The Suffix –stan Means Land

Why do so many nations have the suffix?

Interesting Facts in Easy English

Pre-Listening Vocabulary

• suffix: an ending that adds meaning and form to words
• Persian: of Iranian descent
• settlement: a place where people stay and live
• pure: not tainted, not mixed with anything

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (0.0KB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | More

The Suffix –stan Means Land

Have you ever why so many countries have the same suffix? Many countries in end with the suffix -stan. The suffix -stan comes from a Persian word, meaning land of or settlement. Pakistan (Land of the pure), Afghanistan (Land of the Afghans), and Kazakhstan (Land of the ) are just a few countries in Asia that use this suffix. In fact, many countries have been named in a similar way, including Ireland, England, , Poland, and Finland. Don’t stop there. There’s also , New Zealand, and Swaziland. Let’s not forgot Switzerland and the Netherlands!

Comprehension Questions

1. What does the suffix -stan mean?
2. What does Pakistan mean?
3. According to this report, why is England like Kazakhstan?

Discussion Question: Do you know the origin of your country’s name? Do a little research and share it with your friends or classmates.

show Answershide Answers

The Suffix –stan Means Land
Have you ever wondered why so many countries have the same suffix? Many countries in Asia end with the suffix -stan. The suffix -stan comes from a Persian word, meaning land of or settlement. Pakistan (Land of the pure), Afghanistan (Land of the Afghans), and Kazakhstan (Land of the independent) are just a few countries in Asia that use this suffix. In fact, many countries have been named in a similar way, including Ireland, England, Scotland, Poland, and Finland. Don’t stop there! There’s also Thailand, New Zealand, and Swaziland. Let’s not forgot Switzerland and the Netherlands!

1. The suffix -stan means land.
2. The word Pakistan means Land of the pure.
3. According to this report, England is like Kazakhstan because both nations have the word “land”.

Subscribe to EnglishClub Podcasts

18 comments

• AdamMeansDirt WhichIs Brown says:
  

  i saw that someone put something about Niger, and i had to respond to that. Niger comes from Negroland (there are real maps that show such a location), and it was an area of Africa that European colonizers thought that the people there were so dark that they should be dubbed BLACK-people, aka Negro or Niger, whichever language you choose…these brown people were subjected to this derogatory name of darkness, which is often associated with bad or evil things like the Black-Market, Black-Friday, Black-cat, Black-magic, Dark-Web,…when the Europen nations decided to slice Africa up like a Christmas pie, the countries of Nigeria and Niger was formed in the region that was once known as the Negroland.
  I’ll end by saying,there are no “Black People”, there are dark people, but they arent black, it was a bigoted classification started by Europeans to demean brown people, and its a legacy that they carry on to this day thru indoctrination.

• Mithil says:
  

  Impressive

• Naomi says:
  

  In Georgian -stan is used to indicate someone’s home, so Tamazi’s house is Tamazistan.

• English Club Indonesia says:
  

  Suffix -stand means land. Pakistan means the land of the pure. I don’t think Kazakhstan and England are alike.

  I have no idea what Indonesia means. However, the former name of our country was Nusantara.

• Richard Skinner says:
  

  My country`s name, Venezuela, means “little Venice”, because the first person who came from Spain with Columbis saw a settlement of houses that were above the water (called palafitos) and they reminded him of Venice, Italy. The suffix -“uela” means little in Spanish.

• Emseyedmoh says:
  

  My country Nigeria in West Africa means Niger Area from river Niger

• fixyoengrish says:
  

  Stan is Sanskrit, not Farsi (also called Persian).

• Hanan says:
  

  good

• Eddie says:
  

  Excellent

• MAURO says:
  

  This site is extraordinary. You are pedagogically excelent.
  Many, many, many…thanks for all.

• Jose Tenorio says:
  

  important for us

• Joan miracle says:
  

  Interesting

• nia chang says:
  

  great

• Yekeen Roqeebah says:
  

  hi am tumise a new girl joining ur club i hope t make new feiends

• Bijan says:
  

  Hi again Tara,

  Because of this reason that your above subject is very interesting for me, so I decided to show you and your students the map of Persian Empire with an explanation of Wikipedia.

  First, here is a link about Persian Empire map:
  https://www.google.com/search?q=persian+empire+map

  Second, here is the explanation of Wikipedia about Persian Empire:
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_Empire

  I hope you and Sir Josef can visit Persepolis that is one symbol of Persian Empire soon.

  Thanks for your beautiful reporting and best wishes,
  Bijan from the Persian Gulf

• Bijan says:
  

  Hi Tara,

  I didn’t know at all that the suffix of “stan” comes from the word Persian and means “land”.

  It is very interesting for me that many countries in the Middle Asia have the suffix of “stan”. For example:
  Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and so on.

  I guess it is because of in many centuries ago these countries were part of Persia Empire.

  I should explain that my country’s name was Persia before, but it changed to Iran in 1916 (nearly).

  Thank you for reporting this beautiful subject,
  Bijan from the Persian Gulf,

• Cathy says:
  

  Very useful

• Hani says:
  

  Great!