Chinese vocabulary made easier: suffixes

By Lucy Wang

Mandarin is often considered by language learners to be an unreasonable language—it's extremely difficult to recognize and write Chinese characters, it sounds weird and exotic, it has four tones, and the word formation seems unreasonable. But just like prefixes and suffixes in English, Chinese also has characters that can be combined with others to indicate a particular meaning, especially occupations and kinds of people. Here are some of them.

家 (jiā)
an expert in a certain field
作家 (zuòjiā) writer
画家 (huàjiā) painter
歌唱家 (gēchàngjiā) singer/musician
书法家 (shūfǎjiā) calligraphist
发明家 (fāmíngjiā) inventor
探险家 (tànxiǎnjiā) adventurer
科学家 (kēxuéjiā) scientist
语言学家 (yǔyánxuéjiā) linguist
艺术家 (yìshùjiā) artist
收藏家 (shōucángjiā) collector
思想家 (sīxiǎngjiā) thinker

鬼 (guǐ)
literally, ghost; usually used in a disparaging way similar to –aholic in English
烟鬼 (yānguǐ) smoking addict
酒鬼 (jiǔguǐ) alcoholic
色鬼 (sèguǐ) lecher; "old goat"
胆小鬼 (dǎnxiǎoguǐ) coward
吝啬鬼 (lìnsèguǐ) miser

匠 (jiàng)
a technician in a certain field
花匠 (huājiàng) gardener/florist
铁匠 (tiějiàng) blacksmith
油漆匠 (yóuqījiàng) painter
皮匠 (píjiàng) cobbler
木匠 (mùjiàng) carpenter
工匠 (gōngjiàng) craftsman

迷 (mí)
an enthusiast; one who is obsessed
财迷 (cáimí) literally, "money addict," but used to mean "penny-pincher"
戏迷 (xìmí) theater fan
球迷 (qiúmí) sports fan
歌迷 (gēmí) groupie (of a musician)

生 (shēng)
a common suffix for occupation or status
医生 (yīshēng) doctor
学生 (xuéshēng) student
留学生 (liúxuéshēng) foreign student
研究生 (yánjiūshēng) postgraduate
实习生 (shíxíshēng) intern
先生 (xiānshēng) Mr./husband

师 (shī)
a common suffix for occupations
导师 (dǎoshī) mentor
老师 (lǎoshī) teacher
教师 (jiàoshī) teacher
医师 (yīshī) doctor
厨师 (chúshī) cook/chef
律师 (lǜshī) lawyer
魔术师 (móshùshī) magician
工程师 (gōngchéngshī) engineer
技师 (jìshī) technician
会计师 (kuàijìshī) accountant
讲师 (jiǎngshī) lecturer
药剂师 (yàojìshī) chemist

士 (shì)
this one is more of a mixed bag, with a variety of meanings as shown below
战士 (zhànshì) soldier
护士 (hùshi) nurse
学士 (xuéshì) bachelor
硕士 (shuòshì) postgraduate/master
博士 (bóshì) doctor (academic)
女士 (nǚshì) Ms.
男士 (nánshì) Mr.
绅士 (shēnshì) gentleman
骑士 (qíshì) knight
烈士 (lièshì) martyr

手 (shǒu)
literally, hand; sometimes used the same way "hand" is used in English
水手 (shuǐshǒu) sailor
打手 (dǎshǒu) hired thug
凶手 (xiōngshǒu) murderer
对手 (duìshǒu) competitor
新手 (xīnshǒu) newbie
老手 (lǎoshǒu) old hand
熟手 (shúshǒu) veteran
助手 (zhùshǒu) assistant

星 (xīng)
literally, star; the prefix determines the field
明星 (míngxīng) celebrity
歌星 (gēxīng) pop star, rock star, etc.
影星 (yǐngxīng) movie star
笑星 (xiàoxīng) comedian

员 (yuán)
a member or a person in a certain field
教员 (jiàoyuán) instructor/teacher
学员 (xuéyuán) student
演员 (yǎnyuán) actor/actress
打字员 (dǎzìyuán) typist
会员 (huìyuán) club member
运动员 (yùndòngyuán) athlete

友 (yǒu)
mates within an activity group or other shared situation
朋友 (péngyǒu) (friend)

牌友 (páiyǒu) poker/mahjong friends
球友 (qiúyǒu) people who you always play or watch sports with
队友 (duìyǒu) teammate
病友 (bìngyǒu) the other sick people in the hospital
棋友 (qíyǒu) chess buddies

长 (zhǎng)
a leader in a certain group or field
船长 (chuánzhǎng) captain (of a boat)
班长 (bānzhǎng) classroom monitor
列车长 (lièchēzhǎng) conductor (of a train)
队长 (duìzhǎng) team leader/captain
校长 (xiàozhǎng) principal/president
院长 (yuànzhǎng) dean

者 (zhě)
indicates a person's (potentially temporary) status or occupation
记者 (jìzhě) reporter
素食者 (sùshízhě) vegetarian
旁观者 (pángguānzhě) onlooker
长者 (zhǎngzhě) elder
受伤者 (shòushāngzhě) victim
死者 (sǐzhě) the deceased
志愿者 (zhìyuànzhě) volunteer