Terminative -ig turns a place, time, amount, or point on a scale into an outer boundary. What varies is not the suffix but the event around it: an activity may continue until the boundary, a completed action may be due by it, and a path may reach it without entering. Organizing these uses around limits is more reliable than translating English “to,” “until,” “by,” “for,” or “up to”; see terminative forms for attachment and stem details.
A spatial path ending at a landmark
Spatial terminative marks the furthest point reached by movement or physical extent. It does not say that the figure enters the place, stops beside it, or touches its surface.
A turisták a kilátóig gyalogoltak, onnan busszal mentek tovább.
The tourists walked as far as the lookout tower and continued from there by bus.
A sor egészen az utcáig ért.
The line stretched all the way to the street.
A sár a bokámig ért.
The mud came up to my ankle.
Compare a folyóig sétáltunk “we walked as far as the river,” a folyóhoz sétáltunk “we walked up to/toward the river,” and a folyóba sétáltunk “we walked into the river.” Terminative foregrounds the limit of the path; allative the approached landmark; illative the crossed boundary.
Csak a folyóig sétáltunk, mert későre járt.
We walked only as far as the river because it was getting late.
A state or activity continuing until a time
With an ongoing situation, -ig marks the time at which it ceases or its stated interval ends: hatig dolgozik, vasárnapig marad, tavaszig zárva van.
A könyvtár ma este nyolcig tart nyitva.
The library stays open until eight tonight.
A vendégeink jövő keddig maradnak Budapesten.
Our guests are staying in Budapest until next Tuesday.
A hegyi út tavaszig zárva marad.
The mountain road will remain closed until spring.
English “until” resembles these examples, but Hungarian also uses -ig where English chooses “for.” Két óráig beszélgettünk sets two hours as the duration boundary.
Majdnem két óráig beszélgettünk a kávézóban.
We talked in the café for almost two hours.
A deadline: by a time
With a goal-directed, completed action, the same endpoint becomes the latest permitted completion time. English normally uses “by,” while Hungarian still uses -ig.
Kérlek, csütörtökig küldd el a végleges változatot!
Please send the final version by Thursday!
A szerelő azt ígérte, hogy délig befejezi a javítást.
The repairman promised to finish the repair by noon.
A jelentkezőknek szeptember 15-éig kell feltölteniük az igazolásokat.
Applicants must upload the certificates by September 15. (formal)
The difference between “until Thursday” and “by Thursday” comes from the predicate. Csütörtökig marad is a continuing state; csütörtökig elküldi is a completed task whose deadline is Thursday. Hungarian does not need a different case.
Is the endpoint included?
Terminative includes the endpoint as the boundary of the stated interval, but real-world granularity affects interpretation. Hétfőtől péntekig dolgozom ordinarily includes Friday as a working day. A bolt hatig van nyitva includes the time leading up to six and conventionally means that closing occurs at six, not after a whole additional hour.
A rendelő hétfőtől péntekig fogad betegeket.
The clinic sees patients from Monday through Friday.
A belépőjegy vasárnapig érvényes, vasárnap még felhasználható.
The admission ticket is valid through Sunday and can still be used on Sunday.
A pénztár fél hatig van nyitva, utána már nem lehet jegyet venni.
The ticket office is open until half past five; after that, tickets can no longer be bought.
Deadlines may require a convention about the exact final hour. Péntekig includes Friday in ordinary usage, but a legal or administrative text should state pénteken 16 óráig if 4 p.m. is the precise cut-off. The suffix supplies the boundary; context supplies its resolution.
Ranges in time and space
The paired frame -tól/-től … -ig marks a starting boundary and an ending boundary. It works with dates, clock times, locations, alphabetical ranges, and abstract sequences.
Az iroda kilenctől fél ötig fogad ügyfeleket.
The office receives clients from nine until half past four.
A felújítás a bejárattól a lépcsőházig minden helyiséget érint.
The renovation affects every area from the entrance to the stairwell.
A kézikönyv A-tól Z-ig bemutatja a teljes folyamatot.
The manual explains the entire process from A to Z.
The start and end do not need parallel English prepositions because Hungarian morphology supplies the range. In abbreviated schedules, shared nouns may be omitted when recoverable, but each overt boundary keeps its case.
