Hungarian verbs

Hungarian verbs
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This page is about verbs in Hungarian grammar.

v
t

e [1]

Hungarian verbs

Lemma or citation form

There is basically only one pattern for verb endings, with predictable variations dependent on the phonological
context.
The lemma or citation form is always the third person singular indefinite present. This usually has a suffix, e.g.
kr ("ask", "have a request").

-ik verbs
A slight variation to the standard pattern is with certain verbs which have third person singular indefinite present
ending with -ik, e.g. dolgozik ("work"), and 1st singular indefinite present usually with -om/-em/-m. The stem for
this is reached by removing -ik. These verbs explain the reason for this form being the citation form.
The -ik verbs were originally middle voice, reflexive or passive in meaning, which can still be seen e.g. about the
pair tr ("s/he breaks sth") vs trik ("sth. breaks" / "sth gets broken"). However, most of them have lost this meaning
so historically speaking they are like deponent verbs. There are some verb pairs that only differ in the presence or
absence of the -ik ending, while they are unrelated in meaning, such as r ('be worth sth.' or 'arrive') and rik ('ripen')
as well as nyl ('reach for sth.') and nylik ('stretch/extend'). (These -ik verbs also have a middle-voice meaning, their
active version being rlel 'make sth. ripe' and nyjt 'stretch/extend sth.'.)
With these verbs, the third person singular (present, indefinite, indicative) form (i.e., the lemma) consistently uses
the -ik form. What is more, new -ik words are constantly born (e.g. netezik "use the Internet") so their deviation
needs to be followed.
However, as far as the first person singular (present, indefinite, indicative) suffix is concerned, it is often assimilated
to the "normal" conjugation (as it has practically happened to the other -ik-specific forms) so most verbs usually take
the regular form for this person (e.g. hazudok; *hazudom would be taken as hypercorrect or incorrect). Nevertheless,
with some basic -ik verbs, the assimilated variant is stigmatized (e.g. eszem is expected in educated speech, rather
than *eszek), so with these verbs, the traditional form is advised. At any rate, such non-traditional, assimilated
variants are not rare in colloquial spoken language.
Since this (3rd person singular indefinite) -ik ending coincides with the -ik ending of the 3rd person plural definite
form, only the type of the object makes it possible to identify the subject:
eszik egy almt: egy almt "an apple" is indefinite, so the verb must be a singular form, i.e. "s/he is eating an
apple;"
eszik az almt: az almt "the apple" is definite, so the verb must be a plural form, i.e. "they are eating the apple."
In fact, most -ik verbs are intransitive, and the context may clarify the question even if the subject is not made
explicit.
Regular (non
-ik)
verbs

Non-traditional Traditional
-ik verbs

1st person singular

indefinite

krek

hazudok

eszem
(*eszek)

3rd person
singular
indefinite
(lemma)

kr

hazudik

eszik

Meaning

"ask"
("request")

"tell a lie"

"eat"

Some important "traditional" -ik verbs are the following. It may seem uneducated if someone uses the -k ending with
them for the 1st person singular form:

Hungarian verbs
aggdik "worry", lmodik "dream", alszik "sleep", bzik "trust", dicsekszik "brag", dohnyzik "smoke", dolgozik "work", emlkszik
"remember", rdekldik "be interested", rkezik "arrive", eskszik "swear", eszik "eat", fzik "be cold", fekszik "lie" ("recline"), foglalkozik
"deal with", gondolkodik or gondolkozik "be thinking", gondoskodik "look after", gyanakszik "suspect", gynyrkdik "delight in",
hallatszik "be audible", haragszik "be angry", hinyzik "be missing", igyekszik "strive, hurry", iszik "drink", jtszik "play", jelentkezik
"apply", kltzik "move (residence)", kvetkezik "follow", klnbzik "differ", lakik "live" ("inhabit"), ltszik "be visible", mkdik
"function", nvekszik "grow", nyugszik "rest", regszik "grow old", panaszkodik "complain", szrmazik "originate from", tallkozik
"meet", tartozik "owe" or "belong", tartzkodik "stay" ("reside"), trdik "care about", unatkozik "be bored", vgyik "desire", vltozik
"change" (refl.), verekszik "fight" (e.g. at school), veszekszik "quarrel", vetkzik "take off clothes", viselkedik "behave" and vitatkozik
[2]
"argue".

For most other verbs, the -k ending is common in the indefinite meaning, especially in casual speech. Verbs ending
in -zik, which refer to using some tool, almost exclusively take the -k, such as biciklizik "ride the bicycle", gitrozik
"play the guitar" or mobilozik "use the mobile phone".
There are a few non-traditional -ik verbs where the -m ending is impossible and ungrammatical (except in the
definite conjugation, if meaningful). These are called "pseudo ik verbs" (likes igk) in Hungarian. Examples:
bomlik "dissolve", (el)bjik "hide", egerszik "catch mice", rik "ripen", folyik "flow", gylik "assemble" (refl.), hazudik "tell a lie", hullik
"fall", illik "suit", kopik "wear off", megjelenik "appear", mlik "pass", nylik "open" (refl.), mlik "pour" (refl.), szletik "be born",
(meg)sznik "discontinue", telik "fill up", tojik "lay (eggs)", trik "get broken", tnik "seem", vlik "become" or "divorce", zllik "become
[3]
depraved".

The regular non -ik verb knyrg "beg" has a hypercorrect first-person singular indefinite present form knyrgm
"I am begging" (used especially as an emphatic interjection to support an argument in spoken language), which
conjugation mimics that of -ik verbs. The correct form would be knyrgk. However, it is argued by some that the
form knyrgm is not unacceptable, either, and it reflects an idiomatic expression knyrgm (magt/az Istent) "I
am begging (you/God)", which has eventually lost its object and in which the form knyrgm actually (correctly)
follows definite conjugation.

