A small, high-frequency set of Hungarian words has a short bound stem containing v beside a free form ending in a long vowel: ló–lov-, kő–köv-, szó–szav-. Other nouns shorten a long vowel without adding v, as in kéz–kez- and út–ut-. These alternations are lexical rather than freely productive, and different suffixes may select different allomorphs. The companion usage page shows these stems in discourse, while the contrast page separates their overlapping paradigms.
The core v-stem paradigm
| Function | ló “horse” | kő “stone” | szó “word” |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dictionary form | ló | kő | szó |
| Accusative | lovat | követ | szót |
| Plural | lovak | kövek | szavak |
| First-person possessive | lovam | kövem | szavam |
| Superessive | lovon | kövön | szón |
| Dative | lónak | kőnek | szónak |
The table shows why “insert v before any suffix” is false. Ló uses lov- in lovat, lovak, lovam, lovon, but full ló- in lónak, lóhoz, lótól, lóval. Szó is less uniform: ordinary accusative szót and superessive szón retain the long-vowel stem, while plural szavak and possessive szavam use szav-.
A ló nyugodtan áll az istálló előtt.
The horse is standing calmly in front of the stable.
Reggel megetettem a lovat.
I fed the horse in the morning.
A lovak már kint vannak a réten.
The horses are already out in the meadow.
Ezt a követ a folyóparton találtam.
I found this stone on the riverbank.
Nem értem ezt a szót.
I don't understand this word.
Írd le az új szavakat a füzetedbe!
Write the new words in your notebook.
What changes inside the stem
The v appears together with a shorter vowel. Ló → lov- changes ó to o; kő → köv- changes ő to ö. Szó → szav- changes both length and vowel quality, ó → a. Related forms include tó–tav- “lake,” hó–hav- “snow,” lé–lev- “juice,” and fű–füv- “grass.”
Nyáron sokat úszunk a tóban.
We swim in the lake a lot in summer.
A tóparton még látszanak az árvíz nyomai.
The traces of the flood are still visible on the lakeshore.
The compound tóparton keeps the full long-vowel form tó-, whereas plural tavak uses tav-. Compounds and derived lexical families may preserve one alternant independently of the inflectional pattern; learn established words as wholes.
Harmony is based on the lexical word class, not on the most recently inserted letter. Lovak and szavak are back; kövek and füvek are front. Within front forms, rounding also matters: kövön has ö, while levet has unrounded e.
Harmat csillog a füvön.
Dew is glistening on the grass.
Kérsz még egy kis narancslevet?
Would you like some more orange juice?
Many consonant-initial case endings select the free long-vowel form: lóhoz, lótól, lónak; kőhöz, kőtől, kőnek; szóhoz, szótól, szónak. Instrumental -val/-vel likewise gives lóval, kővel, szóval because the stem ends in a vowel, so the suffixal v does not assimilate to a final consonant. This contrast is useful in conversation: a lóhoz megyek “I am going to the horse,” but a lovat etetem “I am feeding the horse.” The semantic case first selects a suffixal environment; that environment then selects a stored stem shape. There is no separate meaning carried by the inserted v.
Lassan menj a lóhoz, nehogy megijedjen!
Approach the horse slowly so it doesn't get frightened.
Shortening stems without v
Another lexical class shortens a long stem vowel before several common endings but adds no v. Frequent examples include kéz–kez-, víz–viz-, nyár–nyar-, út–ut-, madár–madar-, and kenyér–kenyer-.
| Dictionary form | Accusative | Plural | First-person possessive | Full-stem case |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| kéz | kezet | kezek | kezem | kézben |
| víz | vizet | vizek | vizem | vízben |
| út | utat | utak | utam | úton |
| kenyér | kenyeret | kenyerek | kenyerem | kenyérben |
Megmostam a kezem, mielőtt főzni kezdtem.
I washed my hands before I started cooking.
Elfogyott a vizem a hosszú úton.
I ran out of water on the long journey.
