Latin & Greek Stems and Prefixes

Stems & Prefixes: Lesson #8


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Published: 10 Oct 2026
Lesson 8 of 9
Source: Listen in English

Learn the building blocks behind hundreds of English words. Latin and Greek stems and prefixes.
Stems: psych, phil, phobia, spir, viv/vit, polis, loc
Prefixes: bene-, neo-, sur-, re-, con-

Directions 이용안내 Direcciones Instruções Інструкції


  1. INFER the MEANING

    Look at the example words and guess the meaning of each bolded prefix or stem. Try to guess before you check the answer — this helps you remember it.

  2. STUDY the CHART

    Check your answers and see more example words for every prefix and stem taught in this lesson.

  3. BUILD the MEANING

    Click a meaning tile, then click the box it belongs in to build each word's meaning. These words only use parts you already studied.

  4. TEST your KNOWLEDGE

    Choose the best meaning for each bolded word. Some of these words combine the word parts in new ways.

  5. LISTEN and REPEAT

    Listen to each sentence and repeat it aloud to practice your pronunciation.

  1. DEDUCE el SIGNIFICADO

    Observa las palabras de ejemplo e intenta adivinar el significado de cada prefijo o raíz en negrita. Intenta adivinar antes de comprobar la respuesta — esto te ayuda a recordarlo.

  2. ESTUDIA la TABLA

    Comprueba tus respuestas y observa más palabras de ejemplo para cada prefijo y raíz de esta lección.

  3. CONSTRUYE el SIGNIFICADO

    Haz clic en una ficha de significado y luego en la casilla a la que pertenece para construir el significado de cada palabra. Estas palabras solo usan partes que ya estudiaste.

  4. PON A PRUEBA tu CONOCIMIENTO

    Elige el mejor significado para cada palabra en negrita. Algunas de estas palabras combinan las partes de forma nueva.

  5. ESCUCHA y REPITE

    Escucha cada oración y repítela en voz alta para practicar tu pronunciación.

  1. DEDUZA o SIGNIFICADO

    Observe as palavras de exemplo e tente adivinhar o significado de cada prefixo ou radical em negrito. Tente adivinhar antes de conferir a resposta — isso ajuda você a lembrar.

  2. ESTUDE a TABELA

    Confira suas respostas e veja mais palavras de exemplo para cada prefixo e radical desta lição.

  3. CONSTRUA o SIGNIFICADO

    Clique em uma ficha de significado e depois na caixa a que ela pertence para construir o significado de cada palavra. Essas palavras usam apenas partes que você já estudou.

  4. TESTE seu CONHECIMENTO

    Escolha o melhor significado para cada palavra em negrito. Algumas dessas palavras combinam as partes de formas novas.

  5. OUÇA e REPITA

    Ouça cada frase e repita em voz alta para praticar sua pronúncia.

  1. 의미 추론하기

    예시 단어들을 보고 굵게 표시된 접두사나 어근의 의미를 추측해 보세요. 정답을 확인하기 전에 먼저 추측해 보면 기억하는 데 도움이 됩니다.

  2. 참고 차트 학습하기

    답을 확인하고 이 단원에서 배운 각 접두사와 어근의 더 많은 예시 단어를 확인하세요.

  3. 의미 조합하기

    의미 타일을 클릭한 다음, 그것이 속한 상자를 클릭하여 각 단어의 의미를 만들어 보세요. 이 단어들은 이미 배운 요소만 사용합니다.

  4. 지식 테스트하기

    굵게 표시된 각 단어에 가장 알맞은 의미를 선택하세요. 일부 단어는 배운 요소들을 새로운 방식으로 조합합니다.

  5. 듣고 따라 말하기

    각 문장을 듣고 소리 내어 따라 말하며 발음을 연습하세요.

  1. ВИЗНАЧТЕ ЗНАЧЕННЯ

    Подивіться на приклади слів і спробуйте вгадати значення кожного виділеного жирним префікса чи кореня. Спробуйте вгадати, перш ніж перевірити відповідь — це допомагає запам'ятати.

  2. ВИВЧІТЬ ТАБЛИЦЮ

    Перевірте свої відповіді та перегляньте більше прикладів слів для кожного префікса й кореня цього уроку.

  3. ПОБУДУЙТЕ ЗНАЧЕННЯ

    Натисніть на плитку значення, а потім на поле, до якого вона належить, щоб побудувати значення кожного слова. Ці слова використовують лише ті частини, які ви вже вивчили.

