What does the prefix a- mean in French?

It has two meanings depending on where the word came from. From Greek, it means without: amoral, apolitique, anonyme. From Latin ad-, it means towards or make more so: apporter, atterrir, agrandir. Nothing in the spelling distinguishes them, so the rest of the word decides.

What's the difference between amoral and immoral?

Amoral describes something to which morality doesn't apply at all: une machine amorale. Immoral describes something that breaks a moral rule: un acte immoral. English keeps the same distinction, but learners tend to reach for amoral when they mean immoral.

Why is it anormal and not abnormal in French?

Because French built the word on the Greek negative prefix, while English built it on the Latin ab-. The French adjective is anormal, anormale, anormaux, and its noun is une anomalie. Abnormal simply doesn't exist in French.

When does a- become an-?

Only in the Greek family, and only before a vowel: anonyme, anarchie, anesthésie, analphabète. The Latin prefix never does this; it either stays as a- or doubles the following consonant, as in apporter and affaiblir.

How do I know whether to double the consonant?

You have to learn it with the word, because the doubling comes from the Latin spelling rather than from a French rule. Apporter, atterrir, affaiblir, allonger, and accourir double it; adoucir, amener, amincir, and aplatir don't.

French grammar · Advanced

The Prefix A- in French: Two Origins, Two Opposite Meanings

Written by Camille Laurent, Lead French Curriculum Editor · Reviewed May 2026

French has two prefixes spelled a-. One comes from Greek and negates: amoral means without morals, anonyme means without a name. The other comes from Latin ad- and means towards or turn into: atterrir is to come to ground, agrandir is to make bigger. Knowing which one you're looking at tells you what the word means.

L'avion va atterrir dans vingt minutes.

The plane is going to land in twenty minutes.

What it is

The same single letter does two unrelated jobs at the front of a French word. Borrowed from Greek, a- strips something away: apolitique, without politics. Inherited from the Latin preposition ad-, a- pushes towards something: apporter, to carry to. There is no spelling difference, so you read the meaning off the rest of the word.

Une remarque amorale n'a rien à voir avec la morale ; une remarque apaisante calme les esprits. — An amoral remark has nothing to do with morality; a soothing remark calms people down.

How to spot it

Look at what follows the prefix. If it's an adjective or noun you already know and the result means the absence of it, the prefix is Greek. If the result is a verb describing movement or change, it's Latin.

une zone apolitique — a non-political zone (Greek a-: without)
un appel anonyme — an anonymous call (an- before a vowel)
adoucir une sauce — to soften a sauce (Latin a-: make more so)
apporter des fleurs — to bring flowers (Latin a-: carry towards)

Before a vowel, the Greek prefix becomes an-: anonyme, anarchie, analphabète, anesthésie.

Prefix a Quick Reference

The two prefixes side by side

Word	Built from	Meaning
amoral	Greek a- + moral	outside morality, indifferent to it
anormal	Greek a- + normal	abnormal, not normal
apolitique	Greek a- + politique	non-political
anonyme	Greek an- + onyme (name)	nameless
atterrir	Latin a- + terre	to come down to ground, to land
agrandir	Latin a- + grand	to make bigger
apporter	Latin a- + porter	to carry towards, to bring
affaiblir	Latin a- + faible	to make weaker

Common Prefix a Examples in French

Both families in use, plus the spelling habit that separates them:

Greek A-: Absence

Il se dit athée depuis longtemps.: He's called himself an atheist for a long time.
C'est une réaction atypique.: That's an atypical reaction.
Le dessin est asymétrique.: The drawing is asymmetrical.
Elle reste apolitique en public.: She stays non-political in public.

These are almost all adjectives, and almost all borrowed through scientific or philosophical vocabulary.

An- Before a Vowel

une lettre anonyme: an anonymous letter
une anesthésie locale: a local anaesthetic
un adulte analphabète: an illiterate adult
une période d'anarchie: a period of anarchy

The extra n exists purely to avoid two vowels colliding, exactly like English a- and an-.

Latin A-: Movement Towards

Apporte-moi le journal.: Bring me the paper.
Nous approchons de la frontière.: We're getting close to the border.
Le train arrive à seize heures.: The train arrives at four o'clock.
Elle amène sa sœur à la fête.: She's bringing her sister to the party.

This family is made of verbs, and the prefix behaves like a built-in preposition meaning to or at.

Latin A-: Turning Into

Ils veulent agrandir la cuisine.: They want to make the kitchen bigger.
Le tailleur va allonger le pantalon.: The tailor is going to lengthen the trousers.
Le sucre adoucit le café.: Sugar sweetens the coffee.
Il faut arrondir le chiffre.: You need to round the figure off.

Adjective plus a- plus the -ir ending gives a verb meaning to make more X. Agrandir, arrondir, and adoucir are all built that way.

How the Prefix A- Works

Two origins, one spelling, and a doubling habit that decides how the word is written.

Greek A- Cancels the Word It Attaches To

Attached to an adjective, Greek a- removes the quality entirely rather than reversing it. Amoral doesn't mean bad, it means standing outside the question of good and bad, and asocial doesn't mean hostile, it means not engaging socially.

Une machine est amorale : elle ne juge rien.

