Hungarian creates adjectives productively from nouns, verbs, quantities, and names. Cukros means “with sugar/sugary,” városi “urban/of the city,” hibátlan “flawless,” olvasható “readable,” órányi “an hour’s worth/lasting an hour,” kétféle “two kinds of,” and életszerű “lifelike.” Each suffix contributes a recurring semantic relation, but stem shape and lexical convention still matter.
This page establishes the forms and their most dependable meanings. The usage page shows how context selects among readings, and the contrast page handles competing negatives and lexical boundaries. Unlabeled examples are neutral modern standard Hungarian.
A compact derivational map
| Suffix | Typical base | Core contribution | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| -(V)s | noun, numeral phrase | having, containing, characterized by | cukros, szemüveges, háromszobás |
| -i | noun, place/time expression | related to, located at, characteristic of | városi, nyári, budapesti |
| -tlan/-tlen; -atlan/-etlen | noun or verbal/nominal stem | without, lacking, not capable of | gondtalan, reménytelen |
| -ható/-hető | verb | possible or suitable to be V-ed | megoldható, érthető |
| -nyi | measure/quantity noun | an amount, extent, or duration of | percnyi, tenyérnyi |
| -féle | number, quantifier, noun | kind/type | kétféle, mindenféle |
| -szerű | noun or name | resembling, having the character of | álomszerű, Kafka-szerű |
Some traditions analyze -féle and -szerű as suffix-like compound elements rather than ordinary derivational suffixes. For learners, the important formal facts are that common-word combinations are normally written together, they do not show vowel-harmonic variants, and their meaning remains relatively transparent.
-(V)s: having or characterized by
The consonant -s may attach directly after a vowel or appear with a linking vowel after a consonant. The linking vowel and occasional stem alternation are not fully predictable from harmony alone.
| Base | Adjective | Usual meaning |
|---|---|---|
| só | sós | salty / containing salt |
| cukor | cukros | sugary / with sugar |
| szemüveg | szemüveges | wearing glasses |
| veszély | veszélyes | dangerous |
| három szoba | háromszobás | having three rooms |
Én cukor nélkül kérem, mert ez a kávé már így is elég édes.
I'll have mine without sugar, because this coffee is already sweet enough.
Egy világos, háromszobás lakást keresünk.
We are looking for a bright three-room apartment.
Cukros would mean “with sugar/sugary,” but the first sentence chooses the analytic opposite cukor nélkül. In háromszobás, the whole quantity expression becomes a single adjective and is written together.
-i: relation, place, and time
Invariant -i has no back-vowel counterpart. It produces relational adjectives such as iskolai, munkahelyi, nyári, reggeli, and szegedi. Common words remain lowercase, and a one-word place name normally becomes lowercase in the derived adjective.
A reggeli budapesti járat húsz percet késett.
The morning service to/from Budapest was twenty minutes late.
Az iskolai könyvtár nyáron zárva tart.
The school library is closed during the summer.
Some bases change shape: hét → heti shortens its vowel, while falu → falusi uses the established relational form -si. By contrast, nyár → nyári preserves long á. These are lexical stem patterns, not competing harmonic allomorphs of -i. Complex proper names may require a hyphen and preserved capitals, as in New York-i.
Privative -tlan/-tlen and -atlan/-etlen
The privative family means “without X,” or “lacking X.” Harmony selects back a versus front e, while the presence of the initial vowel depends on stem shape and lexical pattern.
| Base | Derived form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| gond | gondtalan | carefree |
| hiba | hibátlan | flawless |
| remény | reménytelen | hopeless |
| értelem | értelmetlen | meaningless |
| haszon | haszontalan | useless |
Final short a lengthens in hiba → hibátlan. Haszon → haszontalan uses an established stem shape. There is no safe algorithm that predicts every -tlan versus -atlan boundary, so learn frequent derivatives as words.
A javítás után a program szinte hibátlanul működött.
After the fix, the program worked almost flawlessly.
A helyzet nehéz, de egyáltalán nem reménytelen.
The situation is difficult, but not at all hopeless.
-ható/-hető: possibility and suitability
Add harmonic -ható/-hető to a verb stem to create an adjective meaning “able or possible to be V-ed,” or “suitable for V-ing.”
| Verb | Adjective | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| olvas | olvasható | readable / can be read |
| ért | érthető | understandable |
| megold | megoldható | solvable / can be solved |
| mos | mosható | washable |
| elér | elérhető | reachable / available |
A teljes jelentés ingyenesen elérhető az intézet honlapján.
The full report is available free of charge on the institute's website. (formal)
Ez a folt még kimosható, ne dobd ki az inget!
This stain can still be washed out; don't throw the shirt away!
Olvasható can express practical legibility as well as logical possibility. Negation may be analytic nem olvasható “cannot/is not to be read” or lexical olvashatatlan “unreadable”; the companion contrast page explains the difference.
The productive reading is normally patient-oriented: A szöveg olvasható means that the text can be read. It does not express a person's ability to perform an action; “Péter can swim” is Péter tud úszni, not Péter úszható. Lexicalized derivatives may develop broader meanings, so formal possibility does not guarantee an idiomatic word.
-nyi: amount, extent, and duration
-Nyi turns a measure or quantity expression into an adjective: percnyi szünet “a minute-long break,” tenyérnyi folt “a palm-sized patch,” kanálnyi méz “a spoonful of honey.” Final a/e may lengthen, as in óra → órányi.