  4. ПЕРЕВІРТЕ СВОЇ ЗНАННЯ

    Виберіть найкраще значення для кожного виділеного жирним слова. Деякі з цих слів поєднують частини по-новому.

  5. ПОСЛУХАЙТЕ і ПОВТОРІТЬ

    Прослухайте кожне речення і повторіть його вголос, щоб потренувати вимову.

Infer Meaning (prefixes) 의미 추론 (접두사) Deduzir o significado (prefixos) Deducir el significado (prefijos) Визначте значення (Префікси)


Directions: Read each set of words and guess the meaning of the bolded prefix.

Instrucciones: Lee cada grupo de palabras e intenta adivinar el significado del prefijo en negrita.

Instruções: Leia cada grupo de palavras e tente adivinhar o significado do prefixo em negrito.

지시 사항 : 각 단어 그룹을 읽고 굵게 표시된 접두사의 의미를 추측해 보세요.

Інструкції: Прочитайте кожну групу слів і спробуйте вгадати значення виділеного жирним префікса.


  1. benefit, beneficial, benevolent, benefactor
    bene- good, well


  2. neonatal, neoclassical, Neolithic, neon
    neo- new


  3. surface, surpass, surcharge, surreal
    sur- over, beyond


  4. repay, rebuild, recover, return
    re- (review) back, again


  5. connect, combine, contact, compress
    com-, con- (review) together, with



Infer Meaning (stems) 의미 추론 (어근) Deduzir o significado (radicais) Deducir el significado (raíces) Визначте значення (Корені)



Directions: Read each pair of sentences and guess the meaning of the bolded root.

Instrucciones: Lee cada par de oraciones e intenta adivinar el significado de la raíz en negrita.

Instruções: Leia cada par de frases e tente adivinhar o significado do radical em negrito.

지시 사항 : 각 문장 쌍을 읽고 굵게 표시된 어근의 의미를 추측해 보세요.

Інструкції: Прочитайте кожну пару речень і спробуйте вгадати значення виділеного жирним кореня.


  1. The coach said the final game was mostly psychological — not physical.
    Some people believe a psychic can read other people's minds.
    mind, soul


  2. Audiophiles love high-quality sound and spend a lot of money on speakers.
    Philadelphia is nicknamed "the City of Brotherly Love."
    phil/phile: love


  3. She has a phobia of snakes and screams whenever she sees one.
    Because she has claustrophobia, she won't go into small spaces like elevators.
    phobia: fear


  4. Doctors use a respirator to help patients breathe.
    The spirometer measured how much air he could breathe out in one breath.
    spir: breathe


  5. The colors in the painting were incredibly vivid and full of life.
    Vitamins are nutrients that are essential for staying healthy.
    viv/vit: life, live


  6. The politician promised to improve public transportation in the city.
    A cosmopolitan city like New York has people from all over the world.
    polis/polit: city


  7. Use the map app to locate the nearest subway station.
    The local restaurant is just around the corner from our place.
    loc: place



Reference Chart 참고 차트 Tabela de referência Tabla de referencia Довідкова таблиця



Directions: Use this chart to check your answers and see more example words for each prefix and stem.

Instrucciones: Usa esta tabla para comprobar tus respuestas y ver más palabras de ejemplo para cada prefijo y raíz.

Instruções: Use esta tabela para conferir suas respostas e ver mais palavras de exemplo para cada prefixo e radical.

지시 사항 : 이 차트를 사용하여 답을 확인하고 각 접두사와 어근의 더 많은 예시 단어를 확인하세요.

Інструкції: Використовуйте цю таблицю, щоб перевірити свої відповіді та переглянути більше прикладів слів для кожного префікса й кореня.


Prefixes
PrefixMeaningExample Words
bene-good, wellbenefit, beneficial, benevolent
neo-newneonatal, neoclassical, Neolithic
sur-over, beyondsurvive, surface, surpass
re- (review)back, againrevive, relocate, return
com-, con- (review)together, withconspire, connect, combine
Stems
StemMeaningExample Words
psychmind, soulpsychology, psychiatrist, psychic
phil, philelovephilosophy, audiophile, Philadelphia
phobiafearclaustrophobia, arachnophobia, acrophobia
spirbreatheinspire, respiration, spirit
viv, vitlife, livevivid, revive, vitamin
polis, politcitymegalopolis, cosmopolitan, acropolis
locplacelocal, locate, relocate


Build Meaning 의미 조합하기 Construa o significado Construye el significado Побудуйте значення


Directions: Click a meaning tile, then click the empty box it belongs in. Each item checks itself automatically once both boxes are filled. Click a filled box to remove it.

