Hungarian -ó/-ő forms let a speaker package “the person or thing that does X” before a noun: a telefonáló férfi “the man who is phoning,” a gyorsan növekvő cég “the rapidly growing company.” They are especially useful when one participant must be identified by an ongoing action, regular behavior, direction, or planned event.
The form is active: the head noun fills the base verb's subject role. It is not a general translation of English -ing. Review formation and irregular stems on the forms page; difficult choices between participles, relative clauses, and lexical adjectives belong to the contrasts page. Unless labeled otherwise, the uses below are neutral modern standard Hungarian.
Identifying someone by what they are doing
In a visible scene, a participle efficiently singles out a participant. The action is simultaneous with the relevant observation, even if the finite clause is past.
A sarokban telefonáló férfi a szálloda igazgatója.
The man talking on the phone in the corner is the hotel manager.
Megkérdeztem a pult mögött álló nőt, merre van a mosdó.
I asked the woman standing behind the counter where the restroom was.
A járdán várakozó emberek hirtelen az úttestre léptek.
The people waiting on the pavement suddenly stepped into the road.
In the third sentence, waiting was ongoing at a past reference point. The suffix itself has no past or present tense; the finite léptek and narrative context supply the time.
English can place a short participle after its noun—“the people waiting.” Hungarian normally places the entire modifier before the noun: a járdán várakozó emberek.
Describing habitual roles and regular behavior
The action need not be occurring at the moment of speech. An -ó/-ő phrase can describe what a person, institution, or device characteristically does.
Az éjszakai műszakban dolgozó ápolók reggel hétkor váltják egymást.
The nurses who work the night shift change over at seven in the morning.
A rendszeresen késő busz miatt sokan inkább kerékpárral járnak.
Because of the bus that is regularly late, many people prefer to cycle.
Energiát megtakarító programot vezettünk be az irodában.
We introduced an energy-saving program in the office.
The third example shows a nonhuman actor: the program performs the semantic role of bringing about savings. Such phrases are common in (formal) technical and administrative prose, where the relation must be compact.
Retaining the verb's arguments
The participle can keep the same object or case-governed complement as its finite verb. The modified noun supplies the missing subject.
A szerződést ellenőrző ügyvéd két hibát talált.
The lawyer checking the contract found two errors.
A döntésre váró családok további tájékoztatást kértek.
The families waiting for the decision requested further information.
Az ügyfelekkel tárgyaló kollégám délután visszahív.
My colleague who is negotiating with the clients will call back this afternoon.
a szerződést remains an accusative object, a döntésre retains the sublative required by vár, and az ügyfelekkel retains instrumental -val/-vel with tárgyal. The participle has no finite definite ending: not ellenőrzője merely because the object is definite.
Ongoing, habitual, and scheduled time
Context gives an -ó/-ő form its temporal reading. Three frequent interpretations are simultaneous activity, habitual behavior, and scheduled future.
Az éppen érkező vendégeket a recepción fogadják.
The guests who are arriving right now are being welcomed at reception.
A minden hétvégén hazautazó diák ritkán marad a kollégiumban.
The student who travels home every weekend rarely stays in the dormitory.
A holnap este induló gépet törölték.
The flight due to depart tomorrow evening has been cancelled.
For an event already completed before the reference point, use a past participle or finite relative clause. a tegnap érkezett levél is “the letter that arrived yesterday”; a tegnap érkező levél is normally inappropriate once yesterday's arrival is treated as complete. The word “present” in the grammatical label does not license free tense substitution.
Active head versus affected head
The head of an -ó/-ő modifier normally performs the action. a levelet író diák means the student writes the letter. If the head is affected, choose a passive/result participle, a different intransitive verb, or a relative clause.
A jelentést készítő elemző szabadságon van.
The analyst preparing the report is on leave.
A készülő jelentés jövő héten kerül a bizottság elé.
The report being prepared will go before the committee next week.
In the first sentence, the analyst is the actor of transitive készít “prepare.” In the second, the report is the subject of intransitive készül “be in preparation.” a készítő jelentés would mean “the report that prepares/makes something,” not “the report being prepared.”
Similarly, az ajtót nyitó ember is the person opening the door, while a nyíló ajtó is the door that opens.