Infinitive
The infinitive of a verb is the form suffixed by -ni, e.g. vrni, krni. There is a variant -ani/eni, which is used with
the following groups:
verbs ending in two consonants (e.g. jtszani, tartani, kldeni, vlasztani, festeni, mondani, hallani, ajnlani),
verbs ending in a long vowel + t (e.g. fteni, vteni, tantani, bocstani) and
the words vd and edz (vdeni and edzeni respectively).
Exceptions are llni "to stand", szllni "to fly", varrni "to sew", forrni "to boil", which have -ni despite the two
consonants. This is due to the fact that in written language, the "long" 'l' (or 'r') sound has to be marked.

Infinitive with personal suffixes

When an infinitive is used with an impersonal verb, the personal suffixes may be added to the infinitive to indicate
the person, as in Portuguese. Except in the 3rd person singular and plural, the -i of the infinitive is dropped, e.g.
Mennem kell. ("I have to go."). The person can also be indicated using -nak/-nek, e.g. Nekem kell mennem. ("I have
to go.), Jnosnak mennie kell ("Jnos has to go.")
These forms use the o/e/ set of suffixes (Type II, like possessive suffixes do), see Personal suffixes and link vowels.

Hungarian verbs

Person

menni (to go)

ltni (to see)

for me to go etc. for me to see etc.

1st Sg. mennem

ltnom

2nd Sg. menned

ltnod

3rd Sg. mennie

ltnia

1st Pl.

mennnk

ltnunk

2nd Pl. mennetek

ltnotok

3rd Pl. mennik

ltniuk

Tenses
With the exception of lenni ("to be"), there are 2 tenses, usually called past and present. More accurate names would
be past and non-past since the so-called "present" tense can also be used to refer to the future.
The future can also be expressed by the auxiliary verb fog with the infinitive. Learner-oriented grammars refer to this
as the future tense although it is not a tense in a strict grammarian's use of the word.
The verb to be, lenni has 3 tenses: past (volt as was), present (van as is) and future (lesz as will be).

Present
In the present tense, only sibilant-ending verbs differ from the rest, such as verbs ending in -s, -sz, -z and -dz. The
chart below compares the conjugation of the regular kr 'ask' ("have a request") and vr 'wait' (as examples for front
and back vowels) with the sibilant-ending keres 'look for' and mszik 'climb.' Example of verbs ending in the other
two possible sonorants, -z and -dz, are hz 'pull' and edz 'train', which similarly double their stem consonants where
-s and -sz are doubled (e.g. hzzuk, eddzk in the first person plural).
Person

Indefinite conjugation

Definite conjugation

Regular

Sibilant-ending

1st Sg

krek, vrok

keresek, mszok*

krem, vrom

keresem, mszom

2nd Sg

krsz, vrsz

keresel, mszol

kred, vrod

keresed, mszod

3rd Sg

kr, vr

keres, mszik*

kri, vrja

keresi, mssza

1st Pl

krnk, vrunk keresnk, mszunk krjk, vrjuk

2nd Pl

krtek, vrtok

3rd Pl

krnek, vrnak keresnek, msznak krik, vrjk

1st > 2nd (e.g. 'I ask you') krlek, vrlak

kerestek, msztok

kereslek, mszlak

Regular

Sibilant-ending

keressk, msszuk

kritek, vrjtok keresitek, mssztok

N/A

keresik, msszk
N/A

*: mszik being an -ik verb, its indefinite 1st person singular form can be mszom instead of mszok in literary
style. The ik ending in its indefinite 3rd person singular form naturally doesn't apply to verbs without this
ending.
The forms marked in bold are those where the suffix of sibilant-ending verbs differ from the suffix of other verbs:
either because of the alternative 2nd person ending l (to avoid two sibilants getting next to each other), or because of
the assimilation of j. Incidentally, the latter forms (with doubled stem consonants) coincide with the subjunctive (or
imperative) forms.

Hungarian verbs

Futurity
Futurity can be expressed in a variety of ways:
1. By the auxiliary verb fog for any verb except van, expressing a strong intention of the subject or a necessity of
events brought about by circumstances (cf. English "going to")
2. For the verb van only, by the use of the future tense (leszek, leszel etc.), see van (to be)
3. By the present tense only when the time is clear for some other reason (e.g. explicit temporal adverbs, e.g. majd,
or verbs with perfective aspect)

Past tense
The past tense is expressed with the suffix -t or -ott/-ett/-tt and inflects for person and number. As in the present
tense, there are special indefinite forms for transitive verbs with direct objects that are 1st or 2nd person or indefinite,
while definite forms are used for intransitive verbs and transitive verbs with definite, 3rd person direct objects, and
there is a special form used just for instances where there is a 1st person subject and 2nd person direct object.
As far as the two phonetic variants are concerned, there are three types:
Type I never uses link vowel (mostly those with "soft" ending consonants, i.e. sonorants)
Type II only uses link vowel in the 3rd person singular indefinite (those that could be regarded as "middle-hard"
consonants)
Type III uses link vowel in every form (mostly those ending in the "hard" consonant t or a consonant cluster).
Conjugation

Type I

Type II

Type III

Example Verb

vr ("wait for sb/sth")

mos ("wash sb/sth")

tant ("teach sb/sth")

Direct Object

Indefinite

Definite

Indefinite

Definite

Indefinite

Definite

1st sg.

vrtam

vrtam

mostam

mostam

tantottam

tantottam

2nd sg.

vrtl

vrtad

mostl

mostad

tantottl

tantottad

3rd sg.

vrt

vrta

mosott

mosta

tantott

tantotta

1st pl.

vrtunk

vrtuk

mostunk

mostuk

tantottunk

tantottuk

2nd pl.

vrtatok

vrttok

mostatok

mosttok

tantottatok

tantotttok

3rd pl.

