Case-Governing Postpositions: Meanings and Usage | Hungarian Grammar

Case-governing postpositions combine two signals: a case-marked complement and a following relational head. Speakers use these frames to add companions, establish opposing sides, cross boundaries, delimit time, and define the scope of formal claims. The forms are catalogued on the government forms page; this page explains what each construction contributes in discourse.

Adding a companion or including a member

-val/-vel együtt presents two participants as forming one group or sharing an event. It is more explicit than a bare coordination with és “and” because it establishes one participant as the reference and adds the other as companion.

A kutatócsoport a helyi orvosokkal együtt készítette el a felmérést.

The research team prepared the survey together with local doctors.

A szüleimmel együtt költöztem vissza Pécsre.

I moved back to Pécs together with my parents.

With a counting expression, velem együtt often means “including me.” The person in the governed phrase belongs inside the total.

Velem együtt nyolcan leszünk a vacsorán.

Including me, there will be eight of us at dinner.

The order együtt a szüleimmel also occurs. Preposed együtt can carry stronger adverbial prominence, especially after the verb: Költözz vissza együtt a szüleiddel! The complement-first order a szüleiddel együtt is the safest neutral frame and keeps the phrase clearly grouped.

💡

Use velem együtt when I am included in the stated total. English “with me” can merely describe accompaniment, but Hungarian velem együtt nyolcan conventionally counts me among the eight.

Facing a place and taking a stance

Instrumental -val/-vel + szemben has a concrete spatial use and several abstract extensions. Spatially, it locates one site opposite another, typically across a street, square, aisle, or table.

A pénztárral szemben találod az információs pultot.

You'll find the information desk opposite the ticket office.

Abstractly, szemben can mark an attitude toward a party, a demand imposed on somebody, or resistance to a proposal. Lexical partners matter: bizalmatlan valakivel szemben, követelményt támaszt valakivel szemben, fellép valamivel szemben.

A vásárlók egyre bizalmatlanabbak az ismeretlen webáruházakkal szemben.

Customers are increasingly distrustful of unfamiliar online shops.

A hatóság szigorúbb követelményeket támasztott a szolgáltatóval szemben.

The authority imposed stricter requirements on the service provider.

-val/-vel ellentétben compares a fact with an expectation, claim, or contrasting entity. It does not require active hostility.

A korábbi hírekkel ellentétben a múzeum mégsem zár be.

Contrary to earlier reports, the museum will not close after all.

Thus a tervvel szemben can imply opposition to a plan, while a tervvel ellentétben means that reality contradicts the plan. The same instrumental case does not make the heads synonymous.

Outside, inside, and beyond a boundary

Superessive -n/-on/-en/-ön + kívül/belül/túl uses a surface-marked boundary as its reference. With a place, the interpretation can be literal.

A városon kívül olcsóbbak a telkek, de ritkább a buszközlekedés.

Outside the city, plots are cheaper, but bus service is less frequent.

Az épületen belül mindenhol tilos a dohányzás.

Smoking is prohibited everywhere inside the building.

A hídon túl balra fordulunk, majd követjük a folyót.

Beyond the bridge, we turn left and then follow the river.

The position of an adverb-like head can shape the scene. Complement-first a folyón túl is the neutral productive order. Head-first túl a folyón is also established, especially in route descriptions and narrative scene-setting (neutral/literary); it presents the boundary crossing first.

Túl a folyón egy elhagyott vízimalom állt.

Beyond the river stood an abandoned watermill.

This flexibility belongs to heads such as túl and együtt; it must not be extended mechanically to fixed postpositional képest or nézve.

Kívül also means “except for/in addition to,” depending on construction. Rajtad kívül senki sem tudott róla excludes you from the negative set: everyone other than you did not know. A fizetésen kívül útiköltséget is kap adds another item: besides the salary, he/she receives travel expenses. Context and particles such as is disambiguate exclusion from addition.

Rajtad kívül csak a könyvelő ismeri az új jelszót.

Apart from you, only the accountant knows the new password.

A bérleten kívül a helyjegyet is meg kell venni.

In addition to the pass, the seat reservation must also be purchased.

With abstract thresholds, túl means “past/beyond” and can be physical, temporal, numerical, or experiential: harmincon túl “over thirty,” a nehezén túl “past the hardest part.” The superessive form is lexical; English gives no clue that Hungarian conceptualizes the threshold as a surface.

💡

Interpret kívül with the whole clause. A negative or restrictive clause often yields “except for”; is elsewhere in the clause often supports additive “besides/in addition to.”

Traversing space and extending through time

-n keresztül traces a path through an opening, medium, area, or complete time span. A literal path has an entry and exit or transmits something through a medium.

A macska a nyitott ablakon keresztül jutott be a konyhába.

The cat got into the kitchen through the open window.

Az ügyfélszolgálat az alkalmazáson keresztül is elérhető.

Customer service can also be reached through the app.