Az automatikusan nyíló ajtó mellett van egy kézi kapcsoló is.
There is also a manual switch beside the door that opens automatically.
Lexical people and institutional roles
Many -ó/-ő forms have become ordinary nouns. Their meanings can be narrower than a live participial paraphrase.
| Form | Common lexical meaning | Possible live verbal reading |
|---|---|---|
| író | writer, author | person writing |
| kutató | researcher | person researching |
| vezető | manager, leader, driver | person leading/driving |
| hallgató | university student, listener | person listening |
| eladó | salesperson | person selling |
| jelentkező | applicant | person applying |
A jelentkezőket hétfőn e-mailben értesítjük.
We will notify the applicants by email on Monday.
Beszéltem a tanszék vezetőjével a vizsga időpontjáról.
I spoke with the head of the department about the exam date.
Nominal forms accept plural, case, and possession: jelentkező-k-et, vezető-jé-vel. These suffixes belong to the noun use. An attributive participle remains invariant: a jelentkező diákokat “the students applying.”
Compounds name functions, not always literal actors
In established compounds, the -ó/-ő element often names a function or typical association: mosógép “washing machine,” írógép “typewriter,” olvasólámpa “reading lamp,” parkolóhely “parking space,” mentőautó “ambulance.” The second element need not literally perform the verb—an olvasólámpa provides light for reading.
A mosógép mellett nincs elég hely egy szárítógépnek.
There isn't enough room for a tumble dryer beside the washing machine.
A parkolóhelyet előre le kell foglalni.
The parking space has to be reserved in advance.
Established spelling must be learned with the lexical item. Hungarian compound rules consider structure and syllable count; copying English spacing is not reliable.
A short identification dialogue
Luca: Melyik férfi Bálint?
Luca: Which man is Bálint?
Márk: Az ablak mellett álló, kék inget viselő férfi.
Márk: The man standing by the window and wearing a blue shirt.
Luca: A telefonáló?
Luca: The one on the phone?
Márk: Nem, a mellette várakozó.
Márk: No, the one waiting beside him.
In the final two turns, telefonáló and várakozó are nominalized because the recoverable noun férfi is omitted. Hungarian can then add case or plural suffixes if needed: a telefonálóval “with the one phoning,” a várakozók “those waiting.”
Formal compression versus conversational relative clauses
Participles pack information densely and are frequent in notices, journalism, academic writing, and administration (formal):
A támogatást igénylő szervezeteknek elektronikus adatlapot kell benyújtaniuk.
Organizations applying for the grant must submit an electronic form.
Conversation often prefers a finite relative clause when the modifier is long or contains several contrasts (informal or neutral):
Azoknak a szervezeteknek, amelyek támogatást kérnek, egy űrlapot is be kell küldeniük.
The organizations that are asking for funding also have to send in a form.
Neither version is more grammatical. The participial version is compact and institutionally typical; the relative clause is easier to process aloud and can express tense, negation, and modality explicitly.
Common Mistakes
❌ A kertben futni nő a szomszédom.
Incorrect — the infinitive cannot replace an active attributive participle.
✅ A kertben futó nő a szomszédom.
The woman running in the garden is my neighbor.
❌ A tegnap érkező vendég már hazament.
Wrong for the intended completed arrival yesterday.
✅ A tegnap érkezett vendég már hazament.
The guest who arrived yesterday has already gone home.
❌ A készítő jelentés még nincs kész.
Incorrect participant relation — this says the report prepares something.
✅ A készülő jelentés még nincs kész.
The report being prepared is not ready yet.
❌ Beszéltem az új jelentkező.
Incorrect nominal case — beszél valakivel requires instrumental -val/-vel.
✅ Beszéltem az új jelentkezővel.
I spoke with the new applicant.
Key Takeaways
- Use -ó/-ő phrases to identify a noun through an active, ongoing, habitual, or scheduled relation.
- The head noun supplies the participle's understood subject; objects and governed complements remain inside the modifier.
- Time is relative to context, while completed prior events generally call for a past participle or finite relative clause.
- Productive participles can become nouns and take noun suffixes; attributive participles remain invariant.
- Lexical agent nouns and compounds often have conventional meanings that exceed a literal verbal paraphrase.
- Finite relative clauses are often clearer than long participial modifiers in conversation.
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