Word part · Latin suffix
Suffix -ee words: meaning and 14 examples
In short
The Latin suffix -ee (from Latin) means "a person who receives an action". Words with it include employee, employees, trainee, payee, refugee and absentee. Latin by way of French.
- Part
- -ee
- Meaning
- a person who receives an action
- Origin
- Latin
- Words listed
- 14
Latin by way of French. Its partner is -er: the employer hires, the employee is hired. Say it with the beat on the last part: train ee, pay ee.
Words with the Latin suffix -ee
The list runs from shorter, common words to longer ones. The bands are a rough guide built from syllable count and how common each word is in our word list, not a grade-level standard. Read each word, then its word sum.
Colors:prefixroot or basesuffix
Next: longer words (about grades 5 and 6)
| Word | Word sum | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| employee | employ (root or base)+ee (suffix)→employee | a person who is employed |
| employees | employ (root or base)+ee (suffix)+s (suffix)→employees | more than one employee |
| trainee | train (root or base)+ee (suffix)→trainee | a person who is being trained |
| payee | pay (root or base)+ee (suffix)→payee | the person who is paid |
| refugee | refuge (root or base)+ee (suffix)→refugeedrop the e | a person who has to leave home to find safety |
| absentee | absent (root or base)+ee (suffix)→absentee | a person who is absent |
| attendee | attend (root or base)+ee (suffix)→attendee | a person who attends an event |
| honoree | honor (root or base)+ee (suffix)→honoree | a person who is honored |
| addressee | address (root or base)+ee (suffix)→addressee | the person a letter is addressed to |
| escapee | escape (root or base)+ee (suffix)→escapeedrop the e | a person or animal that has escaped |
| retiree | retire (root or base)+ee (suffix)→retireedrop the e | a person who has retired |
| appointee | appoint (root or base)+ee (suffix)→appointee | a person who is appointed to a job |
More words: trainees
Stretch: long or less common words (about grades 7 and 8)
| Word | Word sum | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| interviewee | interview (root or base)+ee (suffix)→interviewee | the person who is interviewed |
How do you teach the suffix -ee?
Teach -ee next to -er. An employer gives the job; an employee gets it. A trainer teaches; a trainee is taught. Draw an arrow from the -er person to the -ee person so the student sees who acts and who receives. Then add words like refugee and absentee and talk about what each person receives or is. Point out that the stress falls on the last syllable almost every time.
A quick routine
Write employ, train, pay and interview. Say, "Ee names the person who gets the action. Pay plus ee is payee: the person who gets paid." The student builds each word, then says the -er partner and acts out who gives and who gets. Ask about retire and escape: what happens to the e at the end of the base? It drops, so the new word still has just two e's together. Close with a sentence using refugee.
What do students mix up with -ee?
Bee, tree, free, knee and coffee end in e-e but are not people who receive anything. Committee looks like it fits but names a group, not a person. Degree and agree also end this way with no base word in front. If the word does not name a person on the receiving end, it is not this suffix.
Some of these words change spelling where the parts join. The spelling rules pages cover dropping e, doubling and changing y to i. For the sounds inside these words, see the phonics word lists. Routines that fit: meanings of prefixes and suffixes, circle the parts, read the base and flexible routine for big words.
Questions people ask
What does the suffix -ee mean?
-ee means "a person who receives an action". It is a Latin suffix. Latin by way of French. Its partner is -er: the employer hires, the employee is hired. Say it with the beat on the last part: train ee, pay ee.
What are some words with the suffix -ee?
Start with employee, employees, trainee and payee. Then move to interviewee. This page lists 14 words in all, most with a word sum that shows the parts.
What is the difference between employer and employee?
The employer does the hiring and pays; the employee is hired and gets paid. The -er ending names the person who acts, and -ee names the person who receives. Trainer and trainee work the same way.
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