Delative -ról/-ről is a source case, but only within the surface family; it is also the conventional topic case of many predicates and the complement of several removal and renunciation verbs. English “from,” “off,” and “about” each divide among several Hungarian constructions. Refer to delative meanings and usage for the full network; this page diagnoses the boundaries where more than one Hungarian form initially seems plausible.
Source, location, and destination in the surface family
The basic contrast is directional. Superessive marks location on a surface, sublative marks a target onto it, and delative marks a source away from it.
A kabát a széken van.
The coat is on the chair.
Rátettem a kabátot a székre.
I put the coat on the chair.
Levettem a kabátot a székről.
I took the coat off the chair.
The directional verb prefix can support the interpretation—rá- toward, le- off/down—but it does not replace case. A delative phrase identifies where the path begins.
A labda a padról az útra gurult.
The ball rolled from the bench onto the road.
Here padról is the surface source and útra the surface target. Using padon would locate the rolling on the bench rather than make the bench its starting point.
Delative, elative, or ablative source?
Hungarian has three major local source cases. Delative -ról/-ről marks movement from a surface-family setting; elative -ból/-ből marks movement out of an interior; ablative -tól/-től marks movement away from a person or proximity point.
A könyvet a polcról vettem le.
I took the book down from the shelf.
A könyvet a fiókból vettem ki.
I took the book out of the drawer.
A könyvet Pétertől vettem el.
I took the book from Péter.
The removal verbs levesz, kivesz, and elvesz align naturally with the three source frames: off, out of, and away/from a possessor. English may use “from” in all three.
Conventional place families behave the same way.
| Surface source | Interior source | Person/proximity source |
|---|---|---|
| Budapestről — from Budapest | Berlinből — from Berlin | Pétertől — from Péter |
| egyetemről — from university | iskolából — from school | orvostól — from the doctor |
| koncertről — from a concert | moziból — from the cinema | barátomtól — from my friend |
Budapestről Berlinbe utaztunk, majd onnan Péterhez mentünk.
We traveled from Budapest to Berlin, then went from there to Péter's place.
Az egyetemről egyenesen az orvoshoz mentem.
I went straight from the university to the doctor.
There is no one rule based on physical size or nationality. A noun's conventional location form predicts the family: Budapesten → Budapestről, Berlinben → Berlinből, Péternél → Pétertől.
Topic versus information source
Delative commonly marks the person or thing discussed. Ablative can mark the person from whom information comes, while elative can mark a text or resource from which knowledge is extracted.
Péterről hallottam egy érdekes történetet.
I heard an interesting story about Péter.
Pétertől hallottam egy érdekes történetet.
I heard an interesting story from Péter.
A szemináriumon egy új kutatásról tanultunk.
At the seminar we learned about a new study.
Ebből a könyvből tanultam meg főzni.
I learned to cook from this book.
The difference is not emphasis. Péterről makes Péter the content; Pétertől makes him the source. A könyvről is the subject studied; a könyvből is source material.
The verb tud also permits distinct frames. Tudok a változásról means “I know about the change.” Pétertől tudom means “I know it from Péter.”
A változásról tudok, de a részleteket Annától hallottam.
I know about the change, but I heard the details from Anna.
Topic delative versus other “about” complements
English “about” covers several Hungarian case frames. Beszél, ír, mesél, hall, and content szól commonly select delative. Gondol and válaszol select sublative; gondolkodik selects superessive; a domain expression may use inessive.
| Hungarian pattern | Core use | Example meaning |
|---|---|---|
| beszél valamiről | topic | talk about something |
| gondol valamire | directed thought | think about/of something |
| gondolkodik valamin | mental consideration | think something over |
| dönt valamiben / valamiről | domain or matter decided | decide in/on a matter |
A javaslatról beszéltünk.
We talked about the proposal.
Egész nap a javaslatra gondoltam.
I thought about the proposal all day.
Sokat gondolkodtam a javaslaton.
I gave the proposal a lot of thought.
A bizottság holnap dönt a javaslatról.
The committee will decide on the proposal tomorrow.
The differences reflect lexical government and construal, not word-for-word preposition choice. Some predicates allow more than one case with a meaning shift. With dönt, valamiről dönt commonly means make a decision about/on a proposal or question; valamiben dönt frames a case or matter within which a decision is issued. Learn each pattern from natural examples.
Physical “off” versus abstract “about”
The same noun can be delative for either physical source or topic. The verb and real-world scene disambiguate.
Levették a régi borítót a könyvről.
They removed the old cover from the book.
Kritikát írtak a könyvről.
They wrote a review of the book.
Letöröltem a port a képernyőről.
I wiped the dust off the screen.
A tervező a képernyőről beszélt.
The designer spoke about the screen.
This is not ambiguity in the suffix's form; it is ordinary polysemy within a source-to-topic network. A topic is metaphorically the point from which discourse proceeds.
Renouncing something versus canceling it
Hungarian lemond has two common complement patterns. Intransitive lemond valamiről means relinquish, waive, or give up the prospect of something. Transitive lemond valamit means cancel something scheduled, such as a trip, meeting, or subscription arrangement in the relevant context.
Lemondtunk a kirándulásról.
We gave up the idea of going on the hike.
Lemondtuk a kirándulást.
We canceled the hike.
A versenyző lemondott az indulás jogáról.
The competitor relinquished the right to start.
A szervezők lemondták a délutáni programot.
