Klingon Pocket Dictionary: Suffix Guide.

The last pages of text from the book.

Verb Suffixes


1.	Oneself/One Another		[TKD 4.2.1]
	-'egh	oneself Indicates that the action affects the subject; requires a prefix indicating that there is no object. Can be used together with -moH to form a command of a stative verb, e.g. yItuj'eghmoH Heat yourself! [KGT 117]
	-chuq	one another, each other Requires a prefix indicating plural subject and no object.

2.	Volition/Predisposition		[TKD 4.2.2]
	-nIS	need
	-qang	willing
	-rup	ready, prepared (referring to beings)
	-beH	ready, set up (referring to devices)
	-vIp	afraid It is a cultural taboo to use the suffix -vIp with I or we as subject.

3.	Change		[TKD 4.2.3]
	-choH	change in state, change in direction E.g. chomuSchoH I am beginning to hate you (but I did not hate you before). The sentence pa' ghoSchoH He/she is starting to go there implies that either the person was not going anywhere before, or that he/she changed direction.
	-qa'	resume, do again Indicates that the action stopped, then began again, e.g. wInejqa' We are resuming searching for it or We search for it again.

4.	Cause		[TKD 4.2.4]
	-moH	cause The subject causes a change in condition or creates a new one, e.g. qul vIchenmoH I light a fire (lit. I cause a fire to take form). Makes intransitive verbs transitive, e.g. yIqIjmoH Blacken it! (lit. Cause it to be black!). Required when making an imperative out of a stative verb (see also -'egh above).

5.	Indefinite Subject/Ability		[TKD 4.2.5]
	-lu'	indefinite subject Indicates that the subject is unknown, indefinite, and/or general, the verb can not have a subject, and the prefixes are used a in a different way (see bottom row of prefix table). Sentences using -lu' are often translated into English passive voice, e.g. Daqawlu' You are remembered.
	-laH	can, able E.g. jIQonglaH I can sleep; tlhIngan Hol vIjatlhlaH I am able to speak Klingon.

6.	Qualification		[TKD 4.2.6]
	-chu'	clearly, perfectly Indicates that an action performed absolutely properly. [PK]
	-bej	certainly, undoubtedly
	-ba'	obviously [TKDa] Indicates that the speaker thinks what he/she says should be obvious to the listener, e.g. QIpba' He/she is obviously stupid. There is still room for doubt though, the suffix does not imply as strong a conviction as -bej.
	-law'	seemingly, apparently Expresses that the speaker is uncertain, and may even be thought of as meaning I think or I suspect, e.g. DuSeHlaw' He/she seems to be controlling you or I think he/she is controlling you.

7.	Aspect		[TKD 4.2.7]
	-pu'	perfective Indicates that the action is completed.
	-ta'	accomplished, done Indicates that the action was deliberately undertaken and completed.
	-taH	continuous Indicates that the action is ongoing.
	-lI'	in progress Indicates that the action is ongoing and proceeding toward a known goal.

8.	Honorific		[TKD 4.2.8]
	-neS	honorific Indicates extreme politeness or deference. Used only when addressing a superior, e.g. HIja'neS Do me the honor of telling me. It is never required.

9.	Syntactic Markers		[TKD 4.2.9]

	Subordinate-Clause Markers
	-DI'	when, as soon as
	-chugh	if
	-pa'	before
	-vIS	while
	-mo'	due to, because of [TKDa] A subordinate clause can occur either before or after the rest of the sentence, e.g. cha yIbaH qara'DI' or qara'DI' cha yIbaH Fire the torpedoes at my command! The suffix -vIS is always used along with the type 7 suffix -taH, e.g. bIQongtaHvIS while you are sleeping. There is also a noun suffix -mo', with the same meaning. [TKD 6.2.2]

	Relative-Clause Marker
	-bogh	which A relative phrase takes the place of noun in a sentence. Each relative phrase have a head noun, to which the relative clause verb refer, e.g. qIppu'bogh yaS the officer who hit him/her; yaS qIppu'bogh the officer whom he/she hit. If there are more than one noun in the phrase, the head is indicated using the noun suffix -'e' topic, e.g. yaS qIppu'bogh mang'e' the soldier who hit the officer. [TKD 6.2.3; TKW p.189]

	Purpose-Clause Marker
	-meH	for, for the purpose of, in order to The purpose clause always precedes the noun or verb whose purpose it is describing, e.g. ja'chuqmeH rojHom a truce in order to confer; jagh luHoHmeH lunejtaH They are searching for the enemy in order to kill him/her. [TKD 6.2.4]

	Main-Clause Modifiers
	-'a'	interrogative Indicates that a sentence is a yes/no question, e.g. bIjang'a' Will you answer? [TKD 6.4]
	-jaj	may, let [TKDa] Express a desire or wish on the part of the speaker that something take place in the future. If used in a toast (but not otherwise) the sentence word order becomes object-subject-verb. E.g. wo' ghawran DevtaHjaj May Gowron continue to lead the Empire, if the same thing were to be expressed as a wish or aspiration on the speaker's part, and not a toast, it would be said wo' DevtaHjaj ghawran instead. Note: Klingons seem to be a bit touchy the subject of toasts, and so it is important to use only the handful of accepted toasts. [PK; KGT p.25-26]

	Nominalizers (Turns Verb into Noun)
	-wI'	one who is, one who does, thing which does, thing which is In reference to inanimate objects it means thing which does/is or thing which is used for when refering to beings it means one who does/is. E.g. joqwI' flag; nanwI' chisel; baHwI' gunner; pujwI' weakling. Also used to say things like DoqwI' the red one. [TKD 3.2.2]
	-ghach	nominalizer [TKDa] Makes a noun out of a verb with one or more suffixes attached. The use of this suffix often makes bad Klingon, and it is strongly suggested that you refrain from a word with -ghach if it is not in the dictionary. E.g. naDHa'ghach discommendation; naHqa'ghach re-commendation.

