Leksion Chamoru: Prefix la-

The prefix la- is a comparative degree marker meaning slightly or a little bit more. It can be used with most nouns and adjectives/adverbs in Chamorro, however here are several which are more commonly known/used:

• Maolek = Good, well.
  La- + maolek => Lamaolek = Better (slightly).
• Meggai = Many, several.
  La- + meggai => Lameggai = Very many.
• Bunitu = Beautiful.
  La- + bunitu => Labunitu = More (slightly) beautiful, prettier.
• Chaddek = Fast.
  La- + chaddek => Lachaddek = Faster.
• Guse' = Quick, lively.
  La- + guse' => Laguse' = Quicker, livelier.

You can also use the word mås to mean "more," but some words, like chaddek, usually use the prefix la- rather than mås, i.e., it is more common to hear lachaddek rather than mås chaddek.

The prefix also takes the primary stress of new word, so for the above examples:

• Lamaolek => LA-mao-lick
• Lameggai => LA-meg-guy
• Labunitu => LA-boo-knee-too
• Lachaddek => LA-chad-deck
• Laguse' => LA-goo-see'

Note: Some use la- to almost mean "to make more..." rather than just "more." This is not "wrong" per se, but it is safer to use na'la- or na'mås.