The organizers canceled the afternoon program.
The events may have the same practical result, but the grammar profiles them differently: withdrawal from a possibility versus direct cancellation of an event. Formal legal and administrative language often uses lemond valamiről with rights and claims.
Other lexical pairs behave similarly in meaning without sharing the same verb. Megfeledkezik valamiről “forget about something” selects delative; elfelejt valamit “forget something” selects accusative.
Megfeledkeztem a találkozóról.
I forgot about the meeting.
Elfelejtettem a találkozót.
I forgot that I had a meeting.
English often translates both Hungarian perspectives with “forget about,” but the second can naturally mean that the appointment slipped one's mind entirely. Hungarian makes the complement contrast explicit.
Information structure and register
Topic delatives can themselves be topical or contrastively focused. Neutral Beszéltünk az új tervről reports the topic. AZ ÚJ TERVRŐL beszéltünk, nem a régiről corrects which plan was discussed. The suffix does not change or detach.
Tegnap beszéltünk az új tervről.
Yesterday we talked about the new plan.
AZ ÚJ TERVRŐL beszéltünk, nem a régiről.
It was the new plan we talked about, not the old one.
Delative is register-neutral. (informal) speech favors pronouns and short prompts such as Mesélj róla! (formal) writing uses dense nouns with selected predicates: lemond a jogorvoslatról, határoz a kérelemről.
Mesélj róla részletesebben!
Tell me about it in more detail! (informal)
A kérelmező lemondott a fellebbezésről.
The applicant waived the right to appeal. (formal)
Decision tree
- Is the relation physical source? Choose the noun's family: surface -ról/-ről, interior -ból/-ből, person/proximity -tól/-től.
- Is the noun the content discussed or the source of information? Content favors delative; personal source favors ablative; source material favors elative.
- Does a verb govern the complement? Store beszél valamiről, gondol valamire, gondolkodik valamin separately.
- Is something being removed? Identify whether it comes off a surface, out of a container, or away from a person.
- Does lemond mean “give up” or “cancel”? Give up takes delative; direct cancellation takes accusative.
- Is the phrase moved for contrast? Keep demonstrative agreement and the case suffix unchanged.
Diagnostic exercise
Choose the form that matches the stated meaning.
- “I heard it from Júlia”: Júliáról / Júliától / Júliából
- “I heard about Júlia”: Júliáról / Júliától / Júliára
- “We came home from the cinema”: moziról / moziból / mozitól
- “We talked about the email”: e-mailről / e-mailre / e-mailben
- “They canceled the meeting”: lemondtak a megbeszélésről / lemondták a megbeszélést
Answers: (1) Júliától, because Júlia supplied the information. (2) Júliáról, because Júlia is its topic. (3) moziból, because mozi belongs to the interior family. (4) e-mailről, selected by beszél for a topic. (5) lemondták a megbeszélést, the transitive cancellation construction; lemondtak a megbeszélésről instead profiles abandoning participation or the plan.
Common Mistakes
❌ A tányért a szekrényről vettem ki.
Incorrect — the plate comes out of an interior, not off a surface.
✅ A tányért a szekrényből vettem ki.
I took the plate out of the cupboard.
❌ Ezt a hírt Annáról hallottam.
Wrong meaning if Anna told you the news — delative makes her the topic.
✅ Ezt a hírt Annától hallottam.
I heard this news from Anna.
❌ Sokáig gondolkodtam erről a döntésről.
Incorrect in the intended 'thought it over' construction — gondolkodik selects superessive.
✅ Sokáig gondolkodtam ezen a döntésen.
I thought this decision over for a long time.
❌ A film Berlinről készült.
Wrong meaning if Berlin is the place where filming occurred — delative makes Berlin the subject matter.
✅ A film Berlinben készült.
The film was made in Berlin.
❌ A szervezők lemondtak a rendezvényről.
Wrong choice for direct cancellation — this means they gave up on or withdrew from the event.
✅ A szervezők lemondták a rendezvényt.
The organizers canceled the event.
Key Takeaways
- Delative is the surface source; elative is the interior source; ablative is the person/proximity source.
- Topic and information source are different roles: Péterről “about Péter” versus Pétertől “from Péter.”
- English “about” splits across lexically governed delative, sublative, superessive, and inessive constructions.
- Removal selects a source case according to surface, container, or person.
- Lemond valamiről means give up or waive; lemond valamit means cancel.
- Focus and register affect packaging, not case form or suffix order.
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Start learning Hungarian →Related Topics
- The Delative -ról/-ről: Forms and Core PatternA2 — Form Hungarian -ról/-ről on nouns, plurals, possessed forms, demonstratives, and pronouns for surface-source and related meanings.
- The Delative -ról/-ről: Meanings and UsageA2 — Use Hungarian -ról/-ről for movement off surfaces, surface-family sources, topics, removal, and renunciation.
- The Elative -ból/-ből: Contrasts and Learner TrapsB1 — Distinguish Hungarian elative sources from delative, ablative, accusative, and other source constructions through spatial and abstract diagnostics.
- The Ablative -tól/-től: Contrasts and Learner TrapsB1 — Distinguish Hungarian ablative sources from interior and surface sources, causal alternatives, agents, and comparative standards.
- The Sublative -ra/-re: Contrasts and Learner TrapsB1 — Distinguish Hungarian -ra/-re from static, interior, deadline, price, beneficiary, and verb-selected alternatives.