R.	Rovers		[TKD 4.3]
	-be'	not This suffix follows the element (verb or verb suffix) which it negates, e.g. choHoHvIpbe' You are not afraid to kill me, choHoHbe'vIp You are afraid not to kill me. It can not be used in imperatives (where -Qo' is used instead), but it can be applied to verbs used adjectivally, e.g. yIHmey lI'be' useless tribbles [TKDa 4.2.9; CK]
	-Qo'	don't!, won't! This suffix always occur last, unless followed by a type 9 suffix. It is used in imperatives and to denote refusal.
	-Ha'	undo Always occur right after the verb, before any other suffixes. It indicates that something that was previously done is now undone, or that something is done wrongly, e.g. nobHa' give back; yajHa' missunderstand. Can also be applied to verbs used adjectivally, e.g. 'eyHa' undelicious; yepHa' careless. [KGT pp.30, 84, 150]
	-qu'	emphatic This suffix follows the element (verb or verb suffix) which it emphasizes, e.g. nImuSlaw'qu' They SEEM to hate you, nImuSqu'law' They seem to HATE you. Can also be applied to verbs used adjectivally, e.g. veng tInqu' very big city. [TKD 4.4]

Noun Suffixes


1.	Size/Importance		[TKD 3.3.1]
	-'a'	augmentative Indicates that the noun is bigger, more important, or more powerful than without the suffix.
	-Hom	diminutive Indicates that the noun is smaller, less important, or less powerful than without the suffix.
	-oy	endearment [TKDa] A ' is probably inserted before this suffix if the noun it attaches to ends in a vowel.

2.	Number		[TKD 3.3.2]
	-pu'	plural for beings capable of using language
	-Du'	plural for body parts
	-mey	plural, general usage The suffix -mey carries a notion of ``scattered all about'' when applied to words that normally take the suffix -pu' (puqmey children all over the place versus puqpu' children). The same thing happens when the -mey plural suffix is applied to the singular form of a noun that is irregularly pluralized (DoSmey targets scattered all about versus ray' targets).

3.	Qualification		[TKD 3.3.3]
	-qoq	so-called
	-Hey	apparent
	-na'	definite

4.	Possession/Specification		[TKD 3.3.4]

	Possessives for Beings Capable of Using Language
	-wI'	my
	-ma'	our
	-lI'	your
	-ra'	your (plural) These suffixes are used to indicate possessives when referring to beings capable of speech, e.g. jupwI' my friend; be'nallI' your wife; puqma' our child. The general possessive suffixes may also be used, but they are considered derogatory; juHwIj for my lord borders on the taboo.

	Possessives, General Usage
	-wIj	my
	-maj	our
	-lIj	your
	-raj	your (plural)
	-Daj	his, her, its
	-chaj	their Though grammatically correct, it is considered derogatory to use the general possessive suffixes when referring to first or second persons (I, we, you or you [plural]) that are are capable of language.

	Specification
	-vam	this Indicates that the noun refers to an object which is nearby or which is the topic of the conversation, e.g. nuHvam this weapon (near me as I speak); yuQvam this planet (that we have been talking about).
	-vetlh	that Indicates that the noun refers to an object which is not nearby or which is being brought up again as topic of the conversation, e.g. nuHvetlh that weapon (over there); yuQvetlh that planet (as opposed to the one we were just talking about).

5.	Syntactic Markers		[TKD 3.3.5]
	-Daq	locative This is corresponds to English prepositions such as: at, to, in, on, depending on context, e.g. juHDaq jIH I'm at home; meHDaq yIqet Run to the bridge! It is not used in the abstract sense of in English. Some nouns (notably naDev hereabouts; pa' thereabouts; Dat everywhere) never take this suffix. pa' can mean both room and thereabouts but is distinct, e.g. pa' yIjaH Go over there! pa'Daq yIjaH Go to the room!. Some verbs include locative notions, and take a place as object rather than locative, e.g. Duj ghoStaH It is approaching the ship.
	-vo'	from Similar to -Daq but used only for actions directed away from a place, e.g. pa'vo' yIjaH Leave the room! This suffix can not be used in the abstract sense of from the past.
	-mo'	due to, because of E.g. HIqmo' bI'uH You have a hangover because of the alcohol. There is also a verb suffix -mo' with the same meaning.
	-vaD	for, intended for Indicates the indirect object, or beneficiary of the action. The indirect object precedes the object, e.g. chaHvaD Soj qem yaS The officer brings them food; Qu'vaD lI' De'vam This information is useful for the mission. [TKDa 6.8]
	-'e'	topic Emphasizes that a noun is the topic of the sentence, also used to mark the head noun of a relative clause (see verb suffix -bogh which above). If the object of a sentence is marked with -'e' any adverbials may come directly after the object instead of before. [TKDa 6.7]


	©1998-2002, Copyright Zrajm C Akfohg, Klingonska Akademien, Uppsala.