Hungarian measure phrases follow one principle with wide consequences: after a numeral, the measure noun remains singular. Thus “three kilos,” “five liters,” and “two hours” are három kilogramm, öt liter, két óra, not plural nouns. Cases then mark the role of the measured expression, decimals use a comma, and words such as körülbelül and legalább locate the amount on a scale. The measurement usage page develops the communicative choices behind these forms.
Numeral + singular unit
A cardinal numeral directly modifies a singular unit noun. The unit may measure weight, volume, length, area, duration, temperature, or money:
| Dimension | Hungarian phrase | English |
|---|---|---|
| weight | három kilogramm | three kilograms |
| volume | öt liter | five liters |
| length | két méter | two meters |
| duration | négy óra | four hours |
| temperature | húsz fok | twenty degrees |
| money | hatezer forint | six thousand forints |
Két liter tej elég lesz a hétvégére.
Two liters of milk will be enough for the weekend.
A csomag három kilogrammot nyom, ezért felviheted a gépre.
The package weighs three kilograms, so you can take it onto the plane.
A legközelebbi megálló innen négyszáz méterre van.
The nearest stop is four hundred meters from here.
English puts both the unit and many counted nouns in the plural. Hungarian treats the numeral as sufficient evidence of quantity, so overt plural -k would duplicate the same information. This is not just spelling: a quantified phrase also normally controls singular agreement.
Öt liter víz maradt a tartályban.
Five liters of water remained in the tank.
What receives the case suffix?
The suffix attaches to the word whose syntactic role is being marked. With a bare measured duration as the object-like extent of an activity, the unit takes accusative -t: két órát vártam “I waited for two hours.” With a comparison, the unit can take instrumental -val/-vel: két méterrel hosszabb “two meters longer.” With a destination distance, it takes -ra/-re: száz méterre “at a distance of one hundred meters.”
Majdnem két órát vártunk az ügyeleten.
We waited almost two hours at the out-of-hours clinic.
Az új útvonal három kilométerrel rövidebb.
The new route is three kilometers shorter.
A szálloda körülbelül ötszáz méterre van az állomástól.
The hotel is about five hundred meters from the station.
In a substance phrase such as három kiló alma, the final substance noun can receive the case required by the verb: három kiló almát vettem “I bought three kilos of apples.” The measure noun kiló still quantifies alma, while accusative -t marks the whole phrase through its grammatical head. By contrast, if the weight itself is the selected argument, the suffix appears on the unit: három kilóval számolunk “we calculate with three kilos.”
Vettem másfél kiló almát és két liter tejet.
I bought one and a half kilos of apples and two liters of milk.
A receptben fél literrel kevesebb tejjel számolok.
In the recipe, I am allowing for half a liter less milk.
Containers behave similarly. Két üveg vizet kértem means “I asked for two bottles of water”: víz receives accusative because it is the substance head inside the quantity expression. If the bottles themselves are foregrounded as objects, Két üveget tettem az asztalra means “I put two bottles on the table.” The numeral still keeps üveg singular before its case suffix: üveget, not plural üvegeket.
Decimal commas and written symbols
Hungarian uses a comma as the decimal separator: 3,5 liter, 1,75 méter, 0,8 százalék. A decimal point is an English-format transfer in ordinary Hungarian text. Large numbers are grouped with spaces rather than commas: 12 500, 1 250 000.
A palack 1,5 liter vizet tartalmaz.
The bottle contains 1.5 liters of water.
Tavaly 3,2 százalékkal nőtt a forgalom.
Turnover increased by 3.2 percent last year.
A decimal can be read explicitly with egész “whole” plus the fractional place: 3,5 = három egész öt tized. In everyday contexts, speakers also omit the final fractional unit when it is obvious: három egész öt (informal/neutral). The noun after the decimal remains singular.
Standard unit symbols follow the number with a space: 3,5 kg, 12 km, 20 °C. Unit symbols have no plural ending and normally no full stop. When a Hungarian derivational ending or case suffix must attach to a symbol, a hyphen makes the boundary visible: 3 kg-os csomag “3 kg package,” 20 °C-on “at 20 °C.” In unrestricted prose, spelling out the unit often reads more smoothly.
Approximation before an amount
Körülbelül “approximately/about” is the general neutral approximator and can be shortened to kb. in notes and compact writing (informal/technical). Mintegy also means “approximately,” but is characteristic of reports, news, and formal prose (formal). Nagyjából means “roughly” and often suggests a practical estimate (neutral/informal).
Körülbelül húsz perc múlva érünk oda.
We will get there in about twenty minutes.
A rendezvényen mintegy nyolcszázan vettek részt.
Approximately eight hundred people attended the event.
Nagyjából két kiló krumplira lesz szükségünk.
We will need roughly two kilos of potatoes.
These words normally precede the entire quantity expression. They do not change the number or case pattern inside it: körülbelül két órát, mintegy száz méterre, nagyjából öt liter víz.
