Glossary of Hungarian grammar terms

Hungarian grammar comes with its own vocabulary: Latin-based case names, terms from Hungarian school grammar such as igekötő and ikes ige, and general linguistic concepts such as focus or agglutination. Each entry below gives a short definition, the Hungarian name where one is in common use, an example, and a link to the page that explains the topic in full.

Ablative (ablatívusz, -tól/-től)

The case meaning "from (the vicinity of)" a person or place. Kaptam egy levelet a barátomtól. "I got a letter from my friend." See proximity cases.

Accusative (tárgyeset, -t)

The case of the direct object, marked by -t, often with a linking vowel. Látom a házat. "I see the house." See accusative.

Adessive (adesszívusz, -nál/-nél)

The case meaning "at, by, near", and with people "at someone's place". Péternél vagyok. "I'm at Péter's." See proximity cases.

Adverbial participle (határozói igenév, -va/-ve)

A verb form describing the manner or resulting state of an action. Az ajtó nyitva van. "The door is open." Sietve ment el. "He left in a hurry." See participles.

Agglutination (agglutináció)

Building words by attaching a chain of separate suffixes, each with one meaning. ház-a-i-nk-ban "in our houses". See how Hungarian words are built.

Allative (allatívusz, -hoz/-hez/-höz)

The case meaning "to, towards" a person or place, without entering it. Orvoshoz megyek. "I'm going to the doctor." See proximity cases.

Anaphoric possessive (birtokjel, -é)

The suffix -é, meaning "the one belonging to", used when the possessed noun is left out. Ez a könyv Péteré. "This book is Péter's." See possession with -nak and -é.

Article (névelő)

The definite article a/az ("the") and the indefinite egy ("a, an"). Hungarian uses the definite article with generic nouns: Szeretem a kávét. "I like coffee." See articles.

Assimilation (hasonulás)

A sound becoming more like a neighbouring sound. Some cases are written (busz + val → busszal), others only pronounced (népdal said with [b]). See alphabet and pronunciation.

Back vowel (mély magánhangzó)

One of a, á, o, ó, u, ú. A word containing a back vowel normally takes back suffixes: házban, autóhoz. See vowel harmony.

Case (eset)

A form of a noun that shows its role in the sentence, marked in Hungarian by a suffix. The usual count is 18, from the nominative ház to the ablative háztól. See Hungarian cases.

Causal-final (kauzális-finális, -ért)

The case meaning "for (the sake of), in exchange for, to fetch". Elmegyek kenyérért. "I'll go and get some bread." See minor cases.

Causative (műveltető ige, -at/-et, -tat/-tet)

A verb meaning "make or have someone do something". Megjavíttatom az autót. "I'm having the car repaired." See causative verbs.

Conditional (feltételes mód, -na/-ne)

The mood for "would", used for hypotheticals and polite requests. Szívesen innék egy kávét. "I'd gladly have a coffee." See conditional.

Conjugation (igeragozás)

The set of personal endings of a verb. Hungarian verbs have two parallel conjugations, indefinite and definite: olvasok / olvasom. See present tense.

Dative (részes eset, -nak/-nek)

The case of the recipient ("to, for"), also used for the possessor in "have" sentences. Péternek adom a könyvet. "I'm giving the book to Péter." See dative.

Definite conjugation (tárgyas ragozás)

The set of verb endings used when the object is definite, for example with a/az, a name or a possessed noun. Látom a házat versus indefinite Látok egy házat. See definite and indefinite conjugation.

Delative (delatívusz, -ról/-ről)

The case meaning "off (a surface)" and "about (a topic)". Leesett a tetőről. "It fell off the roof." Rólad beszélünk. "We're talking about you." See surface cases.

Demonstrative (mutató névmás)

The pronouns ez "this" and az "that". Before a noun they take the article and the same case ending as the noun: ebben a házban "in this house". See articles.

Derivational suffix (képző)

A suffix that creates a new word, often of a different part of speech. szabad → szabadság "free → freedom", olvas → olvasó "read → reader". See how Hungarian words are built.

