The elative -ból/-ből marks movement or origin from inside a boundary: házból “out of the house,” kertből “out of the garden.” It completes the interior direction triple házban “in the house,” házba “into the house,” házból “out of the house.” Material, causal, partitive, and evidential uses extend the same source image, but the formal suffix remains unchanged.
The two harmonic forms
Use -ból after a back-vowel stem and -ből after a front-vowel stem. Rounded front vowels ö, ő, ü, ű take -ből; this suffix does not have a separate rounded-front allomorph. The vowels ó and ő in the suffix are always long in standard spelling and pronunciation.
| Harmony class | Base | Elative | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| back | ház | házból | out of the house |
| back | doboz | dobozból | out of the box |
| front unrounded | kert | kertből | out of the garden |
| front unrounded | szekrény | szekrényből | out of the wardrobe |
| front rounded | föld | földből | out of the ground |
| front rounded | hűtő | hűtőből | out of the refrigerator |
Kivettem a sajtot a hűtőből.
I took the cheese out of the refrigerator.
A gyerekek kiszaladtak a kertből.
The children ran out of the garden.
Füst szivárgott a motorból.
Smoke was leaking from the engine.
Words containing only neutral vowels e, é, i, í require attention. Many select front -ből, as in vízből, szélből, képből, while a lexical group selects back -ból, as in hídból, sírból, célból. This is the same harmony class the word shows with other alternating suffixes.
Final vowels and stem selection
Final short a and e lengthen before the elative: szoba → szobából, táska → táskából, pince → pincéből, mese → meséből. Other final vowels remain: autóból, kávéból, fésűből.
A pincéből hoztam fel két üveg lekvárt.
I brought up two jars of jam from the cellar.
Ez a jelenet kimaradt a meséből.
This scene was left out of the story.
Stem alternations are suffix-sensitive. Bokor has plural bokrok, but bokorból retains the second vowel. Tér gives térből, and kéz gives kézből. Do not take a shortened plural stem and automatically attach the case to it.
Position after number and possession
Elative is an outer case suffix. It follows ordinary plural and the complete possessed form.
| Structure | Form | Segmentation |
|---|---|---|
| singular | házból | ház-ból |
| ordinary plural | házakból | ház-ak-ból |
| singular possessed | házamból | ház-am-ból |
| possessed plural | házaimból | ház-ai-m-ból |
| possessed plural | könyveinkből | könyv-ei-nk-ből |
A régi fényképeket a nagyszüleim albumaiból válogattam.
I selected the old photographs from my grandparents' albums.
Töröltem néhány fölösleges fájlt a mappáimból.
I deleted a few unnecessary files from my folders.
English uses a separate preposition before “my folders.” Hungarian builds the possessed noun first and adds source marking at the end: mappa + i + m + ból. No other case follows the elative in an ordinary noun form.
Demonstratives and personal forms
With ez “this” and az “that,” both the demonstrative and noun bear elative: ebből a dobozból, abból az épületből. The final z assimilates completely to b, producing bb.
Ebből a palackból ne igyál!
Don't drink from this bottle!
Abból az üzletből rendeltük a lámpát.
We ordered the lamp from that shop.
Personal pronouns use a special belől- series.
| Person | Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1st singular | belőlem | out of/from me |
| 2nd singular | belőled | out of/from you |
| 3rd singular | belőle | out of/from him/her/it |
| 1st plural | belőlünk | out of/from us |
| 2nd plural | belőletek | out of/from you |
| 3rd plural | belőlük | out of/from them |
These forms can be literal in a suitable context, but abstract readings are common: elegem van belőle “I've had enough of it,” nem néztem volna ki belőle “I wouldn't have thought it of him/her.” Interrogative and indefinite forms include miből? “out of/from what?”, amiből, valamiből, and semmiből.
Miből készült ez a könnyű táska?
What is this lightweight bag made of?