The productive -nyi pattern
The derivational suffix -nyi means “an amount corresponding to” the base. It is invariant: there is no back-vowel alternative. It attaches directly in common forms such as órányi “an hour's worth,” percnyi “a minute's worth,” maroknyi “a handful,” kanálnyi “a spoonful,” and méternyi “a meter's worth.” Lexicalized bases may still show their usual stem behavior, so established forms should be learned as words rather than generated from spelling alone.
Egyórányi séta után elértük a kilátót.
After an hour's walk, we reached the lookout.
Csak egy kanálnyi mézet tegyél a teába.
Put only a spoonful of honey in the tea.
Alig maradt tenyérnyi hely az asztalon.
There was barely a palm-sized space left on the table.
With a simple written-out number, number + -nyi adjective is generally written together: egyórányi, kétméternyi. If either side is structurally complex, Hungarian spelling may require separation: ötvenhét másodpercnyi. With digits, write the elements separately: 20 percnyi. The semantic effect is adjectival: egy óra names a measure, while egyórányi séta characterizes the quantity of walking.
Scalar limits
Approximation and limits are not the same. Körülbelül húsz creates a band around twenty. Majdnem húsz “almost twenty” stays below twenty. Több mint húsz is above twenty. Legalább húsz includes twenty and everything above it; legfeljebb húsz includes twenty and everything below it.
| Expression | Relation to 20 | English |
|---|---|---|
| körülbelül húsz | near 20, either side | about 20 |
| majdnem húsz | below but near 20 | almost 20 |
| több mint húsz | strictly above 20 | more than 20 |
| kevesebb mint húsz | strictly below 20 | fewer/less than 20 |
| legalább húsz | 20 or above | at least 20 |
| legfeljebb húsz | 20 or below | at most 20 |
A terembe legfeljebb negyven ember fér be.
At most forty people can fit in the room.
A kedvezményhez legalább tíz alkalmon kell részt venned.
To receive the discount, you must attend at least ten sessions.
Segmentation exercise
Analyze these measured forms from left to right.
- körülbelül három kilogrammal → approximator + három
- kilogramm
- -mal: “by approximately three kilograms.”
- kilogramm
- 1,5 liter tejet → decimal amount + singular liter
- tej
- accusative -t: “1.5 liters of milk” as the object.
- tej
- száz méterre → száz
- méter
- -re: “at/to a distance of one hundred meters.”
- méter
- egyórányi → egy + óra + -nyi: “an hour's worth.”
- legfeljebb húsz percig → upper limit + húsz
- singular perc
- -ig: “for at most twenty minutes.”
- singular perc
Common Mistakes
❌ Három literek vizet kérek.
Incorrect — the unit after a numeral must be singular.
✅ Három liter vizet kérek.
I'd like three liters of water.
❌ A cső 4.75 méter hosszú.
Incorrect in Hungarian notation — use a decimal comma.
✅ A cső 4,75 méter hosszú.
The pipe is 4.75 meters long.
❌ Két órákig tartott a megbeszélés.
Incorrect — the measured noun remains singular before the case suffix.
✅ Két óráig tartott a megbeszélés.
The meeting lasted for two hours.
❌ Legalább húsz ember jön, vagyis biztosan kevesebben lesznek húsznál.
Incorrect — legalább sets an inclusive lower limit.
✅ Legalább húsz ember jön, vagyis húszan vagy annál többen lesznek.
At least twenty people are coming, meaning twenty or more.
Key Takeaways
- A numeral is followed by a singular unit: három kiló, öt liter, két óra.
- Put the case suffix on the element that carries the relevant syntactic role: két órát, három méterrel, két kiló almát.
- Use a decimal comma and space-grouped thousands: 3,5 and 12 500.
- Körülbelül, mintegy, and nagyjából approximate; scalar expressions such as legalább and legfeljebb set boundaries.
- -nyi turns a measure into an amount-characterizing adjective: órányi, kanálnyi, méternyi.
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
- Measurement, Approximation, and Decimal Notation: Meanings and UsageA2 — Choose idiomatic Hungarian measurements, estimates, amount adjectives, decimal notation, and lower or upper limits in everyday and formal contexts.
- Measurement, Approximation, and Decimal Notation: Contrasts and Learner TrapsB1 — Choose exact, approximate, and bounded Hungarian measurements while placing case endings and decimal punctuation correctly.
- Cardinal Numbers and Compound Formation: Forms and Core PatternA1 — Build and spell Hungarian cardinal numbers while keeping quantified nouns singular and handling the special forms of two.
- The Instrumental-Comitative -val/-vel: Forms and Core PatternA2 — Form Hungarian instrument, companion, manner, reciprocal, and comparison phrases with harmonic -val/-vel and complete consonant assimilation.
- Singular Nouns after Numerals and Quantifiers: Forms and Core PatternA1 — Form Hungarian noun phrases with cardinals, quantity words, paired body parts, singular predicates, and later plural reference.
- The Accusative -t: Forms and Core PatternA1 — Form Hungarian direct objects with accusative -t, linking vowels, stem alternations, and the correct personal-pronoun forms.