Digraph (kétjegyű betű)

A letter written with two characters but counted as one: cs, dz, gy, ly, ny, sz, ty, zs (and the trigraph dzs). They sort as separate letters in dictionaries. See alphabet and pronunciation.

Distributive (disztributívusz, -nként)

The suffix meaning "per, each". A jegy fejenként ötezer forint. "The ticket is five thousand forints per person." See minor cases.

Elative (elatívusz, -ból/-ből)

The case meaning "out of, from inside", also used for origin and material. Most jöttem ki a házból. "I've just come out of the house." See inner cases.

Essive-formal (esszívusz-formális, -ként)

The suffix meaning "as, in the capacity of". Tanárként dolgozik. "She works as a teacher." See minor cases.

Essive-modal (esszívusz-modális, -ul/-ül)

A suffix of manner found on a limited set of words, above all language names. Beszélsz magyarul? "Do you speak Hungarian?" Some grammars do not count it as a case. See minor cases.

Family plural (-ék)

The suffix -ék on a name or person noun, meaning "X and their family or group". Kovácséknál vacsorázunk. "We're having dinner at the Kovácses'." See plural.

Finno-Ugric (finnugor)

The branch of the Uralic family that includes Hungarian, Finnish, Estonian and their relatives. See Hungarian vs Finnish.

Focus (fókusz)

The stressed element in the position right before the verb, understood as "this and not something else". PÉTER hívta meg Marit. "It was Péter who invited Mari." See word order and focus.

Front vowel (magas magánhangzó)

One of e, é, i, í (unrounded) or ö, ő, ü, ű (rounded). Words with only front vowels take front suffixes: kertben, sörhöz. Test words with the vowel harmony checker.

Future tense (jövő idő)

Formed with the auxiliary fog and an infinitive, though the present is often used for future events. Holnap esni fog. "It will rain tomorrow." See future tense.

Igekötő (verbal prefix)

A prefix such as meg, el, be, ki, fel, le that changes a verb's meaning or marks completion, and that moves behind the verb under focus or negation. elment "left" but nem ment el "didn't leave". See verbal prefixes.

-ik verb (ikes ige)

A verb whose dictionary form (3rd person singular) ends in -ik, and which traditionally takes -m in the 1st person singular. eszik → eszem "eats → I eat", lakik → lakom "lives → I live". See -ik verbs.

Illative (illatívusz, -ba/-be)

The case meaning "into". Bemegyek a boltba. "I'm going into the shop." See inner cases.

Imperative-subjunctive (felszólító mód)

One mood with two uses: commands and "that someone should" clauses. Gyere ide! "Come here!" Azt akarom, hogy maradj. "I want you to stay." See imperative-subjunctive.

Indefinite conjugation (alanyi ragozás)

The set of verb endings used with no object or with an indefinite object. Olvasok egy könyvet. "I'm reading a book." See definite and indefinite conjugation.

Inessive (inesszívusz, -ban/-ben)

The case meaning "in, inside". A kulcs a táskában van. "The key is in the bag." See inner cases.

Infinitive (főnévi igenév, -ni)

The "to" form of a verb, ending in -ni. Szeretek olvasni. "I like to read." See infinitive.

Inner cases (-ban, -ba, -ból)

The three local cases for inside: inessive (in), illative (into), elative (out of). They are also used with most foreign and many Hungarian town names: Londonban, Debrecenben. See inner cases.

Instrumental (instrumentális, -val/-vel)

The case meaning "with, by means of", whose v copies a preceding consonant. busszal "by bus", Péterrel "with Péter". See instrumental.

Interrogative particle -e (kérdő -e)

A particle attached to the verb to mark an embedded yes/no question ("whether"). Nem tudom, hogy jön-e. "I don't know whether he's coming." See questions.

-lak/-lek form

A special verb ending used when the subject is "I" and the object is informal "you" (singular or plural). Szeretlek. "I love you." See the -lak/-lek form.

Lengthening of final -a/-e (tővégi magánhangzó-nyúlás)

The change of stem-final -a/-e to -á/-é before suffixes. alma → almát, almák; kefe → kefében. See how Hungarian words are built.

