The Hungarian infinitive
The Hungarian infinitive ends in -ni (olvasni, írni), or -ani/-eni after some stems (tanítani, érteni). It follows verbs like akar, tud and szeret, and with impersonal words like kell it takes personal endings: mennem kell ("I have to go").
On this page
- Forming the infinitive: -ni, -ani, -eni
- Infinitives of irregular verbs
- Verbs that take an infinitive
- Impersonal expressions: kell, lehet, szabad, tilos
- The personal infinitive: mennem kell
- Infinitives, verbal prefixes and focus
- Common learner errors
- Sources and further reading
- Key takeaways
- Frequently asked questions
The Hungarian infinitive is one of the easiest forms to build: in most cases you simply add -ni to the verb stem. What makes it interesting is what it does next. It can carry personal endings (mennem kell, "I have to go"), it pulls verbal prefixes around in the sentence, and it decides whether the verb in front of it is definite or indefinite.
Forming the infinitive: -ni, -ani, -eni
Start from the dictionary form, which in Hungarian is the third person singular present (olvas, "reads"). For -ik verbs, drop the -ik first. Then add -ni. The ending has no vowel harmony variants: it is -ni after back and front stems alike.
| Dictionary form | Infinitive | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| olvas | olvasni | to read |
| ír | írni | to write |
| beszél | beszélni | to speak |
| főz | főzni | to cook |
| szeret | szeretni | to love, to like |
| dolgozik | dolgozni | to work |
| lakik | lakni | to live (somewhere) |
When a linking vowel appears: -ani / -eni
Verbs whose stem ends in -ít, and most verbs whose stem ends in two consonants, insert a linking vowel: -ani after back-vowel stems, -eni after front-vowel stems. There is never an -öni form.
| Stem type | Examples |
|---|---|
| ends in -ít | tanít → tanítani, segít → segíteni, készít → készíteni |
| ends in two consonants | mond → mondani, tart → tartani, ért → érteni, küld → küldeni, fest → festeni, dönt → dönteni |
| ends in -ll (mixed) | hall → hallani, but áll → állni, száll → szállni |
Tip: a quick test that works for nearly every regular verb: look at the "you" (2sg) present form. If it has a linking vowel before -sz (tanítasz, mondasz, értesz, hallasz), the infinitive takes one too (tanítani, mondani, érteni, hallani). If it does not (állsz, írsz, nyitsz), use plain -ni (állni, írni, nyitni). Verbs whose 2sg ends in -ol/-el/-öl (olvasol, főzöl) also take plain -ni. Note that short nyit ("open") is not an -ít verb: nyitni.
Verbs with an unstable stem vowel keep the full stem in the infinitive: érez → érezni ("to feel"), mozog → mozogni ("to move"), töröl → törölni ("to wipe, to delete").
Infinitives of irregular verbs
A small set of very frequent verbs form the infinitive from a different stem. Most of them belong to families described on the irregular verbs page, and seeing them grouped makes them much easier to remember.
| Group | Verb | Infinitive | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| double -nn- | eszik | enni | to eat |
| iszik | inni | to drink | |
| tesz | tenni | to put, to do | |
| vesz | venni | to take, to buy | |
| visz | vinni | to carry, to take (somewhere) | |
| hisz | hinni | to believe | |
| van / lesz | lenni | to be, to become | |
| motion | megy | menni | to go |
| jön | jönni | to come | |
| -szik with -d- or -z- | alszik | aludni | to sleep |
| fekszik | feküdni | to lie (down) | |
| haragszik | haragudni | to be angry | |
| emlékszik | emlékezni | to remember | |
| other | fürdik | fürödni | to bathe |
Watch out: the dictionary form of "to be" is van, but its infinitive is lenni, built on the same stem as lesz ("will be, becomes"). *Vanni does not exist. See van and nincs.
Verbs that take an infinitive
Most infinitives in real speech depend on a conjugated verb. These are the ones you will use every day.
| Verb | Meaning with infinitive | Example |
|---|---|---|
| akar | want to | Akarok enni valamit. |
| szeretne | would like to | Szeretnék fizetni. |
| szeret | like to, love to | Szeretek főzni. |
| tud | can, know how to | Tudsz úszni? |
| fog | will (future) | Holnap dolgozni fogok. |
| szokott | usually does | Reggel futni szoktam. |
| kezd | begin to | Esni kezdett. |
| próbál | try to | Próbálok aludni. |
| tanul | learn to | Úszni tanulok. |
| mer | dare to | Nem merek szólni. |
| megy, jön | go / come (in order) to | Elmegyek vásárolni. |
- Szeretnék fizetni. I'd like to pay. (a restaurant classic)
- Esni kezdett. It started to rain.
