The Hungarian plural
The Hungarian plural is -k, added directly after a vowel (autó → autók, alma → almák) and with a linking vowel after a consonant (ablakok, kertek, gyümölcsök, házak). After numbers and quantifiers the noun stays singular: két alma, sok ember.
On this page
- Forming the plural: -k and its linking vowels
- Lowering stems: házak, not házok
- Singular after numbers and quantifiers
- Plural + accusative: always -at/-et
- The possessive plural -i-
- Adjectives: plural only as predicates
- Typical learner errors
- Sources and further reading
- Key takeaways
- Frequently asked questions
Hungarian forms almost every plural with one suffix, -k. What takes practice is the linking vowel in front of it, a group of nouns that change their stem, and the fact that Hungarian uses the plural much less than English: két alma is "two apples", with the noun in the singular.
Forming the plural: -k and its linking vowels
The rule depends on the last sound of the noun:
| Noun ends in | Plural | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| A vowel other than a/e | -k | autó → autók, kocsi → kocsik, cipő → cipők, kapu → kapuk |
| -a / -e | lengthen + -k | alma → almák, kutya → kutyák, kefe → kefék, mese → mesék |
| Consonant, back word | -ok | ablak → ablakok, asztal → asztalok, bor → borok |
| Consonant, front unrounded | -ek | kert → kertek, szék → székek, gyerek → gyerekek |
| Consonant, front rounded | -ök | gyümölcs → gyümölcsök, sör → sörök, sofőr → sofőrök |
| Consonant, lowering stem | -ak / -ek | ház → házak, fal → falak, könyv → könyvek, fül → fülek |
The choice between -ok, -ek and -ök is ordinary vowel harmony. The only real puzzle is the last row.
Lowering stems: házak, not házok
A lowering stem uses the "lower" (more open) vowel a or e as its linking vowel, even where harmony would predict o or ö. There is no sound-based rule for which nouns belong here; it is a lexical class of mostly short, old, everyday words:
| Back lowering (-ak) | Front lowering (-ek after a rounded vowel) | Compare: not lowering |
|---|---|---|
| ház → házak (houses) | könyv → könyvek (books) | bor → borok (wines) |
| hal → halak (fish) | fül → fülek (ears) | dal → dalok (songs) |
| fal → falak (walls) | tűz → tüzek (fires) | sör → sörök (beers) |
| fog → fogak (teeth) | ügy → ügyek (matters) | gól → gólok (goals) |
| toll → tollak (pens, feathers) | öv → övek (belts) | gyümölcs → gyümölcsök (fruits) |
| madár → madarak (birds) | föld → földek (lands, fields) | kalap → kalapok (hats) |
Memory trick: the plural and the accusative share their linking vowel. If you know házat (house, as object), you know házak; if you know ablakot, you know ablakok. Learn one, get the other free. (Nouns that take a bare -t, such as dal → dalt, give no clue; there you need the plural itself.)
Stem-changing plurals
Some nouns change their stem before the plural suffix. They follow the same patterns described in how Hungarian words are built:
| Pattern | Singular → plural |
|---|---|
| v-stems | ló → lovak, tó → tavak, szó → szavak, kő → kövek, fű → füvek, mű → művek, falu → falvak |
| Vowel dropping | bokor → bokrok, álom → álmok, terem → termek, tükör → tükrök, majom → majmok, szobor → szobrok |
| Vowel shortening | pohár → poharak, madár → madarak, kéz → kezek, víz → vizek, út → utak, levél → levelek, egér → egerek, kenyér → kenyerek |
| Back-harmonic i-stems | híd → hidak, nyíl → nyilak |
The changed stem is not special to the plural: it reappears in the accusative (lovat, poharat, bokrot) and in possessive forms (lova, pohara, bokra). The suffix builder shows plural and case forms side by side.
Singular after numbers and quantifiers
This is the rule English speakers break most often. After any number or word of quantity, the noun stays singular, and so does the verb:
- két alma two apples
- öt perc five minutes
- sok ember many people
- néhány könyv a few books
- Hány gyereked van? How many children do you have?
- Három diák vár a folyosón. Three students are waiting in the corridor.
- Minden ablak nyitva van. All the windows are open.
The logic is that the number already carries the plural meaning, so marking it twice would be redundant. Other quantifiers that behave the same way: kevés (few), több (more, several), számos (numerous), minden (every), mindkét (both).
Note: Hungarian also has adverbial forms that refer to groups of people and take a plural verb: Sokan voltak a koncerten. "There were many people at the concert." Compare Sok ember volt a koncerten, same meaning, singular verb. See numbers for ketten, hárman ("the two of us", "three of them").
Singular for pairs and wholes
Hungarian also uses the singular for paired body parts and for things English treats as plural:
- Kék szeme van. She has blue eyes.
- Fáj a lábam. My feet (or my leg) hurt.
- Hosszú haja van. He has long hair.
