The Hungarian present tense
Hungarian present-tense verbs take one of three vowel-harmony variants of the personal endings (várok, kérek, ülök), in an indefinite and a definite set. Verbs ending in s, sz, z take -ol/-el/-öl in the 2sg, and verbs ending in two consonants or -ít add a linking vowel (tanítasz, tanítotok).
On this page
The Hungarian present tense has no auxiliary verbs and no progressive form: olvasok means both "I read" and "I am reading". What it does have is a compact system of personal endings that change with vowel harmony, with the definiteness of the object, and with the last sound of the verb stem. Once you know the five stem types on this page, you can conjugate almost every regular verb.
How the endings are chosen
Three independent decisions determine the ending you attach.
- Vowel harmony: is the stem back (vár), front unrounded (kér) or front rounded (ül, főz)? Mixed stems follow their last vowel other than i/í (so tanít is back): ismer and beszél are front unrounded, fésül is front rounded. See vowel harmony.
- Definiteness: is there a definite direct object? If so, use the definite set. See definite and indefinite conjugation.
- The end of the stem: a sibilant (s, sz, z, dz) changes the 2sg and assimilates the j of the definite endings; two final consonants or -ít call for a linking vowel.
The dictionary form of a Hungarian verb is the 3sg present indefinite, which carries no ending: vár "he/she waits". The one exception is the -ik verbs, whose 3sg ends in -ik (lakik). They have their own page: -ik verbs.
The ending grid
Here are all present-tense endings in one place. The first column of each block is the basic form; the special variants for sibilant and linking-vowel stems are covered in the sections after this.
| Person | Indef. back | Indef. front unr. | Indef. front rd. | Def. back | Def. front unr. | Def. front rd. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| én | -ok | -ek | -ök | -om | -em | -öm |
| te | -sz | -sz | -sz | -od | -ed | -öd |
| ő / Ön | (none) | (none) | (none) | -ja | -i | -i |
| mi | -unk | -ünk | -ünk | -juk | -jük | -jük |
| ti | -tok | -tek | -tök | -játok | -itek | -itek |
| ők / Önök | -nak | -nek | -nek | -ják | -ik | -ik |
Two things jump out of the grid. First, rounding only matters in three places: the indefinite 1sg and 2pl (-ök, -tök) and the definite 1sg and 2sg (-öm, -öd). Everywhere else, front rounded verbs use the same endings as front unrounded ones. Second, the definite set of front verbs relies on -i- (kéri, kéritek, kérik) where back verbs use -ja-, and only the 1pl keeps the j (kérjük).
Back, front unrounded and front rounded verbs
Back vowels: vár (wait)
| Person | Indefinite | Definite |
|---|---|---|
| én | várok | várom |
| te | vársz | várod |
| ő / Ön | vár | várja |
| mi | várunk | várjuk |
| ti | vártok | várjátok |
| ők / Önök | várnak | várják |
Front unrounded vowels: kér (ask for)
| Person | Indefinite | Definite |
|---|---|---|
| én | kérek | kérem |
| te | kérsz | kéred |
| ő / Ön | kér | kéri |
| mi | kérünk | kérjük |
| ti | kértek | kéritek |
| ők / Önök | kérnek | kérik |
Front rounded vowels: ül (sit) and főz (cook)
Ül is intransitive, so it only has the indefinite set. Főz shows both sets, and because it ends in z it also previews the sibilant rules explained in the next section.
| Person | ül indef. | főz indef. | főz def. |
|---|---|---|---|
| én | ülök | főzök | főzöm |
| te | ülsz | főzöl | főzöd |
| ő / Ön | ül | főz | főzi |
| mi | ülünk | főzünk | főzzük |
| ti | ültök | főztök | főzitek |
| ők / Önök | ülnek | főznek | főzik |
Watch out for i and í: verbs whose only vowel is i or í are not automatically front. Ír (write), hív (call), nyit (open), sír (cry) and szív (suck, smoke) take back endings: írok, hívunk, nyitnak. Others, such as hisz (believe) and visz (carry), take front endings: hiszek, viszek. You simply have to learn which group each one belongs to. The vowel harmony checker flags these cases.
