Learn Hungarian Adjectives Fast: A Crash Course for Beginners

Learn Hungarian Adjectives Fast: A Crash Course for Beginners

1. Position of Adjectives

• In Hungarian, adjectives generally precede the noun they modify. For example:
  • szép ház (beautiful house)
  • nagy autó (big car)

Exception: If the adjective is used with certain pronouns (e.g., ez - this, az - that), it can follow the noun:

•  ez a ház szép (this is a beautiful house).

2. Agreement in Number and Case

• Singular and plural forms: Adjectives usually do not change for number. However, if the noun is plural, the adjective remains the same:
  • szép lány (beautiful girl)
  • szép lányok (beautiful girls)
• Case: Adjectives do not change based on the case of the noun, unlike in some other languages.

3. Comparative and Superlative Forms

• Comparative: To form the comparative, you generally add the suffix -bb to the adjective (with some vowel harmony rules).
  • jobb (better) from jó (good)
  • szebb (more beautiful) from szép (beautiful)
• Superlative: The superlative is formed by adding -leg in front of the adjective.
  • legjobb (best)
  • legszebb (most beautiful)

4. Irregular Adjectives

• Some adjectives have irregular forms:
  • jó (good) → jobb (better) → legjobb (best)
  • rossz (bad) → rosszabb (worse) → legrosszabb (worst)

5. Common Adjective Suffixes

• Some adjectives have common suffixes:
  • -i: indicating belonging or relation (e.g., magyar – Hungarian, téli – winter)
  • -s: creating adjectives from nouns (e.g., földes – earthy, from föld – earth)
  • -os/-es: indicating characteristics (e.g., könnyű – easy, érdekes – interesting)

6. Types of Adjectives

• Descriptive: These adjectives describe qualities.
  • nagy (big), kicsi (small), szép (beautiful)
• Demonstrative: These adjectives point out specific things.
  • ez a (this), az a (that)
• Possessive: These adjectives show ownership.
  • saját (own), az én.. (my), a te... (your)

7. Some Common Adjectives

• szép – beautiful
• nagy – big
• kicsi – small
• jó – good
• rossz – bad
• fiatal – young
• öreg – old
• okos – smart

Checkout some more Hungarian useful words here

Make sure you understand Vowel Harmony: Hungarian is famous for its vowel harmony system, which means adjectives change their endings based on the vowels in the word. There are two main types of vowels back and front, and some are mixed. 

Remember Context Matters: Hungarian is a context-rich language. An adjective's form can change based on: Whether it's used attributively (before a noun). Predicatively (after a verb). The specific grammatical case being used

Common Adjective Endings Singular: -s (creates an adjective) "virág" (flower) → "virágos" (flowery) Negative: -tlan/tlen "türelem" (patience) → "türelmetlen" (impatient)

Don't get discouraged! Hungarian adjectives seem complex, but they follow logical patterns. Regular practice and immersion are key.