vrtak

vrtk

mostak

mostk

tantottak

tantottk

1st person subj.,

2nd person object
Regular endings

vrtalak

-l, -r, -n, -ny, -j, -ly (e.g. tanul,

r, pihen, hny, fj, foly|ik)
-ad, -ed (e.g. szalad, bred)

mostalak

-s, -sz, -z (e.g. s, sz|ik, nz)

-k, -g, -p, -b, -d*, -v, -f, -gy (e.g.
lak|ik, vg, kap, dob, tud, hv, df,
hagy)
-at, -et with 2 or more syllables
(e.g. mutat, nevet)

tantottalak

monosyllabic words ending in t (e.g.

hat, vet, nyit, kt, fut, jut, st, t, ft)
long vowel + t (e.g. kszt, tant, bocst)
two consonants (e.g. jtsz|ik, tart,
vlaszt, hall, hull|ik)

-dz also belongs here (e.g. edz)

*: except for -ad/-ed, see I

Exceptions
(partiallist)

ll, szll, varr (III)

lt (III) and alkot

ad, enged, fogad etc. (I)
mond, kezd, kld, hord, kzd etc.
(III)

Less important exceptions:

(meg)r|ik (I), fgg etc. (III),

borzong etc. (III)

Note: Strike-through Roman numbers in the last row refer to the types which would apply if the verbs
concerned were regular.

Hungarian verbs

If the above phonetic guidelines don't help, it may be useful as a rule of thumb to learn the rules and exceptions only
for Type I and Type III and use Type II otherwise, because this latter type comprises the broadest range of verbs.
Regular homonymy of plain and causative forms in the same tense
Front-vowel unrounded verbs that end in consonant + -t may have ambiguous (coinciding, homonymous) forms
between plain and causative forms. Approx. a hundred verbs are concerned that end in one of the following endings:
-jt, -lt, -mt, -nt, -rt, -st, -szt.
Homoverb
Megrtette.

Meaning 1

Meaning 2

"S/he understood it."

"S/he made them understand it."
megrt ("understand") + -ette (past tense Type III, def.) megrt + -et- (causative) + -te (past tense Type II, def.)

Sejtette.

"S/he suspected it."

sejt ("suspect") + -ette (past tense type III, def.)

"S/he made them suspect it."

sejt + -et- (causative) + -te (past tense type II, def.)

The past tenses of sejt ("suspect", Type III) and sejtet ("make them suspect sth.", Type II) are identical, except for
the third person indefinite form where it is sejt|ett for sejt, but sejtet|ett for sejtet. However, it usually turns out from
the argument structure and the context which meaning is intended.
This ambiguity doesn't occur with back-vowel verbs because the linking vowel is different for the normal past tense
and the causative, e.g. bontotta "s/he demolished it" (bont- + -otta) vs. bontatta "s/he had it demolished" (bont- + -at+ -ta). The linking vowel can only be o for back-vowel verbs (as stated above: -ott/-ett/-tt) and the causative can
only have a with back vowels (-at/-et). Similarly, it doesn't occur with front-vowel verbs with a rounded vowel,
either: e.g. gyjttte ("s/he collected them") vs gyjtette (s/he had them collected").
Below is a chart to review the conjugation differences between coinciding forms of the same verb. Ambiguous forms
in the same person are marked in bold.
"I understood it" etc., past,
def.

"I made them understand it" etc., past,

def.

"I understood sth" etc., past,

indef.

"I made them understand sth" etc., past,

indef.

megrtettem
megrtetted
megrtette
megrtettk
megrtetttek
megrtettk

megrtettem
megrtetted
megrtette
megrtettk
megrtetttek
megrtettk

megrtettem
megrtettl
megrtett
megrtettnk
megrtettetek
megrtettek

megrtettem
megrtettl
megrtetett
megrtettnk
megrtettetek
megrtettek

Regular homonymy: other cases

Another kind of ambiguity can arise with type I verbs between the second person plural plain form and the first
person singular causative form, e.g. beszltetek (only indefinite forms involved):
"you [pl] spoke": beszl ("speak") + -t- (past) + -etek ("you [pl]")
"I make sb speak": beszl + -tet- (causative) + -ek ("I").
It can also occur with similar back-vowel verbs, e.g. csinltatok "you [pl] did sth" or "I have sth done".
beszltek can also have two interpretations (only indefinite forms involved, again):
"you [pl] speak": beszl + -tek ("you [pl]")
"they spoke": beszl + -t- (past) + -ek ("they")
This latter case is not possible with back-vowel verbs, due to the difference of the linking vowel: csinltok "you [pl]
do sth" vs. csinltak "they did sth".
Below is a chart to review the conjugation differences between coinciding forms of the same verb (again).
Ambiguous forms in different persons are marked with asterisks.

Hungarian verbs

7
"I speak" etc., "I spoke"
present, indef. etc.,
past, indef.

"I make sb speak"

etc.,
present, indef.

"I do" etc.,

"I did" etc., "I have sth done"
present, indef. past, indef. etc.,
present, indef.

beszlek
beszlsz
beszl
beszlnk
beszltek*
beszlnek

beszltetek*
beszltetsz
beszltet
beszltetnk
beszltettek
beszltetnek

csinlok
csinlsz
csinl
csinlunk
csinltok
csinlnak

beszltem
beszltl
beszlt
beszltnk
beszltetek*
beszltek*

csinltam
csinltl
csinlt
csinltunk
csinltatok*
csinltak

csinltatok*
csinltatsz
csinltat
csinltatunk
csinltattok
csinltatnak

Sporadic coincidences
Front-vowel verbs in type III that end in -t may cause ambiguity, like between the past tense of a verb and the
present tense of another. For example:
Homonymous verb
Fltem.

Meaning 1

Meaning 2

"I was afraid."

"I fear for him/her/it."
fl ("be afraid") + -tem (past tense type I, first person, indef.) flt ("fear for sb/sth") + -em (present tense, first person, def.)