- Hol a szemüvegem? Where are my glasses?
- Új nadrágot vettem. I bought new trousers.
When you want just one of a pair, use fél (half): fél szemmel "with one eye". The bare singular is also the normal way to say "some" with an unspecified amount: Almát vettem, "I bought apples".
Plural + accusative: always -at/-et
When a plural noun is the object, add -t after the plural -k with a linking vowel that is always the lowered a or e, never o or ö:
- ablakok → ablakokat windows (object)
- sörök → söröket beers (object)
- almák → almákat apples (object)
- Megvettem a jegyeket. I bought the tickets.
Other case endings attach to the plural without complications: házakban (in houses), gyerekeknek (for children), barátokkal (with friends). See accusative.
The possessive plural -i-
When a plural noun has a possessor, the plural -k is replaced by -i-, which comes before the personal ending. "My houses" is házaim, never *házakom:
| Possessor | ház (house) | kert (garden) | autó (car) |
|---|---|---|---|
| my | házaim | kertjeim | autóim |
| your (sg.) | házaid | kertjeid | autóid |
| his / her / its | házai | kertjei | autói |
| our | házaink | kertjeink | autóink |
| your (pl.) | házaitok | kertjeitek | autóitok |
| their | házaik | kertjeik | autóik |
For consonant-final nouns the pattern is the "his/her" form plus -i-, then the person marker: háza → házai → házaim, kertje → kertjei → kertjeim. That is why kert keeps its -je- throughout. Nouns ending in a vowel add -i- straight to the stem: autó → autói → autóim. More in possessive suffixes.
The family plural -ék
Attached to a name or a person noun, -ék means "X and their family or group": Kovácsék (the Kovács family, the Kovácses), Péterék (Péter and his family or friends), anyámék (my mother and the family). It takes case endings like any noun: Kovácséknál vacsorázunk. "We're having dinner at the Kovácses'."
Adjectives: plural only as predicates
An adjective before a noun never takes the plural: a nagy házak (the big houses), not *a nagyok házak. But an adjective used as the predicate of a plural subject must be plural:
- A házak nagyok. The houses are big.
- A gyerekek fáradtak. The children are tired.
- Az almák pirosak. The apples are red.
- Okosak vagytok. You (pl.) are clever.
Adjectives lower much more readily than nouns. Most adjectives ending in -s take -ak/-ek (pirosak, okosak, magasak, érdekesek), and so do those ending in -ú/-ű and -i, which add a linking vowel even though they end in a vowel: hosszú → hosszúak, szomorú → szomorúak, budapesti → budapestiek. Others take the harmonic vowel: nagy → nagyok, boldog → boldogok. Adjectives ending in other vowels just add -k: jó → jók, drága → drágák.
Typical learner errors
- *két almák, *sok emberek → két alma, sok ember.
- *házok, *fogok (as "teeth") → házak, fogak. (fogok exists, but it means "I will".)
- *ablakokot → ablakokat: the plural accusative is always -at/-et.
- *a nagyok házak → a nagy házak.
- *A házak nagy. → A házak nagyok.
- *Kék szemei vannak for "She has blue eyes" → Kék szeme van.
Sources and further reading
- Carol H. Rounds, Hungarian: An Essential Grammar (2nd ed., Routledge, 2009), on noun plurals and stem classes
- István Kenesei, Robert M. Vago and Anna Fenyvesi, Hungarian (Descriptive Grammars series, Routledge, 1998), on number and quantifiers
- Péter Siptár and Miklós Törkenczy, The Phonology of Hungarian (Oxford University Press, 2000), on lowering stems
Key takeaways
- Plural = -k; after a consonant add -o-/-e-/-ö- by vowel harmony, or -a-/-e- for lowering stems.
- Final -a/-e lengthen: almák, kefék.
- Numbers and quantifiers take the singular: két alma, sok ember.
- Possessed plurals use -i-: házaim, autóink.
- Predicate adjectives agree (A házak nagyok); adjectives before nouns do not.
Frequently asked questions
How do you make a noun plural in Hungarian?
Add -k. After a vowel it attaches directly (autók, with a/e lengthening: almák); after a consonant a linking vowel is inserted (ablakok, kertek, gyümölcsök, házak).
Why is it "két alma" and not "két almák"?
Hungarian does not mark the plural twice. After numbers and quantity words such as sok, néhány, hány, minden, the noun stays singular and the verb agrees in the singular.
Why is the plural of ház "házak" and not "házok"?
ház is a lowering stem, a lexical class of nouns that take a or e as their linking vowel. The accusative házat shows the same vowel, so learning one form tells you the other.
What is the plural of "my house" in Hungarian?
házaim, "my houses". Possessed nouns replace the plural -k with -i- placed before the personal ending.
Do Hungarian adjectives agree with nouns in number?
Only when they are the predicate: A házak nagyok. Before a noun they stay unchanged: a nagy házak.