Linking vowel (kötőhang)

A vowel inserted between a consonant-final stem and a suffix. ablak-o-k, kert-e-t, ház-a-m. See how Hungarian words are built.

Local cases (helyviszonyragok)

The nine cases expressing location and movement, forming a 3 × 3 grid: inside, surface, proximity × at, to, from. See local cases.

Lowering stem (nyitótő)

A noun that takes a or e as its linking vowel where harmony would predict o or ö. ház → házak, házat; könyv → könyvek. See plural.

Magázás (formal address with maga)

Addressing someone formally with maga or with a third-person verb alone. Hogy van? "How are you?" See formal and informal you.

Minimal pair (minimális pár)

Two words that differ in a single sound, proving that the sound difference is meaningful. kor / kór "age / disease", hal / hall "fish / hears". See alphabet and pronunciation.

Mixed-vowel word (vegyes hangrendű szó)

A word containing both back and front vowels. It usually follows its back vowels: papír → papírban; loanwords follow their last non-neutral vowel: sofőr → sofőrök. See vowel harmony.

Neutral vowel (semleges magánhangzó)

i, í, é and partly e, which do not decide harmony when combined with back vowels. kávé → kávéban. See vowel harmony.

Nominative (alanyeset)

The unmarked dictionary form of a noun, used for the subject and for predicate nouns. A ház nagy. "The house is big." See Hungarian cases.

Önözés (formal address with Ön)

Addressing someone formally with Ön/Önök and a third-person verb, the neutral choice in official and written contexts. Ön is jön? "Are you coming too?" See formal and informal you.

Participle (melléknévi igenév)

An adjective formed from a verb: present olvasó "reading", past olvasott "read", future olvasandó "to be read". az olvasott könyv "the book (that was) read". See participles.

Past tense (múlt idő, -t/-tt)

The single past tense of modern Hungarian, covering English "did, has done, had done". Tegnap moziba mentem. "I went to the cinema yesterday." See past tense.

Personal infinitive (ragozott főnévi igenév)

An infinitive with a personal ending, used after impersonal expressions such as kell. Mennem kell. "I have to go." See infinitive.

Personal pronoun (személyes névmás)

én, te, ő, mi, ti, ők and formal Ön, maga. In most cases they appear as personal forms of the case ending: nekem, velem, rólad. See personal pronouns.

Plural (többes szám, -k)

Marked by -k with a linking vowel after consonants, but not used after numbers and quantifiers. házak "houses" but két ház "two houses". See plural.

Possessive pronoun (birtokos névmás)

Standalone "mine, yours" forms: enyém, tiéd, övé, miénk, tiétek, övék. Ez a táska az enyém. "This bag is mine." See personal pronouns.

Possessive suffix (birtokos személyjel)

A suffix on the possessed noun showing the possessor's person. házam "my house", házad "your house", háza "his/her house". See possessive suffixes.

Postposition (névutó)

A word placed after a noun to express relations such as "behind" or "under". a ház mögött "behind the house", mögöttem "behind me". See postpositions.

Potential suffix (ható igeképző, -hat/-het)

A derivational suffix meaning "can, may". Bejöhetek? "May I come in?" See -hat/-het.

Pro-drop

Leaving out subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows the person. Magyar vagyok. "I'm Hungarian." Adding én makes it contrastive. See personal pronouns.

Proximity cases (-nál, -hoz, -tól)

The three local cases for "near": adessive (at), allative (to), ablative (from), used above all with people. a fodrásznál, a fodrászhoz, a fodrásztól. See proximity cases.

Reflexive pronoun (visszaható névmás)

The pronoun maga with personal endings, meaning "-self". Megvágtam magam. "I cut myself." See personal pronouns.

Rounded vowel (ajakkerekítéses magánhangzó)

A vowel pronounced with rounded lips. For three-form suffixes, a final ö, ő, ü, ű selects the rounded form: sörhöz, földön. See vowel harmony.

Shortening stem (pohár → poharat)

A noun whose long stem vowel becomes short before certain suffixes. pohár → poharak, kéz → kezet, levél → levelek. See how Hungarian words are built.