One source schema, several extensions
The form is identical across a network of meanings. A physical interior supplies the prototype; other uses identify what something originates in, is made from, is selected from, or is inferred from.
| Source relation | Hungarian pattern | Core interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| outward movement | kilép a liftből | leave an interior |
| material | fából készül | be made from wood |
| cause or basis | kíváncsiságból kérdez | ask out of curiosity |
| partitive source | kér a süteményből | take some from a whole |
| evidence | a hangjából tudja | know from the voice |
A polc újrahasznosított fából készült.
The shelf was made from recycled wood.
Csak kíváncsiságból kérdeztem rá.
I asked about it only out of curiosity.
Kérek egy keveset a salátából.
I'd like a little of the salad.
A hangjából rögtön tudtam, hogy kimerült.
I knew immediately from his/her voice that he/she was exhausted.
These meanings are developed on the elative usage page. They remain source relations, but lexical convention determines which nouns and verbs permit them.
Elative is not every English “from”
Hungarian distinguishes source relationships. Elative is “out of” an interior; delative -ról/-ről is “off/from” a surface or event; ablative -tól/-től is “away/from” a person or point. English often translates all three as “from.”
A kollégám a tárgyalóból jön, én pedig a könyvelőtől.
My colleague is coming from the meeting room, while I'm coming from the accountant's.
Material and evidence uses are likewise Hungarian constructions, not automatic matches for English “of” or “by.” Learn valamiből készül and valamiből következtet as patterns.
Segmentation exercise
Analyze from right to left; the final segment is elative.
- szobáinkból = szoba + i + nk + ból: room + possessed plural + our + out of; final a lengthens.
- dobozaitokból = doboz + ai + tok + ból: box + possessed plural + your(plural) + out of.
- kertjeikből = kert + jei + k + ből: garden + possessed plural + their + out of.
- ebből = ez + ből, with complete z → b assimilation.
- belőlünk = elative pronominal base + first-person plural ending.
Common Mistakes
❌ Kiöntöttem a vizet a palackből.
Incorrect — the back-vowel noun palack requires -ból.
✅ Kiöntöttem a vizet a palackból.
I poured the water out of the bottle.
❌ A vendégek kijöttek a szobaból.
Incorrect — final a lengthens before the suffix.
✅ A vendégek kijöttek a szobából.
The guests came out of the room.
❌ Ebből a könyv tanultam a legtöbbet.
Incorrect — the demonstrative and noun must both carry elative.
✅ Ebből a könyvből tanultam a legtöbbet.
I learned the most from this book.
❌ Ezt a hírt a szomszédomból hallottam.
Incorrect — a person as information source normally takes ablative -tól/-től.
✅ Ezt a hírt a szomszédomtól hallottam.
I heard this news from my neighbor.
Key Takeaways
- Back-harmony stems take -ból; front-harmony stems take -ből, always with long ó/ő.
- Final a/e lengthens, and the suffix follows plural and possession.
- Demonstratives agree in forms such as ebből a házból; pronouns use the belől- series.
- Physical, material, causal, partitive, and evidential uses form a connected source network.
- Elative is the outward member of the interior triple, not a universal translation of English “from.”
Now practice Hungarian
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Hungarian →Related Topics
- The Elative -ból/-ből: Meanings and UsageA2 — Use Hungarian elative -ból/-ből across outward motion, origin, material, causal basis, partitive selection, and evidential source.
- 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 Inessive -ban/-ben: Forms and Core PatternA1 — Form the Hungarian inessive with -ban/-ben on nouns, plurals, possessed forms, demonstratives, and pronouns.
- The Illative -ba/-be: Forms and Core PatternA1 — Form Hungarian illative -ba/-be for movement into interiors, institutions, and states, with correct harmony, stem shape, and suffix order.
- The Three Spatial Case Triples: Forms and Core PatternA1 — Build and recognize Hungarian's nine core spatial case forms by combining direction with an interior, surface, or proximity relationship.
- Back and Front Vowel Harmony: Forms and Core PatternA1 — Choose the back or front form of common Hungarian suffixes by recognizing a stem's vowel class and the main neutral-vowel exceptions.