Genderlessness, Singulars, and Plurals: Forms and Core Pattern

Hungarian nouns have no grammatical gender. There is no masculine or feminine article, nouns do not belong to gender classes, and adjectives do not change for the sex or gender of the person described. The personal pronoun ő can mean either “he” or “she”; context or a lexical expression supplies information about gender when it matters.

Number is visible in a different way. The ordinary singular noun has no number suffix, while the ordinary plural ends in -k, usually with a linking vowel. This page establishes those forms and the number marking of noun and adjective predicates. Broader communicative uses appear on the usage page, and choices involving numerals and collective reference on the contrasts page. Unless labeled otherwise, the forms are neutral modern standard Hungarian.

No grammatical gender

The definite article is always a/az, chosen by the following sound rather than gender. The indefinite article is egy. Demonstratives such as ez “this” and az “that,” adjectives, and verbs likewise have no masculine/feminine forms.

In the first example neither ő, az, orvos, nor figyelmes identifies gender. In the second, az appears because új begins with a vowel sound, not because tanár belongs to a noun class.

Gender can be stated lexically: férfi “man,” nő “woman,” fiú “boy,” lány “girl,” apa “father,” anya “mother.” The element -nő can specify a woman in some occupational words, such as színésznő “actress” and orvosnő “female doctor,” but this is word formation, not grammatical gender. The surrounding adjective remains unchanged: jó színész, jó színésznő.

The singular is unmarked

The citation form of a count noun is normally singular and carries no singular suffix: ház “house,” kert “garden,” könyv “book,” gyümölcs “fruit.” Articles and case endings can be added, but there is still no separate singular marker.

Here könyv is singular because no plural meaning or plural suffix is present. The case-marked location asztal-on “on the table” illustrates a larger principle: Hungarian noun endings package relations that English frequently expresses with separate prepositions.

An unmarked noun after a numeral or many quantifiers can refer to several entities: három könyv “three books,” not három könyvek. That construction is fully treated on the quantified-singular forms page. It does not mean that plural -k is optional everywhere; it means the numeral itself supplies the number information.

The ordinary plural ends in -k

For a consonant-final stem, the productive plural is often described as -(V)k: -k plus a linking vowel whose quality reflects harmony and lexical stem class. The choice among a, e, o, ö is not always fully predictable from spelling alone.

Do not reduce the table to “all back words take o.” Házak has a, while asztalok has o. The linking-vowel forms page explains the productive classes; frequent nouns should also be learned with their plural.

Vowel-final nouns

After most long vowels, plural -k attaches directly: autó → autók, kávé → kávék, nő → nők, fiú → fiúk. A final short a or e lengthens before the suffix: alma → almák, körte → körték. The accent mark is part of the form, not optional decoration.

The phrase két nő remains formally singular after the numeral, whereas az autók and az almák are ordinary plurals. Hungarian therefore does not copy English plural marking word for word.

Major stem alternations

Some common nouns use a special stem before the plural. These alternations are lexical and must be learned.

There is no honest universal shortcut for these classes. Recognize the productive patterns, then memorize frequent exceptional stems with at least one suffixed form.

Plural predicates

In present-tense third-person sentences, Hungarian normally has no overt copula when a noun or adjective identifies or characterizes the subject: A ház nagy “The house is big,” Anna orvos “Anna is a doctor.” With a plural subject, the predicate is plural too: A házak nagyok, Anna és Péter orvosok.

This is number agreement, not gender agreement. The exact linking vowel in predicate plurals follows the same stem-sensitive morphology as elsewhere: nagyok, szépek, zöldek, vörösek.

An overt form of van appears for location or existence: A diákok a teremben vannak “The students are in the room.” It also appears outside the third-person present. Do not insert vannak merely because the subject is plural: A diákok fáradtak vannak is impossible in the intended neutral meaning.

Segmentation exercise

Identify the stem, number marking, and any important stem change.

1. házak
2. gyümölcsök
3. almák
4. lovak
5. tükrök
6. orvosok in Ők orvosok.

Answers: (1) ház-ak, plural with linking a. (2) gyümölcs-ök, rounded-front linking vowel. (3) alma + -k → almák, with final a lengthened. (4) plural of ló, using the stem lov- plus -ak. (5) plural of tükör, with internal vowel loss and rounded -ök. (6) orvos-ok, a plural noun predicate agreeing with plural ők.

Common Mistakes

1. Using a demonstrative where a personal pronoun is required.

2. Omitting accents when a or e lengthens.

3. Copying English plural after a numeral.

4. Leaving a predicate adjective singular with a plural subject.

Key Takeaways

• Hungarian has no grammatical gender; ő can mean “he” or “she.”
• The ordinary singular is unmarked, while the ordinary plural uses -(V)k.
• Linking vowels follow harmony and lexical stem class; frequent exceptions must be learned.
• Final short a/e lengthens before plural -k: almák, körték.
• Plural noun and adjective predicates agree in number: ők orvosok, a könyvek újak.