Verbs ending in s, sz, z (and dz)
Sibilant-final stems differ from the basic pattern in two places.
Rule 1: the 2sg indefinite is -ol / -el / -öl
Hungarian avoids putting the -sz ending directly after another hissing sound, so these verbs use an -l ending with a harmonizing vowel instead.
- Mit olvasol? What are you reading?
- Mit főzöl ma? What are you cooking today?
- Mit nézel? What are you looking at?
- Mit keresel? What are you looking for?
Rule 2: the j of the definite endings assimilates
Wherever a definite ending begins with j (-ja, -juk, -játok, -ják, -jük), the j turns into a copy of the final sibilant: s + j = ss, sz + j = ssz, z + j = zz. The front-vowel forms with -i contain no j, so they stay untouched: nézi, not *nézzi.
| Person | olvas indef. | olvas def. | mos indef. | mos def. | néz indef. | néz def. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| én | olvasok | olvasom | mosok | mosom | nézek | nézem |
| te | olvasol | olvasod | mosol | mosod | nézel | nézed |
| ő / Ön | olvas | olvassa | mos | mossa | néz | nézi |
| mi | olvasunk | olvassuk | mosunk | mossuk | nézünk | nézzük |
| ti | olvastok | olvassátok | mostok | mossátok | néztek | nézitek |
| ők / Önök | olvasnak | olvassák | mosnak | mossák | néznek | nézik |
The same happens with hoz (bring): hozza, hozzuk, hozzátok, hozzák; with keres (look for): keresi, keressük; and with hisz (believe): hiszi, hisszük. In the front rounded főz only the 1pl is affected: főzzük.
Tip: the written double consonant is pronounced long, so olvassa has a clearly held s sound (like English "sh"). Practise holding the double consonants deliberately, because the length is part of the correct form (see pronunciation).
Other stems ending in j follow a simpler version of the same idea: the ending's j meets the stem's j, giving a written jj: fúj (blow) becomes fújja, fújjuk.
Verbs ending in two consonants or -ít
Hungarian does not like three consonants in a row, so stems that already end in a consonant cluster (mond, küld, ért, tart, fest) or in -ít (tanít, épít, segít) insert a linking vowel before endings that start with a consonant. That affects the 2sg, 2pl and 3pl indefinite.
| Person | tanít indef. | tanít def. | épít indef. | épít def. | küld indef. | küld def. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| én | tanítok | tanítom | építek | építem | küldök | küldöm |
| te | tanítasz | tanítod | építesz | építed | küldesz | küldöd |
| ő / Ön | tanít | tanítja | épít | építi | küld | küldi |
| mi | tanítunk | tanítjuk | építünk | építjük | küldünk | küldjük |
| ti | tanítotok | tanítjátok | építetek | építitek | küldötök | külditek |
| ők / Önök | tanítanak | tanítják | építenek | építik | küldenek | küldik |
Note the harmony of the linking vowel: a/e before -sz and -nak/-nek, but o/e/ö in the 2pl, so front rounded küld gives küldesz and küldenek but küldötök. Similar verbs:
- Mit mondasz? Mit mondotok? Mit mondanak? What do you say? What do you (pl.) say? What do they say?
- Érted? Nem értetek semmit? Do you understand it? Don't you (pl.) understand anything?
- Tartasz kutyát? Do you keep a dog?
- A gyerekek festenek. The children are painting.
A single vowel plus t is not a cluster, so lát and fut take no linking vowel: látsz, láttok, látnak; futsz, futtok, futnak. The -ít verbs are the exception because of their long vowel. A handful of verbs ending in a double consonant also skip the linking vowel: áll (stand) gives állsz, álltok, állnak, while hall (hear) gives hallasz, hallotok, hallanak.