Nem rt hozz.

"S/he didn't touch it."

hozz|r ("touch") + -t (past tense type I, indef.)

"S/he isn't familiar with it."

rt (hozz) ("be familiar [with sth.]", present tense, indef.)

Ksznt.

"S/he said hello."

kszn ("say hello") + -t (past tense type I, indef.)

"S/he welcomes [you]."

ksznt ("welcome", present tense, indef.)

Megbnt valamit.

"S/he regretted something."

megbn ("regret") + -t (past tense type I, indef.)

"S/he offends something."

megbnt ("offend", present tense, indef.)

Below is a chart to review the conjugation differences between coinciding forms of unrelated verbs. Ambiguous
forms in the same person are marked in bold; ambiguous forms in different persons are marked with asterisks.
"I was afraid" etc.,
past, indef.

"I fear for sb" etc.,

present, indef.

"I fear for him/her/it"

etc., present, def.

"I am not familiar with it" etc., present,

indef.

"I didn't touch it" etc., past, indef.

fltem
fltl
flt
fltnk
fltetekfltek*

fltek*
fltesz
flt
fltnk
fltetekfltenek

fltemflted
flti
fltjk
fltitek
fltik

nemrtekhozz*
nemrteszhozz
nemrthozz
nemrtnkhozz
nemrtetekhozznemrtenekhozz

nemrtemhozz
nemrtlhozz
nemrthozz
nemrtnkhozz
nemrtetekhozznemrtekhozz*

Moods
Hungarian verbs have 3 moods: indicative, conditional and subjunctive / imperative. The indicative has a past and
non-past tense. The conditional has a non-past tense and a past form, made up of the past tense indicative as the
finite verb with the non-finite verb volna. The subjunctive only has a single tense.

Conditional
Use of the conditional:
In a sentence with "if", unlike in English, the appropriate conditional tense is used in both the "if" clause and the
main clause. The present conditional is used to talk about unlikely or impossible events in the present or future, e.g.
Ha tallkoznl a kirlynvel, mit mondanl? ("If you met the Queen, what would you say?") (cf. the second
conditional in English). The past conditional is used for past events which did not happen, e.g. Ha nem tallkoztunk
volna a kirlynvel, rkkal ezeltt megrkeztnk volna. ("If we hadn't met the Queen, we would have arrived hours
ago.") (cf. the third conditional in English).

Hungarian verbs

Forms of the conditional

Person

Indefinite

Definite

1st Sg. krnk, vrnk

krnm, vrnm

2nd Sg. krnl, vrnl

krnd, vrnd

3rd Sg. krne, vrna

krn, vrn

1st Pl.

krnnk, vrnnk

krnnk, vrnnk

2nd Pl. krntek, vrntok

krntek, vrntok

3rd Pl. krnnek, vrnnak krnk, vrnk

The front-vowel suffix at the end of the 1st person singular indefinite form of the back-vowel verb (vrnk) is an
apparent exception from the vowel harmony: it may serve to distinguish from the 3rd person plural definite form
(vrnk). (The indefinite krnk forms still coincide, just like the 1st and 2nd person plural endings.)
The only opposition between the 3rd person singular definite and indefinite forms is vowel length (although a and
e differ in quality as well), which can be considered one of the rare fusional traits in Hungarian.
A linking vowel is inserted into verbs with a consonant cluster or long vowel + t at the end, e.g. festenk 'I would
paint', tantank 'I would teach', analogously to the rules given for the infinitive form.

Subjunctive (imperative)
Uses of the subjunctive:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

For a command (i.e. an imperative)

For a request
For hesitant questions with 1st singular subject (cf. English "Shall I ?")
For suggestions for joint action with 1st plural subject (cf. English "Let's ")
For wishes (3rd person singular and plural)
In subordinate clauses after verbs expressing orders, requests, suggestions, wishes, permission, etc.
In hogy subordinate clauses expressing purpose

Forms of the subjunctive

In the subjunctive or imperative mood, verbs with a sibilant or t ending differ from the rest, with two groups for the t
ending: those with a preceding short vowel, and those with a preceding long vowel or a consonant.
Meanings of the verbs below: kr 'ask (have a request)', vr 'wait', keres 'look for', olvas 'read', fest 'paint', szeret
'love', fut 'run', ment 'save', tant 'teach', bngszik 'browse', mszik 'climb', ereszt 'let go', akaszt 'hang', nz 'look at',
hz 'pull', edz 'train', lopdzik 'sneak'.

Hungarian verbs

INDEFINITE CONJUGATION
Stem
Forms

kr, vr

keres, olvas

szeret, fut

ment, tant

bngszik,
mszik

ereszt, akaszt

nz, hz

edz, lopdzik

Original
Stem

(all but the

following)

-S

short vowel
+T

other
+T

-SZ

-SZT

-Z

-DZ

Altered
Stem

above
+J

ZZ

DDZ

1st Sg

krjek, vrjak

keressek,
olvassak

szeressek,
fussak

mentsek,
tantsak

bngsszek,
msszak

eresszek,
akasszak

nzzek,
hzzak

eddzek,
lopddzak

2ndSg

krj(l),
vrj(l)

keress(l),
olvass(l)

szeress(l),
fuss(l)

ments(l),
tants(l)

bngssz(l),
mssz(l)

eressz(l),
akassz(l)

nzz(l),
hzz(l)

eddz(l),
lopddz(l)

