अ- / अन- / बे-

Negative Prefixes

Level 5Sounds Like a-, ana- ā bē

A short prefix reverses or removes the meaning of a word.

How It Works

Prefixes go before the word and give it the opposite meaning or take something away from it.

PrefixWordNew word
अ-सत्य (true)असत्य (false)
अन-आदर (respect)अनादर (disrespect)
अन-चिन्हार (known)अनचिन्हार (stranger)
बे-कार (use)बेकार (useless)
  • अ- and अन- mostly go with Sanskrit words. अन- appears before a vowel.
  • बे- goes with words from Persian and Arabic.
  • The new word can take -क, सभ and postpositions like any other word.

Do not make new words yourself, since each word is learned as a whole. Treat the prefix as a clue when you meet a new word. If you see अ-, अन- or बे- at the start, the word is probably the opposite of the one that follows.

Examples (4)

  1. ओतय एकटा अनचिन्हार लोक ठाढ़ छल।

    A stranger was standing there.

    अनचिन्हार is अन- plus चिन्हार.

  2. ई कलम आब बेकार भऽ गेल अछि।

    This pen has become useless now.

    बेकार is बे- plus कार.

  3. ककरो अनादर जुनि करू।

    Do not disrespect anyone.

    अनादर is अन- plus आदर.

  4. असत्य बात जुनि कहू।

    Do not tell lies.

    असत्य is अ- plus सत्य.

How It Connects

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

अ- / अन- / बे-Level 5Negative Prefixes

Learn This First

Prefixes build new words as endings do, but at the front, so endings like -पन come first.

Words in This Pattern

अनादरबेकार