Compound Nouns
Two roots can join into one noun, usually with о between them: вода + пад → водопад (waterfall), земја + трес → земјотрес (earthquake).
How It Works
How they are built. Take the root of the first word, add the linking vowel -о-, and add the second word or root:
- вода + пад → водопад (waterfall, "water fall")
- земја + трес → земјотрес (earthquake, "earth shake")
- глава + болка → главоболка (headache)
- рака + пис → ракопис (manuscript, "hand writing")
- земја + делец → земјоделец (farmer, "one who works the earth")
The ending of the first word drops: земја becomes земјо-, not земја-. In a few words the first part keeps its own е, as in срцебиење (a racing heartbeat).
Само- means self. Many words start with само-: самодоверба (self-confidence), самопослуга (self-service shop), самоук (self-taught person).
The last part rules. The gender comes from the last part, so it decides the article, the plural and the adjective: водопадот, водопади (masculine, like пад); силна главоболка, главоболки (feminine, like болка); самодовербата (feminine, like доверба). See noun gender.
One word, one stress. A compound is spelled as one word and has one stress, on the third syllable from the end like any other word: ВО-до-пад, ЗЕМ-јо-трес (see stress on the third syllable from the end).
Not the same as adjectives with a hyphen. Two equal adjectives are joined with a hyphen, as in македонско-англиски (see compound adjectives). Compounds joined with a linking vowel, like водопад, are always written as one word.
Examples (6)
- Водопадот е висок дваесет метри.
The waterfall is twenty meters high.
Word by Word: Waterfall-the is high twenty meters.
Вода + пад; masculine like пад, so водопадот.
- Земјотресот се почувствува и во Скопје.
The earthquake was felt in Skopje too.
Word by Word: Earthquake-the itself felt also in Skopje.
Земја drops its -а and takes the linking о.
- Имам силна главоболка.
I have a bad headache.
Word by Word: I-have strong headache.
Feminine like болка, so the adjective is силна.
- Полека си ја врати самодовербата.
Little by little, he got his self-confidence back.
Word by Word: Slowly to-self it returned self-confidence-the.
Само- (self) + доверба (trust).
- Дедо ми цел живот беше земјоделец.
My grandfather was a farmer all his life.
Word by Word: Grandpa to-me whole life was farmer.
Земјоделец: one who works the land.
- Ракописот на романот се чува во музеј.
The novel's manuscript is kept in a museum.
Word by Word: Manuscript-the of novel-the itself keeps in museum.
Рака (hand) + пис (writing).
Common Mistakes
Keeping the -а of the first word instead of the linking о.
Имаше силен земјатрес.Имаше силен земјотрес.The first root drops its ending and takes the linking о: земја → земјо-.
Taking the gender from the first part.
Имам силен главоболка.Имам силна главоболка.The last part decides the gender. Болка is feminine, so главоболка is feminine too.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Compound nouns follow compound adjectives.
Related Patterns
- Noun Gender
The gender system; a compound takes the gender of its last part.
Level 1 - Stress on the Third Syllable From the End
A compound is one word with one stress, placed by the usual rule.
Level 1 - People Nouns in -ач / -телPeople from Verbs
Another way to build nouns for people, as земјоделец does with -ец.
Level 4 - Abstract Nouns in -ост / -ствоAbstract Nouns
Suffixes build new nouns from one root; compounds join two roots.
Level 4
Words in This Pattern
Practice Compound Nouns in Bubblegum
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