- Jössz úszni? Are you coming swimming?
With verbs of motion the infinitive expresses purpose, so Hungarian needs no word for "in order to": Elmentem bevásárolni ("I went to do the shopping").
tud versus the -hat/-het suffix
Tud + infinitive means ability (Tudok vezetni, "I can drive"), while permission and possibility are usually expressed with a suffix on the verb itself (Vezethetek?, "May I drive?"). The contrast is covered in detail on the -hat/-het page.
Definite or indefinite? The infinitive decides
The conjugated verb takes its definiteness from the object of the infinitive (see definite and indefinite conjugation):
- Akarok venni egy kabátot. I want to buy a coat. (indefinite object, indefinite akarok)
- Meg akarom venni ezt a kabátot. I want to buy this coat. (definite object, definite akarom)
- Szeretném látni a filmet. I'd like to see the film.
- Nem tudom kinyitni az ajtót. I can't open the door.
Impersonal expressions: kell, lehet, szabad, tilos
A second group of words has no personal forms of its own: kell ("must, need to"), lehet ("it is possible, one may"), szabad ("it is allowed"), tilos ("it is forbidden"), colloquial muszáj ("must"), plus érdemes ("worth it"), sikerül ("to succeed, manage") and evaluative adjectives such as jó, fontos, nehéz, könnyű. With a plain infinitive they make general statements, true for anyone.
- Itt lehet parkolni? Can you (can one) park here?
- Itt nem szabad fényképezni. Taking photos is not allowed here.
- Tilos dohányozni. Smoking is forbidden.
- Nehéz megérteni. It's hard to understand.
- Jó látni téged! Good to see you!
Meaning trap: nem kell means "don't have to", not "must not". Nem kell jönnöd is "You don't need to come". For "must not" use nem szabad or tilos: Nem szabad elfelejtened, "You mustn't forget". More on this on the negation page.
Nouns meaning "time", "desire" or "chance" also combine with an infinitive: Nincs kedvem főzni ("I don't feel like cooking"), Nincs időm olvasni ("I have no time to read").
The personal infinitive: mennem kell
Because kell cannot show who must act, Hungarian puts a personal ending on the infinitive itself. This inflected infinitive is one of the most distinctive features of the language.
| Person | Back: látni | Front unrounded: kérni | Front rounded: jönni | Linking vowel: tanítani |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | látnom | kérnem | jönnöm | tanítanom |
| you (sg) | látnod | kérned | jönnöd | tanítanod |
| he / she | látnia | kérnie | jönnie | tanítania |
| we | látnunk | kérnünk | jönnünk | tanítanunk |
| you (pl) | látnotok | kérnetek | jönnötök | tanítanotok |
| they | látniuk | kérniük | jönniük | tanítaniuk |
The endings are the possessive endings (-om, -od, -a, -unk, -otok, -uk) attached to the -n- of the infinitive, so if you know possessive suffixes you already know these. The third person uses -ia/-ie and -iuk/-iük, keeping the i of -ni.
- Mennem kell. I have to go.
- Ennünk kell valamit. We need to eat something.
- Nem kell sietned. You don't have to hurry.
- Sikerült megtalálnom a kulcsot. I managed to find the key.
- Érdemes megnézned ezt a filmet. This film is worth your watching.
- Több vizet kellene innotok. You (pl) should drink more water.
Adding the dative: nekem mennem kell
The person can also be named in the dative. With a pronoun this adds emphasis or contrast; with a noun it is the normal way to say who has to act, and the infinitive still carries the matching ending.
- Nekem most mennem kell, de te maradhatsz. I have to go now, but you can stay.
- Annának holnap dolgoznia kell. Anna has to work tomorrow.
- A gyerekeknek nem szabad egyedül átmenniük az úton. The children mustn't cross the road alone.
In casual speech you will also hear a dative with a bare infinitive (Nekem menni kell). Careful and written usage prefers the personal form, so learn nekem mennem kell first.
Personal forms of the irregular infinitives
The irregular infinitives take the same endings, and vowel harmony follows the verb's usual class: iszik is a back verb, visz and hisz are front verbs.
| Infinitive | I | he / she | we | they |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| enni | ennem | ennie | ennünk | enniük |
| inni | innom | innia | innunk | inniuk |
| vinni | vinnem | vinnie | vinnünk | vinniük |
| lenni | lennem | lennie | lennünk | lenniük |
| menni | mennem | mennie | mennünk | menniük |
| jönni | jönnöm | jönnie | jönnünk | jönniük |
| aludni | aludnom | aludnia | aludnunk | aludniuk |
Note the pair innom ("for me to drink") and vinnem ("for me to carry"): two infinitives that look alike but belong to different harmony classes.