Notice the two stems in the last sentence: vizem has short i, while úton retains long ú. Suffix distribution is part of the paradigm. A broad command such as “shorten before a suffix” would produce the wrong uton.
Principal parts and exceptions
For these words, the nominative alone is insufficient. Learn at least the nominative, accusative, plural, and a possessive form:
- ló – lovat – lovak – lova;
- kő – követ – kövek – köve;
- szó – szót – szavak – szava;
- kéz – kezet – kezek – keze;
- út – utat – utak – útja.
The last line illustrates why principal parts must come from reliable usage rather than a homemade analogy: possession can introduce -j- and word-specific patterns beyond vowel shortening. At B1, learn the form needed in a real phrase, such as az utam “my journey/way” or az útja “his/her route.”
Szók exists beside the more frequent szavak. It is especially visible inside linguistic terms such as névszók and mondatszók (academic/technical), and it can occur in a few other expressions; szavak is the safest neutral choice for ordinary countable “words.” There is no general permission to choose the regular-looking form whenever the v-stem feels inconvenient.
Ezek a szavak gyakran előfordulnak a hétköznapi beszédben.
These words occur frequently in everyday speech.
Segmentation exercise
Identify the free stem, bound allomorph, linking vowel, and ending.
- lovat = lov- + a + t: v-stem with short o, back lowering linker, and accusative -t.
- kövek = köv- + e + k: v-stem with short ö, front unrounded linker, and plural -k.
- szavam = szav- + a + m: irregular v-stem with a, back lowering linker, and first-person possessive -m.
- szót = szó- + t: full stem plus accusative -t, with no linking vowel or v-allomorph.
- kezet = kez- + e + t: vowel shortening without v, followed by a front linker and accusative -t.
- úton = út- + o + n: full long-vowel stem followed by the back superessive boundary in this word.
Common Mistakes
❌ A gazda délután megetette a lót.
Incorrect in neutral standard Hungarian: ló uses lov- in the accusative.
✅ A gazda délután megetette a lovat.
The farmer fed the horse in the afternoon.
❌ A kők csúszósak az esőtől.
Incorrect: the plural uses bound stem köv- plus -ek.
✅ A kövek csúszósak az esőtől.
The stones are slippery from the rain.
❌ Nem ismerem ezeket a szóvakat.
Incorrect: the bound stem is szav-, with ó changing to a; it is not szóv-.
✅ Nem ismerem ezeket a szavakat.
I don't know these words.
❌ Hideg vízet kérek.
Incorrect: víz uses shortened viz- in the accusative.
✅ Hideg vizet kérek.
I'd like cold water.
❌ Ezen az uton gyorsabb lesz.
Incorrect: the superessive form úton retains long ú.
✅ Ezen az úton gyorsabb lesz.
It will be faster by this route.
Key Takeaways
- Learn ló–lov-, kő–köv-, and szó–szav- as lexical families whose suffix distributions overlap but are not identical.
- Some frequent nouns shorten a vowel without adding v, as in kéz–kezet and út–utat.
- Retrieve the correct stem allomorph before choosing a linking vowel or harmonic suffix.
- Memorize nominative, accusative, plural, and possessive principal parts for alternating stems.
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
- v-Stems and Other Stem Allomorphy: Meanings and UsageB1 — Use Hungarian v-stems and shortened noun stems naturally across plural, object, possessive, spatial, and derived forms.
- v-Stems and Other Stem Allomorphy: Contrasts and Learner TrapsB2 — Distinguish Hungarian v-stems from regular vowel-final nouns, shortened stems, and competing suffix patterns.
- Vowel-Dropping and Vowel-Lengthening Stems: Forms and Core PatternB1 — Build Hungarian forms from vowel-dropping stems such as bokor–bokrot and lengthen final a or e before suffixes.
- Linking Vowels: Forms and Core PatternA2 — Learn how Hungarian a, e, o, and ö appear before plural, accusative, possessive, and verbal endings.
- 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.