Some Hungarian suffixes have three forms rather than two. They distinguish a back stem, a front unrounded stem, and a front rounded stem: házhoz “to the house,” székhez “to the chair,” and földhöz “to the ground.” This is rounding harmony, a second layer that applies only after backness has placed the stem in the front series.
Rounding harmony is restricted: many suffixes have only a back and a front form, and some vowels inserted before suffixes depend partly on lexical stem class. This page sets out the formal architecture. The companion usage page develops it in context, and the contrasts page handles difficult decisions.
The three vowel classes
For three-way harmony, classify vowels as follows:
| Class | Vowels | Typical suffix vowel |
|---|---|---|
| back | a, á, o, ó, u, ú | o |
| front unrounded | e, é, i, í | e |
| front rounded | ö, ő, ü, ű | ö |
The labels describe articulation, not spelling marks. É and í are front unrounded despite their acute accents; ö, ő, ü, and ű are front rounded. Vowel length is independent: both short ö/ü and long ő/ű trigger the rounded front member where the suffix permits one.
Compact paradigm
Three common suffix families show the same three-way division:
| Function | Back | Front unrounded | Front rounded |
|---|---|---|---|
| allative “to/toward” | -hoz: asztalhoz | -hez: székhez | -höz: földhöz |
| superessive “on/at” | -on: asztalon | -en: széken | -ön: földön |
| multiplicative “times” | -szor: hatszor | -szer: kétszer | -ször: ötször |
Tedd a tányért az asztalra, a poharat pedig az asztalon hagyhatod.
Put the plate on the table; you can leave the glass on it.
A kabát a széken van, a cipő pedig a földön.
The coat is on the chair, and the shoes are on the floor.
Kétszer írtam az ügyfélszolgálatnak, de csak öt nap múlva válaszoltak.
I wrote to customer service twice, but they did not reply until five days later.
The form kétszer demonstrates front unrounded -szer. The back and rounded-front partners are háromszor and ötször.
The last relevant front vowel controls rounding
Within an ordinary front-harmonic stem, the last vowel generally controls the rounding of a three-way suffix. Compare füzethez with tükörhöz. Although füzet begins with rounded ü, its final e is unrounded, so the suffix is -hez. In tükör, final rounded ö selects -höz.
A füzethez adtak egy ceruzát, a tükörhöz pedig új keretet rendeltek.
They included a pencil with the notebook and ordered a new frame for the mirror.
A gyümölcsöt a hűtőben, a kenyeret a felső polcon tartjuk.
We keep the fruit in the refrigerator and the bread on the upper shelf.
The multigraphs remain intact: gyümölcs begins with gy, and hűtő contains long ű and ő. Do not let suffix selection distract from vowel length or consonant spelling.
Rounding is local across suffix chains
Once a suffix has been attached, its vowel can become the closest controller for the next three-way suffix. Compare főnökünkhöz “to our boss” with főnökséghez “to management.” In the first, the last vowel before -hoz/-hez/-höz is rounded ü, producing -höz. In the second, derivational -ség contributes unrounded é, producing -hez.
A panaszt a főnökünkhöz továbbították.
The complaint was forwarded to our boss.
Az új szabályzat már a főnökséghez is eljutott.
The new policy has already reached management as well.
This locality differs from front–back harmony, where neutral vowels may sometimes be transparent to an earlier vowel. For rounding there is no comparable “skip the last unrounded vowel” strategy in ordinary three-way suffixation.
Vowel-final stems and the superessive
After many vowel-final nouns, the superessive is simply -n: autón “on the car,” tetőn “on the roof,” menün “on the menu.” The stem vowel remains visible, but there is no inserted o/e/ö to display the three-way contrast.
Stems ending in short a or e lengthen that vowel before -n: utca → utcán, lecke → leckén. This is stem behavior, not a fourth superessive suffix.
A menün még a régi ár szerepel, de a számlán már az új összeg van.
The old price is still shown on the menu, but the bill already has the new amount.
Az utcán álló autó tetején vastag hóréteg maradt.
A thick layer of snow remained on top of the car parked in the street.
Restricted rounding: not every suffix has an ö-form
Two-way suffixes distinguish only back from front. Both front unrounded szék and front rounded föld take -ben: székben, földben. Forms such as földbön are impossible because the inessive family is only -ban/-ben. Similarly, the dative is -nak/-nek, giving főnöknek, not főnöknök.
