The Adessive -nál/-nél: Forms and Core Pattern | Hungarian Grammar

The adessive -nál/-nél locates something at or near a reference point: kapunál “at the gate,” szekrénynél “by the wardrobe.” With people it commonly means “at someone's place,” and its proximity meaning extends to temporary possession, employers, and standards of comparison. It is the location member of the proximity triple -nál/-nél → -hoz/-hez/-höz → -tól/-től.

The two harmonic forms

Use -nál after a back-harmony stem and -nél after a front-harmony stem. Rounded front vowels ö, ő, ü, ű still take -nél; unlike the related allative, the adessive has only two harmonic forms. The vowel in each suffix is long.

Harmony class	Base	Adessive	Core meaning
back	kapu	kapunál	at/by the gate
back	asztal	asztalnál	at/by the table
front unrounded	szekrény	szekrénynél	at/by the wardrobe
front unrounded	kerítés	kerítésnél	by the fence
front rounded	tükör	tükörnél	by the mirror
front rounded	hűtő	hűtőnél	by the refrigerator

Találkozzunk a főbejáratnál negyed nyolckor!

Let's meet at the main entrance at quarter past seven!

A macska a hűtőnél várja a vacsorát.

The cat is waiting for dinner by the refrigerator.

A recepciós az ablaknál beszél egy vendéggel.

The receptionist is talking to a guest by the window.

Words containing only neutral vowels are partly lexical. Many take front -nél, such as víznél, széknél, képnél, while some take back -nál, including hídnál, sírnál, célnál. Learn a new neutral-vowel noun with one common suffixed form.

💡

Choose the case for its relationship first; then let harmony choose -nál or -nél. The suffix vowel is always long, so -nal and -nel are never standard forms.

Final vowels and stems

Final short a/e lengthens before the suffix: iroda → irodánál, Anna → Annánál, Bence → Bencénél, megye → megyénél. Other final vowels remain: autónál, kávénál, fésűnél.

Annánál maradt a tartalék kulcs.

The spare key was left with Anna.

Az irodánál útépítés miatt nagy a zaj.

There is a lot of noise by the office because of roadworks.

Suffix-specific stem behavior still matters. Bokor has plural bokrok, but adessive bokornál retains its second vowel. Tér → térnél and kéz → kéznél attach directly. Do not derive the adessive from an unrelated plural or accusative form.

Case position after plural and possession

Adessive follows ordinary plural and the complete possessed form. The case relates the whole noun phrase to another participant.

Structure	Form	Segmentation
singular	barátnál	barát-nál
ordinary plural	barátoknál	barát-ok-nál
singular possessed	barátomnál	barát-om-nál
possessed plural	barátaimnál	barát-ai-m-nál
possessed plural	ismerőseiteknél	ismerős-ei-tek-nél

A gyerekek hétvégén a barátainknál alszanak.

The children are sleeping at our friends' place this weekend.

A csomag még az egyik ismerősödnél van.

The package is still with one of your acquaintances.

English uses “at our friends' place” or “with one of your acquaintances.” Hungarian builds possession or number first and adds -nál/-nél last.

Demonstratives and personal forms

With ez “this” and az “that,” both demonstrative and noun receive adessive: ennél a kapunál, annál az épületnél. The demonstrative's final z fully assimilates to n, producing nn.

Ennél a megállónál kell leszállnunk.

We need to get off at this stop.

Annál az asztalnál még van két szabad hely.

There are still two free seats at that table.

Personal pronouns use the nál- series rather than forms such as énnél.

Person	Form	Typical meaning
1st singular	nálam	at my place; with me; than me
2nd singular	nálad	at your place; with you; than you
3rd singular	nála	at his/her place; with him/her; than him/her
1st plural	nálunk	at our place; with us; than us
2nd plural	nálatok	at your place; with you; than you
3rd plural	náluk	at their place; with them; than them

Ma este nálunk vacsorázik az egész család.

The whole family is having dinner at our place tonight.

Nálad van még a töltőm?

Do you still have my charger?

Interrogative forms include kinél? “at whose place/with whom?” and minél? “by what?/than what?”. Indefinites include valakinél, valaminél, senkinél.

The major formal functions

The suffix has one form across several connected functions:

Function	Pattern	Interpretation
physical proximity	a hídnál vár	waits at the bridge
person/service	az orvosnál van	is at the doctor's
temporary possession	nálam van	is with me / I have it
employer/affiliation	egy cégnél dolgozik	works for/at a company
comparison standard	nálam gyorsabb	faster than me

A nővérem egy nemzetközi cégnél dolgozik.

My older sister works for an international company.

Márk nálam jóval magasabb.

Márk is much taller than me.

These are not five arbitrary translations. A person, organization, possessor, or comparison standard functions as a reference point relative to which something is located or evaluated. The detailed extensions belong on the adessive usage page.

Direction triples and lexical choices

The proximity triple is Péternél “at Péter's,” Péterhez “to Péter's,” Pétertől “from Péter's.” Physical interiors and surfaces use other triples. Compare bankban “inside the bank” with banknál “at/by the bank” or “employed by the bank.” English “at” cannot decide between them.

Common locations are lexical: orvosnál “at the doctor's,” but kórházban “in hospital” and egyetemen “at university.” Adessive does not simply mean “institution.” The selected spatial frame and intended relation matter.

💡

Store frequent reference points as a triple and a usage frame: orvosnál–orvoshoz–orvostól for a professional service, but kórházban–kórházba–kórházból for the institution as an interior.

Segmentation exercise

barátainknál = barát + ai + nk + nál: friend + possessed plural + our + at.
irodáitoknál = iroda + i + tok + nál: office + possessed plural + your(plural) + at; final a lengthens.
ismerőseinél = ismerős + ei + nél: at his/her acquaintances.
ennél = ez + nél, with complete z → n assimilation.
nálatok = adessive pronominal base + second-person plural ending.

The plus signs are analytical only; standard spelling joins the segments.

Common Mistakes

❌ A bejáratnél várunk.

Incorrect — the final component járat is back-harmony, so the compound takes -nál.

✅ A bejáratnál várunk.

We're waiting at the entrance.

❌ Most Annánél van a jegy.

Incorrect — Anna is a back-vowel name and requires -nál.

✅ Most Annánál van a jegy.

Anna has the ticket now.

❌ Énnél maradt az esernyőd.

Incorrect — personal adessive uses the nál- series.

✅ Nálam maradt az esernyőd.

You left your umbrella with me.

❌ Ez a kapunál találkozunk.

Incorrect — the demonstrative must agree in case with the noun.

✅ Ennél a kapunál találkozunk.

We'll meet at this gate.

Key Takeaways

Back-harmony stems take -nál; front-harmony stems take -nél, both with long vowels.
Final a/e lengthens, and adessive follows plural and possession.
Demonstratives agree in ennél a… / annál az…; pronouns use nálam, nálad, nála and their plural forms.
Proximity extends to a person's place, temporary possession, employers, and comparison standards.
Adessive is the static member of the proximity triple, not a general translation of English “at” or “with.”

Now practice Hungarian

Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.

Start learning Hungarian →