Morphemes

A morpheme is the smallest meaningful unit in a language. It can be a whole word, like "book," or a part of a word that adds meaning, such as "un-" in "unhappy" or "-s" in "cats." Morphemes help us understand and build words by combining these units. For example, "unhappiness" consists of three morphemes: "un-" (not), "happy" (feeling good), and "-ness" (state of). Recognizing morphemes helps in understanding word structure, meaning, and how words relate to each other.