The second is a conventional channel metaphor. For duration, két héten keresztül highlights continuity throughout the span, often more strongly than két hétig.

Két héten keresztül minden este próbáltunk.

For two weeks, we rehearsed every evening.

It does not necessarily mean an uninterrupted activity every second; it means the pattern held across the stated period. Aspect and frequency expressions decide the exact event structure.

Staying within a time or institutional limit

-n belül sets an outer boundary: három napon belül means no later than the end of a three-day interval. It does not mean exactly three days later.

A hibát két munkanapon belül kijavítjuk.

We will correct the fault within two working days.

Institutional belül can delimit a domain: a szervezeten belül “within the organization,” az osztályon belül “within the department.” This is common in professional and academic prose (formal/academic), while everyday speech may use a more direct possessive or locative phrase.

A részlegen belül mindenki ugyanahhoz a vezetőhöz tartozik.

Within the department, everyone reports to the same manager.

Defining scope and comparison

Sublative -ra/-re + nézve narrows a claim to a relevant person or topic. It is especially common in legal and analytical writing (formal/legal).

Az új feltétel a már aláírt szerződésekre nézve nem alkalmazható.

The new condition is not applicable to contracts already signed.

Personal rám nézve can mean “as far as I am concerned/with respect to me,” but it may sound official in ordinary conversation. Depending on meaning, nekem, számomra, or a direct clause is often more natural.

Allative -hoz/-hez/-höz + képest compares with a baseline. Although it belongs semantically with abstract comparison, its form is a central example of case government.

A kezdeti becsléshez képest húsz százalékkal nőtt a költség.

The cost increased by twenty percent compared with the initial estimate.

Conformity and attributed cause

Dative -nak/-nek + megfelelően says that behavior or form conforms to a rule, request, purpose, or circumstances. It is frequent in official instructions (formal).

A csomagot az utasításoknak megfelelően címkéztük fel.

We labeled the package in accordance with the instructions.

-nak/-nek + köszönhetően attributes a result to a factor. Its literal connection with köszön “thank” makes it especially natural for favorable causes.

A szomszédok gyors segítségének köszönhetően sikerült megmenteni a bútorokat.

Thanks to the neighbors' quick help, we managed to save the furniture.

Negative köszönhetően is widespread, often with an ironic or critical tone: a hibás döntésnek köszönhetően “thanks to/due to the wrong decision.” In careful neutral reporting, miatt or következtében avoids the positive or ironic overtone.

A short dialogue

Mikorra készül el a javítás? — A szerződésnek megfelelően három munkanapon belül.

When will the repair be completed? — Within three working days, in accordance with the contract.

És a csereautó? — A csereautó iránti igényt külön kell érvényesíteni a biztosítóval szemben.

And the replacement car? — The claim for a replacement car must be asserted separately against the insurer.

The first answer combines a dative conformity frame with a superessive deadline frame. The second uses szemben in the institutional sense “vis-à-vis the insurer,” characteristic of legal-administrative interaction (formal). In ordinary service language, a biztosítónál külön kell igényelni would be plainer.

Formal and informal comparison

A módosítás az érintett ügyfelekre nézve további kötelezettséget nem keletkeztet.

The amendment creates no additional obligation for the affected clients.

A változás miatt az ügyfeleknek semmi pluszt nem kell tenniük.

Because of the change, clients don't have to do anything extra.

The first is legal-administrative (formal/legal) and tightly delimits scope with -ra nézve. The second is conversational (neutral/informal) and states the practical consequence directly. Use the dense frame when its precision serves the genre, not merely because it sounds official.

Common Mistakes

❌ A bátyám a barátai együtt ment moziba.

Incorrect — együtt requires an instrumental companion.

✅ A bátyám a barátaival együtt ment moziba.

My older brother went to the cinema together with his friends.

❌ A város kívül olcsóbbak a lakások.

Incorrect — kívül requires a superessive complement.

✅ A városon kívül olcsóbbak a lakások.

Outside the city, apartments are cheaper.

❌ Három nap belül válaszolunk.

Incorrect — temporal belül requires the superessive form napon.

✅ Három napon belül válaszolunk.

We will reply within three days.

❌ A kérdés nézve még nincs döntés.

Incorrect — nézve requires a sublative complement.

✅ A kérdésre nézve még nincs döntés.

No decision has yet been made regarding the question.

Key Takeaways

-val/-vel együtt adds a companion; velem együtt can explicitly include someone in a total.
Szemben marks facing or a stance; ellentétben marks contradiction rather than hostility.
Kívül, belül, túl, and keresztül normally require superessive marking and extend naturally to abstract domains and time.
-n belül sets a latest boundary, while -n keresztül foregrounds continuation through a span.
Formal -ra/-re nézve defines scope; -nak/-nek megfelelően marks conformity.
Keep person on the governed case form: velem együtt, rajtad kívül, rám nézve, nekik köszönhetően.

Now practice Hungarian

Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.

Start learning Hungarian →