Derived adjectives let Hungarian compress a recurring relationship into one word. Szemüveges presents someone as wearing glasses, munkahelyi links an event to a workplace, reménytelen describes a lack of hope, javítható presents repair as possible, órányi measures duration, többféle counts types, and filmszerű compares something to a film. The suffix contributes a framework, but the base word and situation determine the final meaning.
This page is organized by the communicative work each family performs. Formation appears on the forms page; the companion contrast page handles alternative negatives and words whose meaning cannot be predicted compositionally.
Describing possession or a characteristic with -(V)s
-(V)s often means “having, containing, equipped with, or characterized by X.” The precise relation depends on the noun.
A szemüveges férfi segített felvinni a babakocsit a lépcsőn.
The man wearing glasses helped carry the stroller up the stairs.
Kérsz egy szelet diós süteményt?
Would you like a slice of walnut cake?
A folyosó végén van egy ajtós szekrény.
There is a cabinet with doors at the end of the corridor.
Szemüveges expresses an accessory, diós a salient ingredient, and ajtós structural equipment. English may use “with,” a compound noun, or an adjective; Hungarian packages each relation with the same broad suffix family.
Numbers can form capacity or feature adjectives: kétszemélyes szoba “double room/room for two,” négynapos út “four-day trip,” háromszintes épület “three-level building.” Such formations are usually written together.
Egy kétszemélyes szobát foglaltunk három éjszakára.
We booked a double room for three nights.
Not every imaginable noun plus -s is established. Cukros tea is ordinary “tea with sugar,” but product names and technical categories may prefer another formation. Productivity gives speakers options; lexical convention decides which one sounds native.
Classifying by context with -i
-i expresses a broad relation to place, time, institution, or domain. Its meaning is deliberately less specific than an English preposition.
A munkahelyi vita végül békésen lezárult.
The workplace dispute was eventually resolved peacefully.
A hétvégi vonatok ritkábban járnak.
Weekend trains run less frequently.
A szegedi kutatócsoport új eredményeket közölt.
The research group in Szeged published new results.
Munkahelyi can mean occurring at, connected with, or characteristic of the workplace. Hétvégi locates a recurring service in time. Szegedi may describe location, origin, or affiliation. Context supplies the relation that English often states with “at,” “on,” “from,” or “of.”
Relational adjectives typically classify and stand near the noun. They are not automatically gradable. If the intended meaning is qualitative, Hungarian may use a different derivative: városi “of/in the city” versus városias “urban in character.”
A település központja egyre városiasabb.
The center of the settlement is becoming increasingly urban.
Expressing absence with privative suffixes
-tlan/-tlen, -atlan/-etlen turns the absence of a base concept into a property. It is strongest when “lacking X” is a stable, classifying, or evaluative characteristic.
A váróterem ablaktalan és rosszul szellőzik.
The waiting room is windowless and poorly ventilated.
A csapat reménytelen helyzetből egyenlített.
The team equalized from a hopeless position.
A szerző névtelen akart maradni.
The author wanted to remain anonymous.
Privative meaning can extend beyond literal absence. Gondtalan is “carefree,” not normally “containing zero individual concerns”; haszontalan means “useless,” often as an evaluation. These lexicalized readings must be learned with context.
An analytic phrase can make the absence a temporary fact rather than a property: A szobában nincs ablak “There is no window in the room.” Derived ablaktalan szoba classifies it as a windowless room. Neither construction universally replaces the other.
Presenting possibility with -ható/-hető
Verbal -ható/-hető turns an action into a possibility, suitability, accessibility, or passive potential. The implied actor is often generic.
Az eredeti dokumentum az ügyfélszolgálaton megtekinthető.
The original document can be viewed at customer service. (formal)
Ez a kabát harminc fokon mosható.
This coat can be washed at thirty degrees.
A magyarázat világos és könnyen követhető.
The explanation is clear and easy to follow.
The construction is common in instructions, labels, public information, and academic prose because it presents a procedure without naming an agent. It is not restricted to formal style: Ez még ehető? “Is this still edible?” is everyday (informal) speech.
Ez a gomba biztosan ehető?
Is this mushroom definitely edible?
Do not treat morphology as a safety guarantee: whether a mushroom is actually edible is a factual matter, not something the suffix establishes. -ható/-hető reports a claimed possibility or suitability.
Measuring an extent with -nyi
-Nyi converts a measure, container, body part, or time noun into an amount or extent. The result can be precise, approximate, or expressive.
Adj hozzá egy csipetnyi sót.
Add a pinch of salt.
A két épület között alig méternyi távolság van.
There is barely a meter's distance between the two buildings.
Egy pillanatnyi csend után mindenki beszélni kezdett.
After a moment's silence, everyone started talking.
Csipetnyi measures by a pinch, méternyi by a unit, and pillanatnyi can mean both “lasting a moment” and “momentary.” Lexical context decides whether duration, size, or quantity is prominent.
Expressions such as hajszálnyi különbség “a hair’s-breadth difference” are conventional and often figurative. The suffix does not promise exact measurement.
Counting kinds with -féle
-Féle counts or categorizes types. Compare the number of types with the number of individual objects.
Négyféle sajtot tettünk az asztalra.
We put four kinds of cheese on the table.
Négy sajtot tettünk az asztalra.
We put four cheeses on the table.