2sg: -sz, -ol or -asz? A quick sorter
The second person singular indefinite is where most learner errors happen, because it has three shapes. This sorter covers regular verbs.
| Stem ends in | 2sg ending | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| s, sz, z, dz | -ol / -el / -öl | olvasol, mosol, nézel, keresel, főzöl, edzel |
| two consonants, or -ít | -asz / -esz | mondasz, tanítasz, értesz, küldesz, építesz |
| anything else | -sz | vársz, kérsz, ülsz, látsz, tudsz, beszélsz |
If a stem is both a cluster and a sibilant, the sibilant rule wins: játszik gives játszol. Some -ik verbs also traditionally prefer the -l ending (eszel, iszol, alszol), but these all end in a sibilant anyway.
Typical learner errors
- *olvassz, *nézsz instead of olvasol, nézel: forgetting the sibilant rule.
- *tanítsz, *mondsz instead of tanítasz, mondasz: forgetting the linking vowel.
- *nézzi, *olvasja instead of nézi, olvassa: applying assimilation to the wrong forms, or not at all.
- *kérok, *ülek instead of kérek, ülök: harmony errors. Rounded stems need -ök.
- *írek instead of írok: assuming every i/í verb is front.
- *Olvasom for "I'm reading" with no object: the definite form needs a definite object, stated or understood. Say Olvasok.
- Adding a progressive: there is no separate "I am reading" form. Most olvasok already means "I'm reading now".
Beyond the regular pattern
The present tense also covers the near future, especially with verbal prefixes or a time expression: Holnap megírom. ("I'll write it tomorrow."). See future tense. A small set of very common verbs is irregular in the present: van (vagyok, vagy, van, vagyunk, vagytok, vannak), megy (megyek, mész, megy), jön (jövök, jössz, jön), tesz, vesz, visz, hisz and the -ik verbs eszik and iszik. They are covered on the irregular verbs and van and nincs pages. For any regular verb, the conjugator produces the full table.
Sources and further reading
- Carol H. Rounds, Hungarian: An Essential Grammar (2nd ed., Routledge, 2009), present tense conjugation
- Miklós Törkenczy, Hungarian Verbs and Essentials of Grammar (2nd ed., McGraw-Hill, 2008)
- Péter Siptár and Miklós Törkenczy, The Phonology of Hungarian (Oxford University Press, 2000), on vowel harmony and assimilation
Key takeaways
- Indefinite endings: -ok/-ek/-ök, -sz, (none), -unk/-ünk, -tok/-tek/-tök, -nak/-nek.
- Definite endings: -om/-em/-öm, -od/-ed/-öd, -ja/-i, -juk/-jük, -játok/-itek, -ják/-ik.
- After s, sz, z: 2sg -ol/-el/-öl, and the definite j assimilates (olvassa, nézzük).
- After two consonants or -ít: linking vowel in 2sg, 2pl, 3pl (tanítasz, tanítotok, tanítanak).
- Some i/í verbs are back-harmonic: írok, hívok, nyitok.
- One present tense covers "I read", "I am reading" and often "I will read".
Frequently asked questions
Is it "olvasol" or "olvasz"?
Olvasol. Verbs whose stem ends in s, sz, z or dz take -ol/-el/-öl in the 2sg indefinite instead of -sz.
Why is it "tanítasz" and not "tanítsz"?
Stems ending in -ít or in two consonants insert a linking vowel before consonant-initial endings, which gives tanítasz, tanítotok, tanítanak.
Does Hungarian have a present continuous tense?
No. Olvasok covers both "I read" and "I am reading"; context or an adverb like most ("now") makes the ongoing meaning clear.
Why is it "olvassa" but "nézi"?
Back-vowel verbs build the 3sg definite with -ja, and its j assimilates to the final s. Front-vowel verbs use -i, which has no j to assimilate, so néz becomes nézi.
How do I know if a verb takes back or front endings?
Look at the last vowel of the stem, ignoring i and í (tanít is back): a, á, o, ó, u, ú mean back endings, e, é front unrounded, ö, ő, ü, ű front rounded. Verbs with only i or í must be learned individually (írok but hiszek).