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Using the suffix '-ish'后缀 -ish的使用

"I have a question about 'ish.' Sometimes I heard someone say 'twelve-ish', meet at 'seven-ish' – do you have added 'ish' words to say?"

Wang Xi

Would you like to go out for dinner, let's say, seven-ish?

In English, the suffix '-ish' is very useful. When added to a number, it can be used to mean "around" or "approximately". For example:

I don't know how old my mother's new boyfriend is – perhaps he's around sixty-ish.

Or, when used with adjectives, '-ish' can be used to mean 'somewhat' or 'slightly'. For example:

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My hair is blonde-ish and my eyes are blue-ish.

Join Jen and Li in Question and Answer of the week, as they discuss different ways you can use '-ish' to improve your English!

If you have a question you would like us to answer, email questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk