The prefix te- derives verbs from other verbs. Verb derivations with te- indicate that the action denoted by the base form has a devastating and irreparable consequence for its object. The prefix is mainly accepted by verbs bearing a destructive meaning in themselves. As a result, the addition of te- mainly serves an intensifying purpose. The prefix stresses the damaging effect on the object and is often used to indicate that the object actually becomes worthless. Examples of derivations with te- are listed below:

Base form	Derivation
brekketo break	tebrekketo destroy by breaking
barsteto burst	tebarsteto destroy by bursting
slopeto demolish	teslopeto destroy by demolishing
gnauweto gnaw	tegnauweto destroy by gnawing
raffeljeto unravel	teraffeljeto destroy by unravelling
biteto bite	tebiteto destroy by biting
traapjeto step	tetraapjeto destroy by stepping
fykjeto cut out	tefykjeto destroy by cutting

The prefix te- can also be added to verbs which do not have a meaning of destruction in themselves. The implication of destruction is then added by te-. An example is reineto rain > tereineto destroy by raining. More examples are listed below:

Base form	Derivation
griemeto spill	tegriemeto destroy
bringeto bring	tebringeto waste (obsolete)
driuweto drive	tedriuweto destroy by driving (obsolete)
waaieto be windy	tewaaieto destroy by the wind
skriemeto cry	teskriemeto spoil by crying

In some cases the derivation changes the valency of the base form. This is shown in the examples below:

It is also possible, although not quite common, to construe te- derivations from reflexive verbs. The derivation then denotes that the action named in the base form has a negative consequence for the subject of the verb. An example is bargjeto spill > jin tebargjeto spill on oneself.

The use of derivations with te- is restricted mainly to the written language. Its use is comparable to the use of the prefix fer-, which is far more productive than te-. From the verb skuorreto tear apart, for example, one can derive teskuorre or ferskuorre, both meaning to destroy by tearing apart. The difference between the two is that the derivation with te- is stronger and stylistically heavier. Sometimes the verb prefixed by te- seems to be formed on the basis of the fer-verb, with truncation of fer. An example is tebrizeljeto shatter, which lacks a base form *brizelje. Therefore, tebrizelje might have been derived from ferbrizeljeto shatter. The same applies to a verb mainly found as the adjectively used participle tekankereharmed, eroded, litt. to be riddled with cancer, which might be assumed to be a derivation from ferkankereid.. But there is also a verb kankerjeto suffer from cancer, from which it could have been derived as well.

The prefix is pronounced as [tə]. As it is pronounced with a schwa, the stress in derivations with te- is never on the prefix, e.g. teBREkketo demolish by breaking (see for this effect schwa restriction).

In the dialect spoken on the island of Schiermonnikoog the prefix is still pronounced with a full vowel as [to], written as tò-. A few examples from this dialect are listed below:

Base form	Derivation
baneto burn	tòbaneto burn down
brakketo break	tòbrakketo break to pieces
heisterjeto make a fuss	tòheisterjeto damage