3rd Sg

krjen, vrjon

keressen,
olvasson

szeressen,
fusson

mentsen,
tantson

bngsszen,
msszon

eresszen,
akasszon

nzzen,
hzzon

eddzen,
lopddzon

1st Pl

krjnk,
vrjunk

keressnk,
olvassunk

szeressnk,
fussunk

mentsnk,
tantsunk

bngssznk,
msszunk

eressznk,
akasszunk

nzznk,
hzzunk

eddznk,
lopddzunk

2nd Pl

krjetek,
vrjatok

keressetek,
olvassatok

szeressetek,
fussatok

mentsetek,
tantsatok

bngsszetek,
msszatok

eresszetek,
akasszatok

nzzetek,
hzzatok

eddzetek,
lopddzatok

3rd Pl

krjenek,
vrjanak

keressenek,
olvassanak

szeressenek,
fussanak

mentsenek,
tantsanak

bngsszenek,
msszanak

eresszenek,
akasszanak

nzzenek,
hzzanak

eddzenek,
lopddzanak

SS

TS

SSZ

DEFINITE CONJUGATION
Stem
Forms

kr, vr

keres, olvas

szeret, fut

ment, tant

bngszik, mszik

ereszt, akaszt

nz, hz

edz, lopdzik

Original
Stem

(all but the

following)

-S

short vowel
+T

other
+T

-SZ

-SZT

-Z

-DZ

Altered
Stem

above
+J

ZZ

DDZ

SS

TS

SSZ

1st Sg

krjem,
vrjam

keressem,
olvassam

szeressem,
fussam

mentsem,
tantsam

bngsszem, msszam eresszem,

akasszam

nzzem,
hzzam

eddzem,
lopddzam

2ndSg

kr(je)d,
vr(ja)d

keres(se)d,
olvas(sa)d

szeres(se)d,
fus(sa)d

ments(e)d,
tants(a)d

bngszd/bngsszed, ereszd/eresszed,
mszd/msszad
akaszd/akasszad

nz(ze)d,
hz(za)d

edzd/eddzed,
lopdzd/lopddzad

3rd Sg

krje,
=vrja

keresse,
=olvassa

szeresse,
fussa

mentse,
tantsa

bngssze,
=mssza

eressze,
akassza

nzze,
=hzza

eddze,
=lopddza

1st Pl

krjk,
=vrjuk

=keressk,
=olvassuk

szeressk,
fussuk

mentsk,
tantsuk

=bngsszk,
=msszuk

eresszk,
akasszuk

=nzzk,
=hzzuk

=eddzk,
=lopddzuk

2nd Pl

krjtek,
=vrjtok

keresstek,
=olvasstok

szeresstek,
fusstok

mentstek,
tantstok

bngssztek,
=mssztok

eressztek,
akassztok

nzztek,
=hzztok

eddztek,
=lopddztok

3rd Pl

krjk,
=vrjk

keressk,
=olvassk

szeressk,
fussk

mentsk,
tantsk

bngsszk,
=msszk

eresszk,
akasszk

nzzk,
=hzzk

eddzk,
=lopddzk

1st >
2nd

krjelek,
vrjalak

keresselek,
olvassalak

szeresselek,
*fussalak

mentselek,
tantsalak

bngsszelek,
msszalak

eresszelek,
akasszalak

nzzelek,
hzzalak

eddzelek,
*lopddzalak

Note 1: Fest 'paint' is the only single example (according to the Reverse-alphabetical dictionary of the Hungarian
Language) that ends in st, and there is no -ik verb with these two ending consonants. This verb is conjugated like the
szeret, fut type: fessek, fess(l), fessen, fessnk, fessetek, fessenek; fessem, fes(se)d, fesse, fessk, fesstek, fessk;
fesselek.

Hungarian verbs

10

Note 2: the definite conjugation may be ungrammatical for verbs that cannot have an object, e.g. fut 'run', lopdzik
'sneak'. However, these forms may occur in constructions like vgigfutja a tvot 'run all through the distance', or
perhaps even vgiglopddza az pleteket 'sneak through the buildings'. This solution doesn't work, though, for the
forms affecting the 2nd person (unless in a poetic, vocative sense), that is why they are marked with an asterisk.
Forms marked with a preceding equality sign are identical with the indicative forms.
Second person forms have a short and a long variant both in indefinite and definite conjugation, with minimal
difference in style.

Definite and indefinite conjugations

In Hungarian, verbs not only show agreement with their subjects but also carry information on the definiteness of
their direct objects. This results in two types of conjugations: definite (used if there is a definite object) and
indefinite (if there is no definite object):

Intransitive verb
Transitive verb with an indefinite object
with a definite object

Verb with suffix for

present tense, 1st person singular

Object

Olvasok (I'm reading)

(type 1 - suffix indicating no definite object)

Olvasom
(type 2 - suffix indicating definite object)

egy knyvet. (a book)

a knyvet. (the book)

Basically, the indefinite conjugation is used if there is no definite object, that is i) if there is no object at all, or ii) if
the object is indefinite (see details below). However, exceptionally, the indefinite conjugation is also used if the
object is a 1st or 2nd person pronoun, either stated or not (even though personal pronouns are actually definite by
nature).
An object is indefinite if it is:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

a noun with no determiner

a noun with an indefinite article
a noun with a numeral or an indefinite determiner (e.g. "all, some, no")
an indefinite pronoun such as "something, anything, everyone" etc.
an interrogative pronoun
a relative pronoun

The definite conjugation is used if the verb has a definite object, which can be:
1. a noun with a definite article
2. a noun with the determiners melyik, hnyadik ('which') or mindegyik ('each'); the noun may be omitted in these
constructions
3. a 3rd person pronoun, either stated or unstated
4. a demonstrative pronoun ("this, that")
5. the indefinite pronoun mind ('all [of something]')
6. a subordinate clause
Note that a special suffix (-lak/-lek) is used if the verb has a first person singular subject AND a second person
(singular or plural) object, e.g. Szeretlek. ("I love you." - singular), Szeretlek titeket. ("I love you all." - plural).
Examples:
Indefinite (ltsz)

Definite (ltod)

Hungarian verbs

11
You (can) see .
You can see something.
You can see a book.
You can see me/us. (!)
You can see some/two (of them).
You can't see anything/anyone.
You can see everything/everyone.
Who/What/how many can you see?
The person/book that you can see is...