The first guarantees four varieties but says nothing exact about the number of pieces. The second counts four cheese items or portions in context. Hungarian keeps the following noun singular after both négyféle and négy.
Mindenféle can be neutral “all kinds of” or mildly dismissive “all sorts of,” depending on intonation and context.
Mindenféle régi fényképet találtunk a padláson.
We found all kinds of old photographs in the attic.
Describing resemblance with -szerű
-Szerű says that something resembles the base in form, behavior, atmosphere, or organization without being identical to it.
A regénynek filmszerű, gyorsan pergő cselekménye van.
The novel has a cinematic, fast-moving plot.
A mikroszkóp alatt hálószerű szerkezet látható.
A net-like structure is visible under the microscope. (academic)
A tegnapi találkozó inkább kihallgatásszerű volt, mint baráti beszélgetés.
Yesterday's meeting felt more like an interrogation than a friendly conversation.
The suffix can soften categorization: the meeting was not literally an interrogation, but resembled one. In academic description, -szerű can label morphology cautiously and precisely; in conversation, it can convey an impression.
Derived adjectives in attributive and predicative positions
Derivation does not cancel normal adjective agreement. Attributive forms stay invariant; plural predicates receive plural marking.
Csak javítható készülékeket vettünk át.
We accepted only devices that can be repaired.
Ezek a készülékek még javíthatók.
These devices can still be repaired.
The first has invariant javítható before plural accusative készülékeket. The second has predicative javíthatók with plural subject készülékek. English keeps the adjective unchanged in both positions, which can hide this Hungarian contrast.
Comparison requires a genuinely gradable reading. Veszélyesebb “more dangerous” is ordinary, but relational munkahelyibb is normally inappropriate unless a creative context reinterprets it as “more workplace-like.”
A short dialogue
This exchange is natural (informal) Hungarian at a bakery.
– Hányféle cukormentes süteményük van? – Ma háromféle kapható.
– How many kinds of sugar-free cake do you have? – Three kinds are available today.
– Van köztük diós? – Igen, és van egy almás-fahéjas is.
– Is there a walnut one among them? – Yes, and there's an apple-and-cinnamon one too.
– Akkor a diósból kérek két szeletet.
– Then I'd like two slices of the walnut one.
Hányféle/háromféle count varieties, cukormentes states absence with the established -mentes alternative, and diós identifies an ingredient. Substantivized a diósból carries elative case because the noun “cake” is recoverable.
Formal and informal packaging
Formal instructions favor impersonal possibility adjectives:
A kérelem elektronikus úton is benyújtható.
The application may also be submitted electronically. (formal)
Everyday (informal) speech more often names the person and action:
Online is beadhatod a kérelmet.
You can submit the application online too. (informal singular)
The formal version foregrounds what is permissible for the application; the informal version addresses an actor. Both express possibility, but information structure and register differ.
Common Mistakes
❌ Egy háromnaposak kirándulást tervezünk.
Incorrect — the derived adjective is attributive and remains invariant.
✅ Egy háromnapos kirándulást tervezünk.
We are planning a three-day trip.
❌ A régi gépek még javítható.
Incorrect — a plural predicative adjective must agree.
✅ A régi gépek még javíthatók.
The old machines can still be repaired.
❌ Kétféle sajtokat választottunk.
Incorrect — after kétféle, the counted noun remains singular.
✅ Kétféle sajtot választottunk.
We chose two kinds of cheese.
❌ Ez a változat több érthető.
Wrong for 'more understandable' — több counts quantity rather than adjective degree.
✅ Ez a változat érthetőbb.
This version is more understandable.
❌ A szoba nem ablak.
Incorrect for 'the room is windowless' — simple noun negation does not create a privative property.
✅ A szoba ablaktalan.
The room is windowless.
Key Takeaways
- -(V)s packages possession, ingredients, visible features, capacity, and other conventional characteristics.
- Relational -i links a noun to place, time, institution, or domain; context supplies the exact relation.
- Privative adjectives present absence as a property, while an existential sentence presents it as a fact.
- -ható/-hető foregrounds passive possibility or suitability and is especially useful when the actor is generic.
- -nyi measures extent, -féle counts kinds, and -szerű signals resemblance.
- Productivity is constrained by lexical convention: a possible formation is not automatically the word native speakers choose.
- Derived adjectives are invariant before nouns but pluralize as predicates or noun substitutes.
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Start learning Hungarian →Related Topics
- Adjective-Forming and Privative Suffixes: Forms and Core PatternB1 — Form Hungarian adjectives with -s, -i, -tlan/-tlen, -ható/-hető, -nyi, -féle, and -szerű while respecting harmony and lexical restrictions.
- 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: Meanings and UsageB1 — Arrange Hungarian modifiers by scope and discourse purpose, and use relational -i adjectives naturally in geographical, temporal, and institutional contexts.
- Attributive Invariability and Predicative Plural Agreement: Meanings and UsageA1 — Use unchanged adjectives inside Hungarian noun phrases and plural-marked adjectives when describing plural subjects predicatively.
- Compound Spelling and the Six-Syllable Rule: Meanings and UsageB2 — Use Hungarian compound spelling to distinguish lexical meanings and format long terms clearly in everyday, formal, and academic contexts.
- Linking Vowels: Meanings and UsageA2 — Use Hungarian linking vowels naturally when counting, marking objects, expressing possession, and conjugating everyday verbs.