alszik: Complete Conjugation and Usage | Hungarian Grammar

Alszik means “sleep,” but its forms come from several stems. Present-tense forms normally use alsz-, while the past, conditional, imperative–subjunctive, and infinitive use alud-. The verbal noun and present participle introduce alv-. The common prefixed verb elalszik adds the change-of-state meaning “fall asleep.”

Unlike eszik and iszik, basic alszik is intransitive: a person sleeps, but does not normally “sleep something.” Consequently, its ordinary paradigm has no live definite-object contrast. Duration phrases such as nyolc órát carry an accusative ending, but they measure time and are not direct objects.

That difference between true objects and accusative measures is developed in the accusative usage guide. It explains why nyolc órát aludtam does not license a definite object form of alszik.

Principal parts and stem map

Function	Form	Register or note
Dictionary / present 3sg	alszik	neutral
Present 1sg	alszom, alszok	alszom careful/standard; alszok widespread informal
Past 3sg	aludt	neutral
Infinitive	aludni	neutral
Imperative 2sg	aludj, aludjál	both neutral; short form is concise
Verbal noun	alvás	neutral
Present participle	alvó	neutral
Past participle	aludt	limited; often a finite past form instead
Future participle	alvandó	literary/archaic and extremely rare
Adverbial participle	alva / aludva	alva neutral in set combinations; aludva less common

A baba végre mélyen alszik a hálószobában.

The baby is finally sleeping soundly in the bedroom.

Hétvégén majdnem tíz órát aludtam egyhuzamban.

At the weekend I slept for almost ten hours straight.

💡

Memorize the four-way map alszik – aludt/aludni – alvó/alvás – elalszik. The alternation is genuinely irregular; trying to derive aludni mechanically from alszik is less efficient than learning the set.

Present indicative: an intransitive paradigm

Basic alszik uses the indefinite series because there is no direct object. The first-person form alszom preserves traditional -ik conjugation and is preferred in careful standard usage. Alszok is widespread in informal speech. Older aluszik, aluszom may appear in literature or deliberately folksy language; label those forms (archaic/folksy) rather than presenting them as the everyday norm.

Person	Present form
én	alszom / alszok (informal)
te	alszol
ő / Ön	alszik
mi	alszunk
ti	alszotok
ők / Önök	alszanak

Mostanában nyitott ablaknál alszom, mert melegek az éjszakák.

Lately I’ve been sleeping with the window open because the nights are warm.

A vendégek a nappaliban alszanak egy kihúzható kanapén.

The guests are sleeping in the living room on a sofa bed.

Some prefixed derivatives can become transitive in fixed meanings: átalussza az éjszakát “sleep through the night,” végigalussza a filmet “sleep through the whole film,” and kialussza magát “get enough sleep.” Their definite forms belong to those derived verbs, not to ordinary objectless alszik.

Past and conditional

The past uses aludt- and the conditional uses aludn-. Since basic alszik is intransitive, these tables show the ordinary indefinite forms. Surface forms that look like definite conjugation occur only with genuinely transitive derived meanings.

Person	Past	Conditional
én	aludtam	aludnék
te	aludtál	aludnál
ő / Ön	aludt	aludna
mi	aludtunk	aludnánk
ti	aludtatok	aludnátok
ők / Önök	aludtak	aludnának

Rosszul aludtál, vagy csak nagyon korán keltél?

Did you sleep badly, or did you just get up very early?

Sokkal nyugodtabban aludnék, ha nem zúgna a hűtőszekrény.

I would sleep much more peacefully if the refrigerator weren’t humming.

Hungarian normally expresses future sleep with context or fog + aludni. Holnap sokáig alszom is a scheduled/intended future; A vonaton fogok aludni explicitly locates the sleeping in the future.

The personal infinitive forms are aludnom, aludnod, aludnia, aludnunk, aludnotok, aludniuk.

A vizsga előtt legalább hét órát kell aludnom.

I need to sleep for at least seven hours before the exam.

Imperative–subjunctive

The imperative–subjunctive uses aludj-. It can be a direct request (Aludj jól!) or a subordinate form after expressions of desire, necessity, and purpose. There is no ordinary definite series for objectless alszik.

Person	Imperative–subjunctive
én	aludjak
te	aludj / aludjál
ő / Ön	aludjon / aludjék (careful/formal)
mi	aludjunk
ti	aludjatok
ők / Önök	aludjanak

Aludj még egy órát, én addig elkészítem a reggelit!

Sleep for another hour; I’ll make breakfast in the meantime!

A nővér azt kérte, hogy a beteg legalább délutánig aludjon.

The nurse asked that the patient sleep at least until the afternoon.

Menjünk halkan, hogy a gyerekek tovább aludjanak!

Let’s walk quietly so that the children keep sleeping!

Location, duration, and common expressions

Sleeping locations use the spatial case appropriate to the relation: az ágyban “in bed,” a kanapén “on the sofa,” a barátomnál “at my friend’s place.” A duration can be bare (egész éjjel) or accusative (nyolc órát). That accusative is adverbial measure, so it does not create a definite object.

Ma éjjel a testvéremnél alszom, mert lekéstem az utolsó vonatot.

Tonight I’m sleeping at my sibling’s place because I missed the last train.

A macska egész délután a radiátoron aludt.

The cat slept on the radiator all afternoon.

The idiom alszik rá egyet means “sleep on it before deciding.” Here egyet is a measure-like accusative, not the thing being slept. Alszik, mint a bunda is informal and means “sleep like a log.”

elalszik and prefix placement

Alszik describes the sleeping state or activity; elalszik marks entry into that state, “fall asleep.” Its nonpresent forms retain the same alternation: elaludt, elaludna, aludjon el, elaludni. In a neutral affirmative clause el- precedes the finite verb. Negation and preverbal focus separate it.

Már a film első tíz percében elaludtam a kanapén.

I fell asleep on the sofa in the first ten minutes of the film.

A kisfiú a vihar miatt nem aludt el éjfélig.

The little boy didn’t fall asleep until midnight because of the storm.

CSAK HAJNALBAN aludt el, amikor végre elcsendesedett az utca.

He fell asleep ONLY AT DAWN, when the street finally became quiet.

💡

Use alszik for an ongoing state and elalszik for the boundary where sleep begins. English sleep versus fall asleep expresses the same contrast with two words; Hungarian often puts it into the prefix.

Common Mistakes

❌ Tegnap nyolc órát alsztam.

Incorrect — the past uses the alud- stem.

✅ Tegnap nyolc órát aludtam, mégis fáradtan ébredtem.

Yesterday I slept for eight hours, yet I woke up tired.

❌ Nem elaludtam a repülőn.

Incorrect neutral negation — the prefix follows the negated verb.

✅ Nem aludtam el a repülőn, pedig nagyon fáradt voltam.

I didn’t fall asleep on the plane, although I was very tired.

❌ Két óra alszom minden délután.

Incorrect — a measured duration requires the accusative ending -t.

✅ Két órát alszom minden délután, amikor éjszakás műszakban dolgozom.

I sleep for two hours every afternoon when I work the night shift.

❌ Szeretnék alszni egy kicsit.

Incorrect — the infinitive is aludni, not a form built directly on alsz-.

✅ Szeretnék aludni egy kicsit indulás előtt.

I’d like to sleep a little before leaving.

Key Takeaways

Present alsz-, nonpresent alud-, and participial alv- must be learned together.
Basic alszik is intransitive; an accusative duration such as nyolc órát is not a direct object.
Use aludt- in the past, aludn- in the conditional, and aludj- in the imperative–subjunctive.
Elalszik means “fall asleep”; negation and preverbal focus separate el- from the finite verb.
Definite conjugation appears only with transitive derived meanings such as átalussza az éjszakát and kialussza magát.

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