Duration versus completion time
Két óráig dolgoztam says the work continued for two hours. Két óra alatt befejeztem says it was completed within two hours. Két órára béreltem ki means it was rented for a planned two-hour period. English can use “for two hours” in the first and third, so event structure matters.
Három óráig javítottuk a kerékpárt.
We worked on repairing the bicycle for three hours.
Három óra alatt megjavítottuk a kerékpárt.
We repaired the bicycle in three hours.
Három órára béreltünk kerékpárt.
We rented a bicycle for three hours.
Terminative measures actual continuation up to a duration limit. Alatt packages the span within which completion occurs. Sublative -ra/-re can assign or plan a duration. These are semantic constructions, not interchangeable translations.
Quantities and scalar limits
A number or measure in -ig sets a ceiling: százig számol, harminc százalékig emelkedik, tíz főig, derékig ér. Modifiers such as legfeljebb “at most” or akár “up to/as many as” make the ceiling explicit.
A kedvezmény mértéke húsz százalékig terjedhet.
The discount may be as high as twenty percent.
A hó helyenként derékig ért.
In places, the snow reached waist height.
A szolgáltatás tíz felhasználóig ingyenes, nagyobb csapatoknak fizetniük kell.
The service is free for up to ten users; larger teams must pay.
Scalar extension reaches abstract limits: bizonyos fokig “to a certain extent,” a végsőkig “to the utmost/to the bitter end,” eddig jutottunk “this is how far we got.”
Bizonyos fokig egyetértek veled, de a következtetésed túl erős.
I agree with you to some extent, but your conclusion is too strong.
Lexicalized and discourse uses
Eddig can be spatial “up to here,” temporal “until now,” or discourse-organizing “so far.” Addig can point to a place or time and participates in addig…, amíg… “until/as long as…”. The shared limit meaning connects them.
Eddig minden a terv szerint haladt.
So far, everything has gone according to plan.
Addig maradok, amíg szükség van rám.
I'll stay as long as I'm needed.
These are highly frequent idiomatic forms. Translating eddig as the same English expression in every context is no more reliable than treating -ig as a single preposition.
A short everyday dialogue
This exchange is (informal).
– Meddig maradsz ma? – Hatig, de a pályaudvarig elkísérlek.
– How long are you staying today? – Until six, but I'll walk you as far as the station.
– Szuper. Addig még befejezem ezt az e-mailt.
– Great. I'll finish this email by then.
The first reply contains a temporal limit and a spatial limit. In the second, addig becomes a deadline because befejezem describes completion.
Formal and informal packaging
Terminative itself is register-neutral. Casual plans use short deictic forms; public notices specify exact calendar and clock boundaries.
Maradj nálunk vasárnapig, ha ráérsz!
Stay at our place until Sunday if you have time! (informal)
A pályázatokat október 31-én 16 óráig lehet benyújtani.
Applications may be submitted until 4 p.m. on October 31. (formal)
The formal example removes ambiguity by naming both date and time. The case form remains ordinary -ig.
Common Mistakes
❌ Péntekre maradunk a szállodában.
Incorrect for continuous stay through Friday — -ra/-re can assign a time but does not mark the continuing endpoint here.
✅ Péntekig maradunk a szállodában.
We're staying at the hotel until Friday.
❌ Két órában vártam a szerelőt.
Incorrect for actual duration — inessive does not mark how long the waiting continued.
✅ Két óráig vártam a szerelőt.
I waited for the repairman for two hours.
❌ A hídra futottam, de nem mentem rá.
Incorrect for ‘as far as the bridge’ — sublative says motion onto the bridge and contradicts the second clause.
✅ A hídig futottam, de nem mentem rá.
I ran as far as the bridge but did not go onto it.
❌ Az igazolást június 30. kell feltölteni.
Incorrect — a deadline needs terminative marking on the written date.
✅ Az igazolást június 30-áig kell feltölteni.
The certificate must be uploaded by June 30.
Key Takeaways
- Terminative marks an outer boundary in space, time, duration, quantity, or degree.
- Ongoing predicates yield “until/for” readings; completed predicates yield deadline “by” readings.
- Named day endpoints are ordinarily inclusive, while an exact clock time is the stopping boundary.
- -tól/-től … -ig marks ranges; eddig/addig/meddig extend the same limit schema.
- Duration -ig, completion alatt, and planned duration -ra/-re are different constructions.
- English prepositions do not select the suffix; the semantic limit does.
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