A machine is amoral: it makes no judgements.

Greek a- = without, not opposite.

Latin A- Adds a Direction

The Latin preposition ad meant towards, and it fused onto verb stems. Porter is to carry, apporter is to carry towards the speaker; mener is to lead, amener is to lead towards. The prefix supplies the destination.

Tu portes le sac, mais tu m'apportes le sac.

You carry the bag, but you bring the bag to me.

verb + a- = verb + towards.

With an Adjective, Latin A- Makes a Verb of Change

Take an adjective, put a- in front and -ir at the end, and you get a verb meaning to make something more like that. This is a productive pattern and it explains a whole family of -ir verbs at once.

La neige a alourdi les branches du sapin.

The snow weighed the fir's branches down.

a- + adjective + -ir = make more X.

The Consonant Often Doubles, but Not Predictably

Apporter, atterrir, affaiblir, allonger, and arrondir double the consonant; adoucir, amincir, aplatir, and amener don't. The doubling reflects the original Latin spelling, so it has to be learned word by word.

Il faut aplatir la pâte, puis allonger la cuisson.

You have to flatten the dough, then lengthen the cooking time.

Check the spelling; the rule won't tell you.

The Prefix Is Not the Preposition À

The preposition à always carries a grave accent and always stands as its own word. The prefix never has an accent and never stands alone, so atterrir is one word with no accent while aller à Paris keeps both.

Nous allons à Nice, mais nous atterrissons à Nice.

We're going to Nice, and we're landing at Nice.

à = word with accent, a- = prefix without.

Common Mistakes with Prefix a

Incorrect: C'est une situation abnormale. — It's an abnormal situation.

Correct: C'est une situation anormale. — It's an abnormal situation.

English took this word through Latin ab-, French through Greek a-. There is no abnormal in French, only anormal.

Incorrect: Son comportement est amoral, il a volé cet argent. — His behaviour is immoral, he stole that money.

Correct: Son comportement est immoral, il a volé cet argent. — His behaviour is immoral, he stole that money.

Amoral means outside morality, with no sense of right and wrong in play. Breaking a rule you recognise is immoral, with the prefix im-.

Incorrect: Je vais aporter le dessert. — I'll bring dessert.

Correct: Je vais apporter le dessert. — I'll bring dessert.

Apporter doubles the p, inherited from Latin adportare. The doubling isn't optional and isn't audible, so it has to be memorised with the word.

Incorrect: L'avion va à terrir à Nice. — The plane is going to land in Nice.

Correct: L'avion va atterrir à Nice. — The plane is going to land in Nice.

Atterrir is a single word: the prefix has fused with terre and takes no accent. The preposition à is a separate matter and appears later in the sentence.

The A- Verbs Built From Adjectives

This is the most useful group for a learner, because it turns adjectives you already know into verbs you can guess.

Size and shape

Take the adjective, add a- and the -ir ending, and conjugate it like finir. The verb means to make something take on that quality.

agrandir une photo: to enlarge a photo (grand)
arrondir un angle: to round off a corner (rond)
allonger une jupe: to lengthen a skirt (long)
aplatir un carton: to flatten a box (plat)

These are all second-group verbs: j'agrandis, nous agrandissons, j'ai agrandi.

Texture and strength

The same pattern applies to adjectives describing how something feels or how strong it is.

adoucir la peau: to soften the skin (doux)
affaiblir une monnaie: to weaken a currency (faible)
assouplir les règles: to relax the rules (souple)
attendrir la viande: to tenderise the meat (tendre)

Attendrir has a figurative sense too: son histoire m'a attendri, her story moved me.

The reflexive turn

Made reflexive, these verbs stop being something you do and become something that happens on its own.

Le ciel s'assombrit.: The sky is darkening.
Les prix se sont alourdis.: Prices have got heavier.
Sa voix s'est adoucie.: Her voice softened.

Note the agreement in the compound past: sa voix s'est adoucie, with the extra e.

Prefix a FAQs

What does the prefix a- mean in French?: It has two meanings depending on where the word came from. From Greek, it means without: amoral, apolitique, anonyme. From Latin ad-, it means towards or make more so: apporter, atterrir, agrandir. Nothing in the spelling distinguishes them, so the rest of the word decides.
What's the difference between amoral and immoral?: Amoral describes something to which morality doesn't apply at all: une machine amorale. Immoral describes something that breaks a moral rule: un acte immoral. English keeps the same distinction, but learners tend to reach for amoral when they mean immoral.
Why is it anormal and not abnormal in French?: Because French built the word on the Greek negative prefix, while English built it on the Latin ab-. The French adjective is anormal, anormale, anormaux, and its noun is une anomalie. Abnormal simply doesn't exist in French.
When does a- become an-?: Only in the Greek family, and only before a vowel: anonyme, anarchie, anesthésie, analphabète. The Latin prefix never does this; it either stays as a- or doubles the following consonant, as in apporter and affaiblir.
How do I know whether to double the consonant?: You have to learn it with the word, because the doubling comes from the Latin spelling rather than from a French rule. Apporter, atterrir, affaiblir, allonger, and accourir double it; adoucir, amener, amincir, and aplatir don't.