You can see the book.

You can see this book.
You can see him/her/it/them.
You can see yourself.
You can see Mary.
You can see both (books).
You can see all (the books).
Which (person/book) can you
see?
You can see (that) I'm here.

No explicit object
If no explicit object is present, the most common interpretation of the definite verb forms is including "him/her/it". If
an indefinite verb form semantically requires an object, "me" or "you[sg]" or obviously an indefinite object
(third person) can be inferred. (The plural forms are generally made explicit.) This difference makes it possible for
the writer or speaker to refer to people without making them explicit. In most cases it's enough through the context to
differentiate between 3rd person and non-3rd person pronouns.
Definite examples:
olvassa ("s/he is reading") most common meaning: s/he is reading it (the book etc.)
nzi ("s/he is looking") most common meaning: s/he is looking at him/her/it
Indefinite examples:
fut ("s/he is running") usually can't have an object so its meaning is unambiguous
olvas ("s/he is reading") most common meaning: s/he is reading something (the object may be omitted like in
English)
nz ("s/he is looking") most common meaning: s/he is looking at me or you (or: gazing in the air)

Grammatical voice
Hungarian uses active forms not only in the active sense (e.g. "He opened the door") and in the middle voice sense
(e.g. "The door opened"), but also to express the passive (e.g. "The door was opened by Jane"), with the third person
plural active form. For example Megvizsgljk a gyereket literally means "They examine the child", but it is more
commonly meant like "The child is examined". The fact that this sentence behaves like a passive voice is shown by
the fact that the above (third person plural) form can be used even when only one agent is meant (i.e., the child is
examined by one doctor).
Another means to express the passive meaning is using middle voice lexical forms or unaccusative verbs, e.g. pl:
"build"/ intransitive (cf. pt "build"/ transitive), alakul: "form"/ intransitive (cf. alakt "form"/ transitive). -ul/-l is a
common ending that expresses the middle voice, as opposed to -t which expresses the active (these are transitive
verbs). Middle voice forms can also be created from some plain verbs by adding -dik/-dik, e.g. rdik "get written"
(from r "write"), tdik "get hit" (from t "hit"). These active/middle pairs comprise a considerable part among
Hungarian verbs.
In the perfect, there is a third way to express passive meaning: the existential verb van (see van (to be)) plus the
adverbial participle ending in -va/-ve (see Adverb derivation), e.g. meg van rva "it is written" (from megr "write").
It is used when the result of the action is emphasized. It can be formed in the past perfect and future perfect, too,
with the past and future forms of van. A similar structure is used in a past meaning with lett: meg lett rva "it was
written" or "it has been written" (sometimes "it had been written").
Finally, the actual passive form does occur once in a while, formed with -atik/-etik or -tatik/-tetik. For example:
szletik ("be born", from szl "give birth"), adatik ("be given", from ad "give"), viseltetik ("owe sb certain feelings",

Hungarian verbs

12

from visel "bear"), foglaltatik ("be included", from (magba) foglal "include"). These can be formed by adding -ik to
the causative (see Modal and causative suffixes). Most of these forms (except for szletik) are considered obsolete.

An example of a regular verb

Here is a regular verb, kr ("ask", "have a request"). The personal suffixes are marked in bold.

kr ("ask")
Indefinite

Definite

Indicative Mood
Present krek
Past

krsz

kr

krnk

krtek

krnek

krtem krtl

krt

krtnk krtetek krtek

krem

kred

krtem krted

kri

krjk

krte krtk

kritek

krik

krttek krtk

Conditional Mood
Present krnk krnl krne

krnnk krntek krnnek krnm krnd krn krnnk krntek krnk

Past

krtnk krtetek krtek

volna
volna
volna

krtem krtl
volna volna

krt
volna

krtem krted
volna
volna

krte krtk
volna volna

krttek krtk
volna
volna

krjl krjen krjnk krjetek krjenek krjem krjed krje krjk

or krj
or krd

krjtek krjk

Subjunctive Mood
Present krjek

Modal and causative suffixes

Hungarian has 2 forms which can be added to the verb stem to modify the meaning. These are sometimes referred to
as infixes, but they are not true infixes because they are not inserted inside another morpheme.
-hat-/-het- has a modal meaning of permission or opportunity, e.g. beszlek "I speak", beszlhetek "I may speak" or
"I am allowed to speak".
Note: Ability ("I can speak") is usually expressed with "tud". See Auxiliary verbs (modal and temporal).
-at-/-et- and -tat-/-tet- have a causative meaning. It can express "having something done" or "having/making
someone do something". For example: beszlek "I speak", beszltetek "I make sb speak". (Incidentally, it is the same
form as "you [pl] spoke", analysed beszl|t|etek, see Past tense.)
-tat/-tet is used if the word ends in vowel + -t or if the stem ends in a consonant different from -t, but it has two or
more syllables (excluding the verbal particle). In other cases, -at/-et is used: that is, with words ending in a
consonant + t and with one-syllable words ending in a consonant different from -t.
Ending

-t
vowel + -t

One syllable sttet "to have sth baked", lttat "to

make sth seen"

Several
syllables

tanttat "to have sb taught",

felszlttat "to have sb warned"

not -t
consonant + -t

gyjtet "to have sth collected", festet "to

have sth painted"

rat "to have sth written", mosat "to have sth

washed", frdet "to give sb a bath"
Also: ki+dobat "to have sb. thrown out", el+fogat
"to have sb caught"
(See the exceptions below)

felbresztet "to have sb woken up",

halasztat "to have sth postponed"

beszltet "to have sb speak", dolgoztat "to make

sb work", olvastat "to have sb read"

The monosyllabic words which don't end in vowel + -t, but have -tat/-tet in the causative are z|ik (ztat), buk|ik
(buktat), kop|ik (koptat), szop|ik (szoptat), hny (hnytat), l (ltet), kel (keltet), lp (lptet), szn|ik (szntet [!]), jr

Hungarian verbs
(jrtat), szk|ik (szktet).

