Hungarian már and még do more than translate English “already” and “still.” They position a situation relative to an expected boundary. Már normally presents the boundary as reached; még presents it as not reached or a state as continuing on the earlier side. Their meaning changes predictably under negation and with quantities, but intonation can add surprise, reassurance, or impatience.
The boundary model
Imagine a change from “not here” to “here.” Már itt van says the change has happened: the person is here already/now. Még itt van says the old state continues: the person is still here. The particles are invariant; vowel harmony and person never change them.
| Situation relative to boundary | Hungarian | Typical English |
|---|---|---|
| positive state has begun | már itt van | is already here / is here now |
| positive state continues | még itt van | is still here |
| positive state has ended | már nincs itt | is no longer here |
| positive state has not begun | még nincs itt | is not here yet |
| extra amount/event | még egy / még egyszer | one more / once more |
| only a remainder now | már csak egy | only one left now |
Már itt van a szerelő, mindjárt megnézi a kazánt.
The repair technician is already here; he'll look at the boiler in a moment.
A szerelő még itt van, gyorsan kérdezd meg tőle.
The repair technician is still here; ask him quickly.
A szerelő már nincs itt, fél órája elment.
The repair technician is no longer here; he left half an hour ago.
A szerelő még nincs itt, de úton van.
The repair technician isn't here yet, but he's on his way.
The English tense may vary, but the Hungarian opposition remains about the boundary. Már megérkezett can be “has already arrived” or “arrived by then”; még nem érkezett meg is “has not arrived yet.” See the usage page for narrative reference times.
Position and scope
The particles normally precede the predicate or constituent whose status they update. In Péter már megérkezett, the arrival is now established. In Már Péter is megérkezett, már helps mark a scale: even Péter has arrived by this point. Position and stress therefore determine whether the updated material is the event, the participant, the time, or a quantity.
Péter már elolvasta a jelentést.
Péter has already read the report.
Még Péter is elolvasta a jelentést, pedig ritkán olvas ilyen hosszú anyagot.
Even Péter read the report, although he rarely reads such long material.
In the scalar construction még X is, the two particles surround the focused constituent: még Péter is, még vasárnap is, még ezt is. Here még extends the scale to a surprising additional member; translating it as temporal “still” would miss the structure.
Negative environments
Már nem asserts that a formerly valid state has stopped. Még nem says an expected state has not started up to the reference time. Word order keeps the pair together in the neutral pattern.
Már nem dolgozom annál a cégnél.
I no longer work for that company.
Még nem dolgozom, csak jövő héten kezdek.
I'm not working yet; I only start next week.
With existential van, the negative form is nincs: már nincs versus még nincs. In the past, use nem volt: már nem volt nyitva “it was no longer open,” még nem volt nyitva “it was not open yet.” The particle does not determine tense; it relates the chosen reference time to a change.
Amikor odaértünk, a pénztár már nem volt nyitva.
When we got there, the ticket office was no longer open.
Nyolckor a pénztár még nem volt nyitva.
At eight, the ticket office was not open yet.
Added quantities with még
Before a numeral or measure, még often means “another/additional”: még egy kávé, még két nap, még tíz perc. The quantified noun remains singular, following the ordinary Hungarian number pattern.
Töltök még egy csésze teát.
I'll pour another cup of tea.
Még két napra van szükségünk a teszteléshez.
We need two more days for testing.
Még egyszer means “once more/again.” Még több means “even more” or “more still,” depending on context. The particle adds beyond an amount already present or considered.
Mondd el még egyszer, mert nem hallottam a végét.
Say it once more because I didn't hear the end.
By contrast, már csak két nap looks from the new situation toward a reduced remainder: “only two days now/left.” Még csak két nap telt el stays on the early side: “only two days have passed so far.” The position of csak is stable, but már versus még changes the temporal viewpoint.
Már csak két nap van a vizsgáig.
There are now only two days left until the exam.
Még csak két nap telt el a költözés óta.
It has only been two days since the move.
Expectation in questions
Questions reveal the speaker's expectation. Már kész vagy? asks whether the completion boundary has been reached, often earlier than expected or after the speaker has been waiting. Még dolgozol? asks whether an ongoing activity continues. Még nem vagy kész? expresses an expectation that completion should perhaps have occurred.