Infinitives, verbal prefixes and focus
When an infinitive with a verbal prefix such as meg-, el- or haza- depends on akar, tud, kell, fog, szeretne, szokott, lehet or szabad, the prefix normally climbs up and stands in front of that word. This is the neutral word order.
- Meg akarom nézni a filmet. I want to watch the film.
- El kell mennem. I have to leave.
- Haza tudsz vinni? Can you take me home?
- Meg fogom csinálni. I will do it.
The prefix stays on the infinitive when the slot in front of the auxiliary is taken by something else: a negation, a question word or a focused element (see word order and focus).
| Sentence type | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| neutral | Meg akarom nézni. | I want to see it. |
| negated | Nem akarom megnézni. | I don't want to see it. |
| question word | Mikor akarod megnézni? | When do you want to see it? |
| focus | Holnap akarom megnézni. | It's tomorrow that I want to see it. |
| focus on the subject | Én akarom megnézni. | I'm the one who wants to see it. |
A bare infinitive without a prefix can also move in front of the auxiliary. Akarok enni is the plain statement; Enni akarok tends to give the infinitive extra weight ("It's eating I want", perhaps as opposed to sleeping). With fog and szokott, however, the infinitive-first order is simply the neutral one: Dolgozni fogok, Futni szoktam. See the future tense page for more on fog.
Common learner errors
- Forgetting the personal ending after kell. *Én kell menni is wrong twice over: the person goes in the dative or is shown on the infinitive. Say Mennem kell or Nekem mennem kell.
- Using a nominative subject with kell. *Péter kell dolgozni should be Péternek dolgoznia kell.
- Treating nem kell as "must not". Nem kell fizetni means "You don't have to pay" (it's free), not "Don't pay".
- Building *eszni, *iszni, *vanni. The correct forms are enni, inni, lenni.
- Choosing the wrong conjugation on akar. *Akarok látni a filmet must be Akarom látni a filmet, because the infinitive has a definite object.
- Leaving the prefix in place in a neutral sentence. Akarom megnézni is not a neutral sentence: without a focused element before it, it sounds incomplete or contrastive (as in Én akarom megnézni, "I am the one who wants to see it"). The neutral order is Meg akarom nézni.
- Adding "hogy" for purpose after motion verbs. Elmentem vásárolni is complete; no linking word is needed.
Sources and further reading
- Carol H. Rounds, Hungarian: An Essential Grammar (2nd ed., Routledge, 2009), chapters on the infinitive and auxiliaries
- Miklós Törkenczy, Hungarian Verbs and Essentials of Grammar (2nd ed., McGraw-Hill, 2008)
- 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), on verbal modifiers and auxiliaries
Key takeaways
- Add -ni to the stem; use -ani/-eni after -ít and most two-consonant stems (tanítani, érteni).
- Memorize enni, inni, tenni, venni, vinni, hinni, lenni, menni, jönni, aludni.
- After kell, szabad, lehet, érdemes, sikerül, the infinitive takes personal endings: mennem, menned, mennie, mennünk, mennetek, menniük.
- Name the person in the dative: Annának dolgoznia kell.
- Nem kell = don't have to; nem szabad = must not.
- The infinitive's object sets the definiteness of the finite verb, and its prefix climbs in front of the auxiliary in neutral sentences: Meg akarom nézni.
Frequently asked questions
How do you form the infinitive in Hungarian?
Add -ni to the verb stem: olvas → olvasni, dolgozik → dolgozni. Stems in -ít and most stems ending in two consonants take -ani/-eni, as in tanítani and küldeni.
What does "mennem kell" mean?
It means "I have to go". Mennem is the infinitive menni with the first person ending -em, used because kell itself cannot show the person.
Is it "nekem kell menni" or "nekem mennem kell"?
The standard form is Nekem mennem kell, with the personal ending on the infinitive. Nekem menni kell is heard in casual speech but is best avoided in writing.
What is the infinitive of van?
Lenni. It shares its stem with lesz ("will be"), so you say Orvos akarok lenni, "I want to be a doctor".
What is the difference between "nem kell" and "nem szabad"?
Nem kell removes an obligation ("you don't have to"), while nem szabad forbids ("you must not"). Nem kell sietned is reassuring; Nem szabad sietned is a warning.
Why is it "Meg akarom nézni" and not "Akarom megnézni"?
In a neutral sentence the prefix of the infinitive moves in front of the auxiliary. It stays on the infinitive only after negation, a question word or a focused word: Nem akarom megnézni.