-ist-

-ist-: A Person by Trade

Level 3

-ist- names a person by what they do regularly.

How It Works

RootWith -ist-Meaning
instrui (teach)instruistoteacher
kuraci (heal)kuracistodoctor
vendi (sell)vendistoseller
Esperantoesperantistoperson who knows and uses Esperanto

The word does not show if the person is a man or a woman. Add -in- for a woman: instruistino. The plural is instruistoj.

Many words for people are whole words and need no -ist-: kelnero (waiter) and studento (student) are already complete. A few words end in -isto without a smaller root, such as turisto (tourist); learn those as they are.

The ending of the root drops out when -ist- is added: instrui gives instruisto, and the final -i disappears.

Examples (4)

  1. Priya estas instruistino.

    Priya is a teacher.

    Instrui plus -ist- plus -in- names a woman who teaches.

  2. Kofi estas kuracisto, kaj lia fratino Ama estas vendistino.

    Kofi is a doctor, and his sister Ama is a seller.

    Kuracisto and vendistino both name a person by a job.

  3. Kenji estas esperantisto en Japanio.

    Kenji is an Esperanto speaker in Japan.

    An esperantisto knows and uses Esperanto.

  4. Mi serĉas vendiston.

    I am looking for a seller.

    Vendiston is the object of serĉas, so it has -n.

Common Mistakes

  • Adding -ist- to a word that already names the person.

    Ŝi estas kelneristino.
    Ŝi estas kelnerino.

    Kelnero (waiter) is already a word for a person, so it needs no -ist-. Add -in- for a woman: kelnerino.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

-ist-Level 3-ist-: A Person by Trade

Learn This First

The ending -ist- names a person by job.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.