Morphemes in “enjoyable”
“enjoyable” has 3 morphemes: en- + joy + -able.
en
prefix
+
joy
root
+
able
suffix
Spelling changes when the parts join: the boxes show the letters as written; the morphemes themselves are en- + joy + -able.
Each morpheme explained
| Morpheme | Type | Free / bound | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| en- | derivational prefix | bound | cause to be, put into |
| joy | free root | free | the emotion of great happiness |
| -able | derivational suffix | bound | capable of being; having the quality of |
Morphemes are not syllables
Morphemes (3)
en + joy + able
Spoken syllables (4)
en·joy·a·ble /ˌɛn.ˈdʒɔɪ.ə.bəl/
Morphemes are units of meaning; syllables are units of sound. The boundaries often fall in different places, which is why “enjoyable” splits one way for a morphology exercise and another for a syllable count.
Break any word into morphemes
Prefixes, roots and suffixes with glosses, free and in your browser.
Open the morphological analyzer →Segmentation derived from MorphyNet (Batsuren, Bella & Giunchiglia, 2021; CC BY-SA 3.0, built from Wiktionary), with hand-written affix glosses and root meanings from WordNet. Reviewed for classroom use; tell us if you spot an error.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many morphemes are in "enjoyable"?
"enjoyable" has three morphemes: en- + joy + -able.
How do you break "enjoyable" into morphemes?
en- + joy + -able. en- is a derivational prefix, -able is a derivational suffix.
Is this morphology tool free?
Yes. The Fixie morphological analyzer is free with no signup and runs in your browser.