Verbal noun
A noun is formed from a verb by adding -s/-s to the verb stem (cf. gerund in English), e.g. Az szs egszsges.
("Swimming is healthy.")

Participles
There are three participles in Hungarian. They are formed by adding the following suffixes to the verb stem:
-/- - present participle, e.g. r ember ("a writing person")
-ott/-ett/-tt/-t - past participle, e.g. megrt levl ("a written letter" /"the letter that has been written")
-and/-end - future participle, e.g. rand levl ("a letter to be written")
Since the past participle usually expresses a perfected action/event, the verb sometimes changes into its perfective
counterpart by taking a verbal particle (igekt) with this function, as seen in the above example (megrt levl). This
verbal particle may, however, be replaced by a noun, e.g. Annnak rt levl ("a letter written to Anna"). See more
under Hungarian syntax.

Verb particles /prefixes (igektk)

Hungarian verbs can have verb particles or prefixes, similar to phrasal verbs in English. The most common ones are
meg- (perfective, but some other ones, too, can take this function), fel- ("up"), le- ("down"/"off"), be- ("in"), ki("out"), el- ("away"), vissza- ("back"), t- ("over"/"through"), oda- ("there"), ide- ("here"), ssze- ("together"), szt("apart"), "r" ("on top").
The above meanings are the literal meanings, but they all can have figurative, idiomatic meanings. Examples of
literal meanings for the verb r ("write"): ler ("write down"), ber ("write into") as opposed to the non-literal
meanings: ler ("declare as useless", cf "write off"), ber ("give a written warning [to a schoolchild]"). Different
prefixes can express subtle differences (e.g. meghzik "get fat" vs. elhzik "get obese") as well as independent
concepts (e.g. rg "kick", kirg "fire sb", berg "get drunk"). They often serve to change the verb into perfective
(along with other factors).
When the particle precedes the verb without any other inserted word, they are used as one word, e.g. Lerja ("He
writes it down"). Syntactically, the particle may go behind the verb for various reasons. It may occur due to a
stressed part in the sentence (the focus), e.g. rja le ("It's him who writes it down") or a negation, e.g. Nem rja le
("He doesn't write it down"). The inverted order is also used in the imperative, e.g. rja le! ("Write it down!").
Finally, it may also refer to continuity, like Lement a lpcsn ("He went down the stairs") vs. Ment le a lpcsn ("He
was going down the stairs").
If the verb with the particle is in the infinitive, the finite verb will be wedged between them, e.g. Le akarja rni ("He
wants to write it down") or Le tudja rni ("He can write it down").
The particle may considerably affect the case of the complement: for example, the verb kezd ("start sth.") can take
several different verb particles, all expressing the same concept (with minor differences), but their complement
differs depending on the particle:

elkezd valamit (accusative)

nekikezd valaminek (dative)
belekezd valamibe (illative)
hozzkezd valamihez (allative)

It happens because certain verb particles (the latter three among the examples) come from personal pronouns in the
given case and they require agreement.

13

Hungarian verbs

14

When giving a short positive answer to a yes/no question, the particle can refer back to the whole sentence, see
Yes/no questions.

Cases needing attention

There are a few words which appear to begin with a particle, but don't actually, e.g. felel ("reply"), lehel
("breathe/puff"), kilt ("give a shout") and beszl ("speak") where fel-, le-, ki- and be- are parts of the words
themselves, rather than actual particles. The difference is important in the above-mentioned syntactic cases when
these elements will naturally not function like particles do. Compare the above kilt (no compound) with kill
("stand out", a compound): nem kilt ("he doesn't give a shout"), but nem ll ki ("he doesn't stand out"). A similar
case is fellebbez ("appeal [in court]"), from the adverb fellebb ("upper", today: feljebb), containing no particle.
A verb may occasionally be a homonym in the above sense, i.e. being a single word or containing a particle, e.g.
betz ("spell [by letters]", no compound), but betz ("stick in" or "shine in", a compound).
The other misleading cases are those verbs which were historically formed from nouns derived from verbs with
particles, so they seemingly begin with particles, but they don't behave like them. An example is befolysol
("influence", v) which derives from befolys ("influence", n), a calque from German Einflu, literally "in-flow",
including the particle be- ("in"). This element, being part of the original noun, will not act as a particle of the derived
verb befolysol. There are few such words, e.g. kivitelez ("implement") from kivitel ("exportation", cf "carrying
out"). Kirndul ("go hiking") used to be a compound (ki + rndul), but people don't usually treat it like that any more
so they say, e.g., Kirndulni akar. ("s/he wants to go hiking") instead of Ki akar rndulni, which is obsolete and only
used jokingly. An opposite (exceptional) case is that of felttelez ("suppose" or "assume"), which comes from felttel
("condition"), so the prefix is only part of the embedded noun, rather than of the full verb, but it is still separated: fel
sem ttelezhetjk, fel kell tteleznnk ("we can't even assume, we must suppose"). What functions as a verbal prefix
sometimes may not be one other times, e.g. ellenll 'resist' can separate like nem llok ellen 'I don't resist', but
ellenriz 'check' stays together like nem ellenrzk 'I don't check'.

