BrainiLab Academy · Words & puzzles
How words are built
Find a root, change a beginning, add an ending and put whole words together. Five short lessons finish with a sandwich’s surprising family history.
Start learning →
What you’ll explore
How does help become helpless? Why does replay ask you to do something again? Start with familiar words, then learn to examine their parts without guessing from letters alone.
Follow five short lessons in order, or return to the part you need. The small quizzes are optional and have no timer.
One discovery at a time
Your lessons, step by step
- 1
Read →1 min read · Quick quiz
What is a root word? Find the family resemblance
Identify a shared root in help, helpful and helpless.
Ready when you are - 2
Read →1 min read · Quick quiz
What is a prefix? Replay the word from the front
Use re-, un- and pre- to interpret clear examples.
Ready when you are - 3
Read →1 min read · Quick quiz
What is a suffix? A word’s ending can change its job
Recognise a suffix and choose the spelling happiness.
Ready when you are - 4
Read →1 min read · Quick quiz
What is a compound word? A toothbrush tells the story
Recognise compounds written closed, open or hyphenated.
Ready when you are - 5
Read →1 min read · Quick quiz
What is etymology? Follow a sandwich into the past
Distinguish an origin claim from a definition or invention claim.
Ready when you are
A few words worth knowing
- Root
- The central meaningful part of a word.
- Affix
- A piece attached before or after a base.
- Etymology
- The study of word origins and history.
Curious to dig deeper?
- University of Ottawa — Word formation
- Cambridge — Prefixes
- Cambridge — Suffixes
- Cambridge — Compounds
- Cambridge — Etymology
- Oxford University Press — Hamburger semantics
Follow the sources, explore a little further, or tell us if something needs a correction. Suggest a correction.