Instrucciones: Haz clic en una ficha de significado y luego en la casilla vacía a la que pertenece. Cada elemento se revisa automáticamente una vez que ambas casillas están completas. Haz clic en una casilla completada para eliminarla.

Instruções: Clique em uma ficha de significado e depois na caixa vazia a que ela pertence. Cada item é verificado automaticamente assim que as duas caixas forem preenchidas. Clique em uma caixa preenchida para removê-la.

지시 사항 : 의미 타일을 클릭한 다음, 해당 타일이 속한 빈 상자를 클릭하세요. 두 상자가 모두 채워지면 자동으로 확인됩니다. 채워진 상자를 클릭하면 제거할 수 있습니다.

Інструкції: Натисніть на плитку значення, а потім на порожнє поле, до якого вона належить. Кожен елемент перевіряється автоматично, щойно обидва поля заповнено. Натисніть на заповнене поле, щоб видалити його.


She chose to study psycho+logy because she wants to understand how people think.
study place new mind love life fear city
As an audio+phile, Jae-ho spent a whole month's pay on new speakers.
sound place new mind love life fear city
Min-jun has aqua+phobia, so he won't even go into the shallow end of a pool.
water new mind love life fear city breathe
Her speech in+spired the whole team to work harder.
place mind love life into good fear breathe
Paramedics (ambulance workers) worked quickly to re+vive the unconscious swimmer.
new mind love life fear city breathe again
A cactus can sur+vive for months without any water.
place mind life good fear breathe beyond again
Tokyo, Yokohama, and the cities around them have grown into one megalo+polis.
place new mind love life large fear city
The company will re+locate its main office to Busan next year.
place mind life into city breathe beyond again
An anonymous bene+factor helped the town by paying for its new library.
place new mind love life good fear do
The phil+anthropist gave millions of dollars to help poor families around the world.
place new mind love life human fear city
Because of his neo+phobia, my grandfather refuses to try any new food or use a new phone.
place new mind love life good fear city

Score:



Test Meaning 의미 테스트 Teste o significado Pon a prueba el significado Перевірте значення


Directions: Choose the best meaning for each bold word.

Instrucciones: Elige el mejor significado para cada palabra en negrita.

Instruções: Escolha o melhor significado para cada palavra em negrito.

지시 사항 : 굵게 표시된 각 단어에 가장 알맞은 의미를 선택하세요.

Інструкції: Виберіть найкраще значення для кожного виділеного жирним слова.


  1. Which picture shows respiration?


  2. These drawings show physical injuries. Which one shows a dislocation?


  3. The city plans to revitalize its old downtown area. The city wants to ______.
    bring new life and energy to it
    keep it exactly the same
    tear it down completely
    close it to visitors

  4. A hydrophobic jacket ______.
    soaks up water like a sponge
    must be washed every day
    is made for swimming
    pushes water away

  5. When criminals conspire, they ______.
    confess their crimes to the police
    secretly plan something together
    escape from prison
    argue about money

  6. Biblio refers to books. So if someone is a bibliophile, they probably ______.
    write books for a living
    have trouble reading
    rarely visit libraries
    have many books

  7. A vivacious host at a party is ______.
    tired and bored
    angry and rude
    quiet and shy
    full of energy

  8. Necro is Greek for the dead. Archaeologists explored an ancient Egyptian necropolis. A necropolis is ______.
    a city where no one lives anymore
    a city that was destroyed in a war
    a large ancient cemetery
    a temple for the gods

  9. A doctor says a patient's stomach pain is psychosomatic. This means the pain ______.
    will go away by itself tomorrow
    is caused by bad food
    is caused by the mind
    is caused by a virus

  10. Acro is Greek for high or top. In Athens, tourists visit the ancient Acropolis. An acropolis is ______.
    the highest peak of a mountain range
    a tall stone tower for watching ships
    the part of a city built on a high hill
    a thick forest on top of a hill

  11. The word politics originally referred to ______.
    the affairs of a city and its citizens
    the history of a family
    the study of the stars
    the rules of a sport

  12. At the end of the ceremony, the priest gave a benediction. He ______.
    politely asked everyone to leave
    spoke words of blessing
    read a list of names
    sang a sad song

  13. My cousin has neophilia. She probably ______.
    refuses to try any food she hasn't eaten before
    lines up overnight to buy every new phone
    collects old coins and antique furniture
    falls in love very easily