Sociative (szociatívusz, -stul/-stül)

A rare case meaning "together with (all of)". Családostul jöttek. "They came with the whole family." See minor cases.

Stem (tő)

The part of a word to which suffixes attach. Some nouns have two stems: ló and lov- (lovak). See how Hungarian words are built.

Stress (hangsúly)

Word stress in Hungarian always falls on the first syllable: BU-da-pest. In a sentence, the focus carries the main stress. See alphabet and pronunciation.

Sublative (szublatívusz, -ra/-re)

The case meaning "onto", also used for "to" with many Hungarian towns. Tedd az asztalra! "Put it on the table!" Szegedre utazom. "I'm travelling to Szeged." See surface cases.

Suffix (toldalék)

Any element attached to the end of a stem: derivational suffixes (képző), markers (jel) and case or personal endings (rag). Try the suffix builder.

Superessive (szuperesszívusz, -n/-on/-en/-ön)

The case meaning "on", also "in" with Hungary itself and with many Hungarian towns. Az asztalon van. "It's on the table." Budapesten lakom. "I live in Budapest." See cities: -ban or -on.

Surface cases (-n, -ra, -ról)

The three local cases for surfaces: superessive (on), sublative (onto), delative (off, about). See surface cases.

Tegeződés (informal address)

Addressing each other with te/ti and second-person verbs, used with family, friends, children and many colleagues. Hogy vagy? "How are you?" See formal and informal you.

Temporal (temporális, -kor)

The suffix meaning "at (a time)". hatkor "at six", karácsonykor "at Christmas". See telling the time.

Terminative (terminatívusz, -ig)

The case meaning "as far as, until". Péntekig itt vagyok. "I'm here until Friday." See minor cases.

Topic (topik)

The sentence-initial element that the sentence is about, usually known information. In A tortát János ette meg, a tortát is the topic. See word order and focus.

Translative (transzlatívusz, -vá/-vé)

The case meaning "into (a new state)", whose v copies a preceding consonant. A víz jéggé fagyott. "The water froze into ice." See minor cases.

Ugric (ugor)

The subgroup of Finno-Ugric that contains Hungarian and its closest relatives, Khanty and Mansi. See Hungarian by the numbers.

Uralic (uráli)

The language family to which Hungarian belongs, together with Finnish, Estonian, the Sami languages and others. Hungarian is its largest member by number of speakers. See Hungarian by the numbers.

Verb modifier (igemódosító)

An element that occupies the position right before the verb in a neutral sentence: a verbal prefix, a bare noun, a goal or a predicate adjective. Anna újságot olvas. "Anna is reading the paper." See word order and focus.

Verbal prefix (igekötő)

The English term for igekötő (see above). Common prefixes include meg, el, be, ki, fel, le, át, vissza, haza: megy → bemegy "goes → goes in". Full guide: verbal prefixes.

Vowel-dropping stem (bokor → bokrot)

A noun that loses the vowel of its last syllable before vowel-initial suffixes. bokor → bokrok, álom → álmot, tükör → tükrök. See how Hungarian words are built.

Vowel harmony (hangrendi illeszkedés)

The rule that suffix vowels match the vowels of the stem. házban but kertben; házhoz, kerthez, sörhöz. See vowel harmony.

Vowel length (magánhangzó-időtartam)

The distinction between short and long vowels, marked by accents, which changes meaning. tör "breaks" and tőr "dagger". See alphabet and pronunciation.

V-stem (ló → lovak)

A small class of nouns ending in a vowel (usually long) that add v before vowel-initial suffixes. ló → lovak, tó → tavat, kő → kövek. See plural.

Sources and further reading

• Carol H. Rounds, Hungarian: An Essential Grammar (2nd ed., Routledge, 2009)
• István Kenesei, Robert M. Vago and Anna Fenyvesi, Hungarian (Descriptive Grammars series, Routledge, 1998)
• Katalin É. Kiss, The Syntax of Hungarian (Cambridge University Press, 2002), for topic, focus and verb modifiers
• Daniel Abondolo (ed.), The Uralic Languages (Routledge, 1998), for Uralic, Finno-Ugric and Ugric

Frequently asked questions