A régi érmét a földben találták, majd a múzeum vezetőjének adták.
The old coin was found in the ground and then given to the museum director.
Rounding harmony is therefore a property of particular suffix families. Learn the full inventory of a suffix, not an invented universal transformation.
Linking vowels and lexical stem classes
Forms such as plurals contain a vowel between the stem and -k. They often resemble three-way harmony: asztalok, székek, őrök. Yet the linking vowel is also conditioned by the stem’s morphological class. Back stems may take -ak rather than -ok (házak), and some rounded front stems take -ek rather than -ök (földek, könyvek).
| Stem | Plural | What must be learned |
|---|---|---|
| asztal | asztalok | back, o-linking class |
| ház | házak | back, a-linking class |
| szék | székek | front unrounded |
| őr | őrök | front rounded, ö-linking class |
| föld | földek | front rounded, lexical e-linking class |
| könyv | könyvek | front rounded, lexical e-linking class |
Az őrök régi könyveket találtak a földön.
The guards found old books on the ground.
There is no clean phonological shortcut that predicts every linking-vowel class. Learn ház – házak and könyv – könyvek as pairs. Three-way allative könyvhöz remains regular even though the plural is könyvek.
Lexical back-harmony exceptions still come first
A stem with only neutral i/í/e/é can belong lexically to the back class. Híd therefore takes hídhoz and hídon, not hídhez or híden. Rounding cannot be decided until backness is settled.
A hídon álló turisták közelebb mentek a korláthoz.
The tourists standing on the bridge moved closer to the railing.
Segmentation exercise
Divide each form into stem and suffix, then identify the controller.
- asztal-hoz
- szék-hez
- föld-höz
- füzet-en
- főnök-ünk-höz
- utca-n → utcán
- könyv-ek
Answers:
- Asztal is back, so the allative is -hoz.
- Szék is front unrounded, so the allative is -hez.
- Föld is front rounded, so the allative is -höz.
- Final unrounded e selects superessive -en despite earlier ü.
- The closest vowel is rounded ü in -ünk, so the following allative is -höz.
- Vowel-final utca takes -n and lengthens final a to á.
- -e- is a linking vowel selected by the lexical plural class of könyv; it is not the expected local rounded vowel.
Common Mistakes
1. Ignoring rounding in a genuine three-way suffix.
❌ A repülő egyre közelebb kerül a földhez.
Incorrect — rounded ö selects -höz in the three-way allative family.
✅ A repülő egyre közelebb kerül a földhöz.
The plane is getting closer and closer to the ground.
2. Applying rounding to a two-way suffix.
❌ A kulcs a bőröndbön van.
Incorrect — the inessive has only -ban/-ben.
✅ A kulcs a bőröndben van.
The key is in the suitcase.
3. Looking at the first rounded vowel instead of the final vowel.
❌ Ceruzát adtak a füzethöz.
Incorrect — final unrounded e in füzet selects -hez.
✅ Ceruzát adtak a füzethez.
They included a pencil with the notebook.
4. Treating every rounded-front noun as an ö-plural.
❌ Az új könyvök az asztalon vannak.
Incorrect — könyv belongs to the plural class with linking e.
✅ Az új könyvek az asztalon vannak.
The new books are on the table.
Key Takeaways
- Three-way suffixes distinguish back, front unrounded, and front rounded stems: -hoz/-hez/-höz and -on/-en/-ön.
- Rounding is local and restricted to particular suffix families; two-way suffixes never acquire an invented rounded form.
- Linking vowels and lexical stem classes add another layer, so learn contrasts such as könyvhöz but könyvek.
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Start learning Hungarian →Related Topics
- 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.
- Three-Way Harmony and Rounding: Meanings and UsageA2 — How Hungarian uses three-way suffixes for targets, surfaces, settings, and frequency while limiting rounding to specific local environments.
- Three-Way Harmony and Rounding: Contrasts and Learner TrapsB1 — A decision guide distinguishing local rounding harmony from two-way suffixes, vowel-final attachment, and lexical linking-vowel classes.
- Linking Vowels: Forms and Core PatternA2 — Learn how Hungarian a, e, o, and ö appear before plural, accusative, possessive, and verbal endings.
- Neutral Vowels and Disharmonic Stems: Forms and Core PatternA2 — Learn why Hungarian e, é, i, and í usually select front suffixes but can be transparent or belong to lexical back-harmony stems.