  14. A restaurant owner says many of her older customers have neophobia. To keep them happy, she should ______.
    add many new and unusual dishes to the menu
    move the restaurant to a new location
    keep the same old menu
    hire more friendly staff

  15. After the event, the school had a surplus of chairs. The school had ______.
    exactly the right number of chairs
    more chairs than it needed
    only broken chairs
    not enough chairs

  16. Philosophy is the study of big questions about life, truth and morality. But soph is Greek for wisdom, so philosophy literally means ______.
    the need for wisdom
    the study of wisdom
    the love of wisdom
    the fear of wisdom

  17. Lithos is Greek for stone. The Neolithic period was ______.
    the oldest part of the Stone Age, when people first made tools
    the newer part of the Stone Age, when people began farming
    the time after people stopped using stone tools at all
    a time when people built the first stone cities

  18. Which of these words contain the stem meaning "place" (loc)?
    locomotion
    allocate
    locust
    locale
    clock
    lock

Score:



Discussion 논의 Questões de discussão Discusión Обговорення


  1. In this lesson, you saw aquaphobia (fear of water) and neophobia (fear of new things).
    Here are six more common phobias. Can you match them to their fear?

    agoraphobia,   arachnophobia,   claustrophobia,   dentophobia,   nyctophobia,   technophobia

    a crowded place,   a small space,   dentists,   night,   spiders,   technology

    Which of these phobias do you think is the most common? Do you have any of them?
  2. Next, try using stems from this and previous lessons to invent new phobia names. (Example: chronophobia = fear of time) What does your phobia mean?
  3. Cine comes from cinema, so a cinephile is someone who loves movies.
    Are you a cinephile? What is a movie you could watch again and again?
    If you are not a cinephile, what kind of "-phile" are you? (Example: an audiophile spends a lot of money on audio equipment; a bibliophile collects rare books.)
  4. The word spirit comes from spir, "breathe."
    Why might people long ago have connected breath with a person's spirit or soul? What happens to a person's breath when they die?
  5. In ancient Greek, the word psyche meant both "soul" and "butterfly."
    Why do you think a butterfly became a symbol of the soul or mind?
  6. Both police and politics come from Greek polis, "city."
    How are police officers and politicians connected to city life? Is that connection still true today?
  7. Philadelphia comes from phil + adelphos, "brother": the City of Brotherly Love.
    If you could give your own city a Greek or Latin nickname using stems from any of these lessons, what would it be?
  8. Look at the two pictures of breathing below. Their names are inspiration and expiration. Together, they make up respiration.
    Which name belongs to picture A, and which belongs to picture B? How do the prefixes in- and ex- help you decide?
    Food has an expiration date, and an old way to say someone died is that they expired. How is "breathing out" connected to each of these? diagrams
    (In everyday English, we say inhale and exhale. Different stems, same prefixes.)

Listen & Repeat 듣고 따라하기 Ouça e repita Escuchar y repetir Слухайте і повторюйте


Directions: Play the audio clip and try to repeat what you hear. Click "Show" to see the text.

Instrucciones: Reproduce el clip de audio e intenta repetir lo que escuchas. Haga clic en "Show" para ver el texto.

Instruções: Reproduza o clipe de áudio e tente repetir o que você ouve. Clique em "Show" para ver o texto.

지시 사항 : 오디오 클립을 재생하고 들리는 내용을 반복해 보십시오. 텍스트를 보려면 "Show" 를 클릭하십시오.

Інструкції: Увімкніть аудіокліп і спробуйте повторити те, що чуєте. Натисніть "Show", щоб побачити текст.


Clip 1
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She chose to study psychology because she wants to understand how people think.



Clip 2
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As an audiophile, Jae-ho spent a whole month's pay on new speakers.



Clip 3
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Min-jun has aquaphobia, so he won't even go into the shallow end of the pool.



Clip 4
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Her speech inspired the whole team to work harder.



Clip 5
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Paramedics worked quickly to revive the unconscious swimmer.



Clip 6
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A cactus can survive for months without any water.



Clip 7
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Tokyo, Yokohama, and the cities around them have grown into one megalopolis.



Clip 8
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The company will relocate its main office to Busan next year.



Clip 9
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An anonymous benefactor helped the town by paying for its new library.



Clip 10
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The philanthropist gave millions of dollars to help poor families around the world.



Clip 11
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Because of his neophobia, my grandfather refuses to try any new food or use a new phone.



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