Upasarga (Prefixes)
An upasarga is a meaningless word-part placed before a word or verb root that forms a new word or changes its meaning. There are three kinds. First, there are twenty Sanskrit-origin prefixes: pro, para, opo, sam, ni, onu, obo, nir, dur, bi, odhi, shu, ut, pori, proti, obhi, oti, opi, upo and aa. Second, there are native Bengali prefixes such as o, ona, aa, ku, sho, ha, bhor, ram and pati (the count is usually given as twenty-one, but opinions differ). Third, there are foreign prefixes: Persian ones such as be, na, har, dar, kom and bod; Arabic ones such as la, khas and aam; and English ones such as half, full and head.
Some examples of Sanskrit prefixes: opoman (insult, opo means bad), onutap (regret, onu means after), shunam (good name, shu means good), sangit (music, sam means together), nirmol (pure, nir means without), oti-achar (oppression, oti means excess), aajibon (lifelong, aa means up to).
Protyay (Suffixes)
A protyay is a word-part added after a word or verb root to make a new word. There are two kinds. Kri-t protyay is added to verb roots: lekhok is the root likh plus ok, chalonto is the root chol plus onto, and data is the root da plus ta. Taddhita protyay is added to noun words: dhakai is Dhaka plus i, jatiyo is jati plus iyo, and manobotto is manob plus tto.
Main Difference
A prefix comes before a word and a suffix comes after it. If a verb root is present the suffix is kri-t and if a noun is present it is taddhita.
Shortcut
Beginning of a word means upasarga, end of a word means protyay. Recite the twenty Sanskrit prefixes in groups to remember them.
Worked Examples
Example 1: Split the prefix from 'opoman'.
Solution: Opo plus man. The prefix opo means bad or opposite.
Example 2: Find the suffix in 'pachok' (cook).
Solution: The verb root poch plus ok. It is added to a verb root, so it is a kri-t suffix.
Example 3: Find the suffix type in 'manobota' (humanity).
Solution: Manob plus ta. It is added to a noun, so it is a taddhita suffix.
Quick Check
Question 1: How many Sanskrit prefixes are there?
Answer: Twenty.
Question 2: Is 'shu' in 'shunam' a prefix or a suffix?
Answer: A prefix.
Question 3: Which suffix type attaches to verb roots?
Answer: Kri-t.
Question 4: Is 'har' in 'harroj' Persian?
Answer: Yes, it is a Persian prefix meaning every.