Auxiliary verbs (modal and temporal)

Most Hungarian auxiliary verbs are impersonal; beside them, the suffixed infinitive is used. A few are conjugated.
(Note: personal suffixes are marked in bold.)
Auxiliary verb

Meaning

Form

Example with meaning

kell

obligation

impersonal kell mennem

I must/ have to go

kellene /kne

advice & suggestions

impersonal kellene
mennem
kne mennem

I should/ought to go

muszj

strong obligation

impersonal muszj mennem I have got to go

szabad

permission

impersonal szabad mennem Iamallowedtogo

tilos

prohibition

impersonal tilos mennem

I must not go

fog

future intention

conjugated fogok menni

I am going to go

tud

ability

conjugated tudok menni

I can go

Modal suffix
-hat/-het

opportunity, permission conjugated mehetek

I can go
I may go

The suffix -hat/-het mentioned in the last row can be further conjugated, just like any verb.
The verb lehet is used impersonally, e.g. oda lehet menni "one can go there".

Hungarian verbs

15

szokott
The verb szokott is conjugated like a regular past tense one (though it can have the indefinite and the definite forms,
too), however, used with an infinitive, it has the meaning of a habitual action which includes the present time.
Examples:
Szoktam lmodni ("I dream usually")
Meg szoktam mosni ("I usually wash it")

Irregular verbs
The verbs van ("to be"), jn ("to come") and megy ("to go") have an irregular present tense and irregular stems for
different tenses. jn also has irregular forms in the subjunctive. A further group of 9 verbs have irregular stems for
different tenses, but follow the same pattern of irregularity as each other. A few other verbs shorten or drop a vowel
with certain suffixes.
A regular verb compared to an irregular
Regular verb: l (to live)

Irregular verb: megy (to go)

Past

Present

Past

Present

ltem

lek

mentem

megyek

ltl

lsz

mentl

msz (sometimes also mgy)

lt

ment

megy

ltnk

lnk

mentnk

megynk

ltetek

ltek

mentetek

mentek

ltek

lnek

mentek

mennek

van (to be)

The verb "to be" in Hungarian is van (3rd person), lenni (infinitive).

Use
When the verb is used as a copula i.e. if one speaks about what someone or something is, it is omitted in the third
person singular and plural of the present tense. The verb is required in all other tenses and persons when speaking
about where or how something is, or to emphasize the existence or availability of something. Examples:
Pter orvos . Peter is a doctor. (present tense, third person, speaking about what someone is: no linking verb in
Hungarian)
Pter jl van. Peter is well.
Pter itt van. Peter is here.
Pter orvos volt. Peter was a doctor.
Orvos vagyok. I am a doctor.
The non-copula form of van is also used to express the equivalent of "There is/are":
Van orvos a szobban. There is a doctor in the room.
The negation of the third person van (plural vannak) as a non-copula verb is the suppletive nincs (plural nincsenek):
Itt van Pter. Peter is here.
Nincs itt Pter. Peter isn't here.

Hungarian verbs

16

Hungarian has no verb which is equivalent to "to have". Instead, ownership/possession are expressed using van with
a possessive suffix on the noun:
Van knyvem. ("I have a book.", literally "There-is book-my")

Conjugation
Like the verb "to be" in most other languages, van is irregular. It comes from three (or four) bases: vagy- (or van-),
vol-, and len-. These overlap to some extent with the verb lesz ("become"). As it cannot have an object, it doesn't
have definite forms. It is the only verb in Hungarian which has a future form.
Indicative Mood
Present Tense vagyok
Past Tense

voltam

Future Tense leszek

vagy

van

vagyunk

vagytok

vannak

voltl

volt

voltunk

voltatok

voltak

leszel

lesz

lesznk

lesztek

lesznek

Conditional Mood
Present Tense lennk
lennl
lenne
lennnk
lenntek
lennnek
or volnk or volnl or volna or volnnk or volntok or volnnak
Past Tense

lettem
volna

lettl
volna

lett
volna

lettnk
volna

lettetek
volna

lettek
volna

legyetek

legyenek

Subjunctive Mood
Present Tense legyek

legyl
or lgy

legyen

legynk

There is little difference between the two conditional forms. In theory, lennk etc. are preferred when an option is
considered as possible (e.g. Ha otthon lennk, "if I were at home") and volnk etc. are preferred when it is considered
impossible (e.g. Ha rzsa volnk, "if I were a rose"), but the limits are rather vague. It is probably not by chance that
the former is akin to the future form (leszek), which might still become true, and the latter to the past form (voltam),
which is already determined. In practice, the lennk series is somewhat more frequently used in both senses.

External links
[1] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ w/ index. php?title=Template:Hungarian_language& action=edit
[2] Verbs selected from Ragozgat (http:/ / bme-tk. bme. hu/ other/ kuszob/ kuszirgz. htm)
[3] Verbs are mostly selected from Ragozgat (http:/ / bme-tk. bme. hu/ other/ kuszob/ kuszirgz. htm)

Hungarian verb conjugator (http://bme-tk.bme.hu/other/kuszob/kuszirgz.htm), with opportunity for testing

and practising
Online morphology charts (http://corpus.nytud.hu/cgi-bin/e-szokincs/alaktan) at the website of the Research
Institute for Linguistics of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
Hungarian verb conjugator (http://www.jargot.com/hvc/) Jargot.com's verb conjugator

Article Sources and Contributors

Article Sources and Contributors

Hungarian verbs Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=612773695 Contributors: Adam78, Aetil, CDN99, ClaimJumperBill, Cserlajos, Dc197, Fadesga, Fages, Fratrep, GregorB,
Hooperbloob, Innv2, Jeff G., Kitten86, Kwamikagami, Leandro81, Mild Bill Hiccup, Mona Williams, Mthoodhood, Nohat, OrenBochman, Peter Isotalo, R'n'B, Rich Farmbrough, S. Neuman,
Sardanaphalus, SidoniaBorcke, Timwi, Tokeen, Wknight94, Woohookitty, Zslevi, 83 anonymous edits

Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors

File:Specialkeys hungarian keyboard.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Specialkeys_hungarian_keyboard.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 2.5
Contributors: Cserlajos, Javier Carro, Man vyi, Qorilla, Tacsipacsi, Tomchiukc

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