Learner-friendly language in some ways: 02 (Suffixes)

The Chinese language also uses suffixes a lot, much more than the English language.

    This is very helpful to the learner for grasping a wider range of vocabulary with a much smaller set of tools, and it's consistent* as well, unlike in English.  (*Remember, no rule is ever 100%, so there's bound to be the irregulars popping up somewhere.)

    

boar (/ stag), sow, piglet; pork

公猪，母猪，小猪；猪肉

(category: 猪 zhū / pig; 

prefixes: 公 gōng / male; 母 mǔ / female; 小 xiǎo / little; 

suffix: 肉 ròu / meat)

bull, cow, calf; beef

公牛，母牛，小牛；牛肉

(category: 牛 niú / cattle)

sheep, ewe, lamb; mutton

公羊，母羊，小羊；羊肉

(category: 羊 yáng / caprid, sheep or goat)

(*I was told, by an Englishman some five decades ago, that sheep meat in Britain is called / sold as "lamb" (rather than "mutton" which is how it is called in S.E.Asia), because "mutton" gives the impression of the meat being from the older animal, therefore a bit tough.) 

    The English list doesn't give the reader any inkling at all what the four items are, not even that they're in the same category.  They could be four different-category animals thrown together into a list.

    The Chinese list tells the reader immediately that the first one is the male version of the animal, the second the female, the third the young, and the fourth the meat of that animal.  (Of course, the reader will need a certain level of basic knowledge about the language, e.g., what 猪, 公, 母, 小 and 肉 mean individually.)

    Another example of a suffix in Chinese helpfully enlightening the reader:  a common British pub snack is called pork scratchings.  It does at least tell the reader it's related to pig, but in what way?  The Chinese name for pork scratchings would be 猪皮 zhū pí / "pig skin", which is immediately clear.

    Ditto "pig's trotters" in English.  A group of Hong Kong incomers I now teach English conversation to as a volunteer for a community centre didn't understand "pig's trotters" when I brought it up in class.  The Chinese for pig's trotters is 

猪蹄 zhū tí / "pig hoof" 

or 

猪手 zhū shǒu / "pig hand" for the front 

and 

猪脚 zhū jiǎo / "pig foot" for the back, 

which again is very clear.  

    The English word "trotter" is not used much in everyday life, so it is a bit rare and very narrow in usage, whereas 手 shǒu / hand and 脚 jiǎo / foot are used all the time for human hand and foot.  Therefore, the learning burden is not so great.

(* 猪手 is the front one and has more meat; 猪蹄 is the back one and has more bone.  This will decide the use / cooking style: the rear one is used more for flavouring soups.)