Már kész vagy? Akkor indulhatunk.
Are you ready already? Then we can leave.
Még dolgozol? Azt hittem, hatkor befejezed.
Are you still working? I thought you'd finish at six.
English “yet” in a question does not force Hungarian még. “Are you ready yet?” is commonly Már kész vagy? because the question tests whether the positive boundary is now reached.
Impatient and urging már
In imperatives and requests, stressed már can urge the listener to cross a delayed boundary: Gyere már!, Mondd már!, Hagyd már abba! This is frequent in familiar conversation (informal). Tone ranges from playful encouragement to real irritation.
Gyere már, mindenki rád vár!
Come on, everyone is waiting for you!
Hagyd már abba, fáj a fejem ettől a zajtól!
Stop it already; this noise is giving me a headache!
Because this már presses the other person, it is not a neutral politeness marker. Formal requests use a conditional or conventional courtesy phrase instead.
Orthography and the unaccented meg
The accents distinguish three different forms: már, még, and meg. Unaccented meg is a common verbal prefix and also has discourse uses covered on the meg and pedig page. Omitting é from még does not create an acceptable spelling variant; it creates a different word.
Several frequent combinations have conventional spacing. Write free sequences még mindig “still,” még egyszer “once more,” and már megint “yet again” as two words. Write lexicalized máris “already/right away” and mégis “nevertheless/after all” as one word. Lexical mégis no longer follows the basic temporal grid mechanically.
Máris indulok, csak bezárom az ablakot.
I'm leaving right away; I'm just closing the window.
Bár fáradt volt, mégis velünk jött.
Although they were tired, they still came with us.
In még mindig, még strengthens continuation; in már megint, már presents a repeated event as newly reached, often with annoyance. These combinations are frequent enough to learn as discourse frames, while keeping their spelling distinct.
Segmentation exercise
Identify the boundary and scope.
- Már elindult. The departure boundary has been crossed.
- Még vár. The waiting state continues.
- Már nem vár. The former waiting state has ended.
- Még nem indult el. Departure has not occurred up to the reference time.
- Még egy jegyet kér. Még adds one ticket.
- Még Anna is eljött. Még ... is puts Anna at a surprising point on a scale.
Common Mistakes
❌ Már nem érkezett meg a busz.
Incorrect for 'not yet' — már nem means no longer/not anymore.
✅ Még nem érkezett meg a busz.
The bus hasn't arrived yet.
❌ Még nem dolgozom ott, mert tegnap felmondtam.
Incorrect for a state that has ended — még nem points toward a future beginning.
✅ Már nem dolgozom ott, mert tegnap felmondtam.
I no longer work there because I resigned yesterday.
❌ Kérek egy még kávét.
Incorrect — additive még precedes the complete quantity expression.
✅ Kérek még egy kávét.
I'd like another coffee.
❌ Meg nem fejeztem be.
Incorrect for 'not yet' — meg is not the particle még.
✅ Még nem fejeztem be.
I haven't finished yet.
Key Takeaways
- Már presents a relevant boundary as reached; még presents it as pending or a state as continuing.
- Már nem means “no longer,” while még nem means “not yet.”
- Még + quantity adds an amount; már csak presents what now remains.
- Questions select a viewpoint: Már kész vagy? tests completion, while Még dolgozol? tests continuation.
- Urging már is informal and can sound impatient.
- Keep the accents: már, még, and meg are distinct words.
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Start learning Hungarian →Related Topics
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- már and még: Contrasts and Learner TrapsB1 — Distinguish Hungarian already, still, yet, no-longer, additional, remaining, and impatient readings through boundary logic and scope.
- is and sem: Forms and Core PatternA1 — Place Hungarian is and sem after the expression in their scope to convey addition, scalar emphasis, concession, and negative concord.
- csak as Restrictor and Softener: Forms and Core PatternA2 — Build Hungarian csak constructions for exclusive focus, limited actions, permissive imperatives, and polite mitigation.
- meg and pedig beyond Their Basic Meanings: Forms and Core PatternB1 — Recognize connector meg, topic-linking pedig, and verbal-prefix meg- by their position, spacing, and prosodic role.
- Immediately Preverbal Focus: Forms and Core PatternA2 — Build Hungarian identificational focus directly before the finite verb, with main stress and predictable prefix displacement.