ka- -nan

Tagalog

Etymology

From Proto-Austronesian *ka- -an (compare Malay ke- -an).

Circumfix

ka- -nan (Baybayin spelling ᜃ ᜈᜈ᜔)

1. alternative form of ka- -an

   ‎pakana (“scheme”) + ‎ka- -nan → ‎kapakanan (“sake”)

   ‎sala (“fault”) + ‎ka- -nan → ‎kasalanan (“sin”)

   ‎bihasa (“accustomed”) + ‎ka- -nan → ‎kabihasnan (“civilization”)

   ‎kaya (“competence”) + ‎ka- -nan → ‎kakayanan (“ability”)

Usage notes

• Normally, /h/ is inserted before -an when the root word ends with a vowel that is not followed by a glottal stop. In some cases, phoneme change can occur and /h/ becomes /n/.

  ‎sala + ‎ka- -nan → ‎kasalanan

• Sometimes, the final vowel of the root word disappears when the suffix is added.

  ‎pakana + ‎ka- -nan → ‎kapakanan

  ‎bihasa + ‎ka- -nan → ‎kabihasnan

Derived terms

Tagalog terms circumfixed with ka- -nan