Tartottunk egy tízpercnyi szünetet.
We took a ten-minute break.
Csak egy kanálnyi lekvár maradt az üvegben.
Only a spoonful of jam was left in the jar.
The derived adjective is invariant before the noun. Tízpercnyi is written as one word as a derived quantity expression; longer or unusual formations may need current orthographic checking.
-féle: kind or type
Common quantifiers combine directly with -féle: egyféle, kétféle, sokféle, mindenféle, másféle. The noun following remains singular after a numerical quantity expression.
Háromféle levest főznek minden nap.
They cook three kinds of soup every day.
Mindenféle kifogást hallottunk már.
We've heard all kinds of excuses already.
Háromféle counts types, not bowls of soup. A noun base can also appear, especially for a member of a class: kenyérféle “a kind of bread/bread product.” Such formations vary in conventionality.
-szerű: resemblance
-Szerű means “resembling X, X-like” and normally joins a common-word base: életszerű, álomszerű, gömbszerű. After a proper name it attaches with a hyphen: Kafka-szerű.
A párbeszéd természetes és életszerű.
The dialogue is natural and lifelike.
A filmnek különös, álomszerű hangulata van.
The film has a strange, dreamlike atmosphere.
The current standard spelling észszerű preserves the base ész plus szerű; older ésszerű remains visible in earlier texts. This is a genuine orthographic trap rather than a difference in pronunciation learners can reliably hear.
Derived adjectives still follow adjective agreement
All these derivatives remain invariant attributively but take plural when predicative or used as nouns.
Megoldható feladatokat kaptunk, de nem mindegyik volt könnyű.
We were given solvable tasks, but not all of them were easy.
A feladatok megoldhatók, csak sok idő kell hozzájuk.
The tasks can be solved; they just require a lot of time.
Attributive megoldható stays bare before plural feladatokat. Predicative megoldhatók agrees with plural feladatok. Derivation happens first; syntactic plural marking is added afterward.
Segmentation exercise
- háromszobás → három + szoba + -s: “having three rooms,” with final a → á before the suffix.
- budapesti → Budapest + -i: place adjective, lowercase in ordinary running text.
- reménytelen → remény + -telen: front-vowel privative adjective.
- olvasható → olvas + -ható: back-vowel possibility adjective from a verb.
- órányi → óra + -nyi: final a → á, expressing an hour’s extent.
- mindenféle → minden + féle: suffix-like type formation written together.
- életszerű → élet + szerű: suffix-like resemblance formation written together.
- megoldhatók → megold + -ható + -k: derivation followed by plural predicate marking.
Common Mistakes
❌ Ez egy háromszobások lakás.
Incorrect — a derived attributive adjective does not agree with the noun or its implied plurality.
✅ Ez egy háromszobás lakás.
This is a three-room apartment.
❌ A feladatok megoldható.
Incorrect — a plural predicative adjective must agree.
✅ A feladatok megoldhatók.
The tasks can be solved.
❌ Egy Budapesti kutatóintézetben dolgozik.
Incorrect capitalization in mid-sentence — the one-word place derivative is lowercase.
✅ Egy budapesti kutatóintézetben dolgozik.
He/she works at a research institute in Budapest.
❌ Ez a kézírás olvashatótlan.
Incorrect — the lexical privative derivative is olvashatatlan.
✅ Ez a kézírás olvashatatlan.
This handwriting is unreadable.
❌ A második magyarázat több világos.
Incorrect — English more + adjective is not copied into Hungarian degree comparison.
✅ A második magyarázat világosabb.
The second explanation is clearer.
Key Takeaways
- -(V)s commonly means “having/containing/characterized by,” while -i builds broad relational adjectives.
- Privative -tlan/-tlen, -atlan/-etlen follows harmony but also lexical stem patterns.
- Verbal -ható/-hető expresses possibility or suitability; lexical -hatatlan/-hetetlen can negate it.
- -nyi expresses amount, size, or duration; -féle type; -szerű resemblance.
- Common bases normally join -féle/-szerű, while a proper name takes a hyphen before -szerű.
- Derived adjectives remain invariant before nouns but take plural marking as predicates or noun substitutes.
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Start learning Hungarian →Related Topics
- Adjective-Forming and Privative Suffixes: Meanings and UsageB1 — Use Hungarian derived adjectives to express possession, relation, absence, possibility, quantity, type, and resemblance with natural lexical choices.
- Adjective-Forming and Privative Suffixes: Contrasts and Learner TrapsB2 — Choose among Hungarian adjective-forming suffixes by relation, presence, absence, possibility, measure, kind, and resemblance.
- Adjective Order and Relational -i Adjectives: Forms and Core PatternB1 — Order Hungarian evaluative, descriptive, classifying, and relational modifiers, and form lowercase -i adjectives from places and nouns.
- Attributive Invariability and Predicative Plural Agreement: Forms and Core PatternA1 — Learn why Hungarian adjectives stay unchanged before nouns but take plural marking as predicates or noun substitutes.
- Compound Spelling and the Six-Syllable Rule: Forms and Core PatternB2 — Learn when Hungarian compounds are closed, when long multi-element compounds take a hyphen, and how boundaries preserve consonants.
- Linking Vowels: Forms and Core PatternA2 — Learn how Hungarian a, e, o, and ö appear before plural, accusative, possessive, and verbal endings.