb stays a verb.
The trap is that - means opposite, not negative. denies a statement, - marks absence, and - names the far end of a scale, so is bad rather than not good. Beware the false friends too. , , and are ordinary words that happen to open with the same three letters.
Where this fits
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mal-: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Esperanto word "mal-" (direct opposite of the root): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson .