nata cream desnatar skim (e.g. milk)
cafeína caffeine descafeinar decaffeinate
vía route desviar(se) change course/divert
pelo hair depilar(se) remove hair
En-
This generally denotes the idea of ‘placing inside’ or ‘covering’. It occurs
as em-before band p:
cal lime encalar whitewash
cárcel prison encarcelar imprison
bala bundle embalar pack
paquete package empaquetar to package
Notes:
1 The prefix en-may simply be used to form a verb from a noun without the notion
of ‘enclosing in’: encaminar ‘to channel/direct’, enfocar ‘to focus (on)’.
2 The prefix en-can be preceded by des-to reverse the action of a verb, e.g. desen-
terrar ‘to unearth/dig up’, desenredar ‘to unravel’.
In-
This generally negates an adjective (sometimes a noun). It occurs as i-
before l, as im-before bandp, and as ir-beforer:
alambre wire inalámbrico cordless
decisión decision indecisión indecision
lícito legal ilícito illicit
borrar to rub out imborrable indelible
regular regular irregular irregular
Re-
This commonly functions, as in English, to indicate that something is
repeated or done again, often forming words from English precedents:
29.2.4
29.2.3
29.2.2
1111
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1011
1
12111
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
20111
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
30111
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
40
41111
Prefixes
301
