gondol: Complete Conjugation and Usage | Hungarian Grammar

Gondol means “think,” but English hides several Hungarian frames. A thought directed toward someone or something takes sublative -ra/-re: rád gondolok. A thought’s content can be an accusative object: azt gondolom. A topic can take -ról/-ről, while arra gondoltam, hogy… often introduces a contemplated plan rather than a settled belief.

Principal parts

Gondol is a regular back-vowel verb. The stem remains stable across tense and mood.

Function	Form	Note
dictionary / present 3sg	gondol	stable stem
past 3sg	gondolt	stem + -t
conditional 3sg	gondolna	back-vowel ending
imperative–subjunctive 2sg	gondolj	stem + -j
infinitive	gondolni	stem + -ni
present participle	gondoló	usually has an expressed complement

Indefinite conjugation

Person	Present	Past	Conditional	Imperative–subjunctive
én	gondolok	gondoltam	gondolnék	gondoljak
te	gondolsz	gondoltál	gondolnál	gondolj / gondoljál
ő	gondol	gondolt	gondolna	gondoljon
mi	gondolunk	gondoltunk	gondolnánk	gondoljunk
ti	gondoltok	gondoltatok	gondolnátok	gondoljatok
ők	gondolnak	gondoltak	gondolnának	gondoljanak

Gyakran gondolok a régi tanáromra, aki megszerettette velem a fizikát.

I often think of my former teacher, who made me love physics.

The definite-looking noun takes -ra, not accusative -t, so gondolok is indefinite.

Definite conjugation

Person	Present	Past	Conditional	Imperative–subjunctive
én	gondolom	gondoltam	gondolnám	gondoljam
te	gondolod	gondoltad	gondolnád	gondold / gondoljad
ő	gondolja	gondolta	gondolná	gondolja
mi	gondoljuk	gondoltuk	gondolnánk	gondoljuk
ti	gondoljátok	gondoltátok	gondolnátok	gondoljátok
ők	gondolják	gondolták	gondolnák	gondolják

Azt gondolom, hogy a kisebb terem is elég lesz.

I think the smaller room will be sufficient too.

Te is ugyanazt gondoltad a bemutató után?

Did you think the same thing after the presentation too?

Demonstrative objects azt/ugyanazt are definite and select gondolom/gondoltad. First-person past gondoltam is syncretic; the object frame determines whether it is indefinite or definite.

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Do not select gondolok or gondolom from the English word “think.” Sublative arra gondolok has no object; accusative azt gondolom has a definite object.

Directed thought: gondol valakire/valamire

When the mind turns toward a person, object, event, or possibility, the target takes -ra/-re. Personal pronouns use the corresponding forms rám, rád, rá, ránk, rátok, rájuk.

Eszembe jutott a vizsgád, ezért egész délelőtt rád gondoltam.

I remembered your exam, so I was thinking of you all morning.

Gondoljunk arra is, hogyan jutnak haza a késői műszak dolgozói.

Let’s also consider how the late-shift workers will get home.

Mire gondolsz, amikor fenntartható közlekedést említesz?

What do you mean when you mention sustainable transport?

The last mire gondolsz? can ask either what idea is in someone’s mind or what they mean by an expression. English think of/about and mean overlap here, but Hungarian keeps the sublative target.

For sustained analysis, gondolkodik valamin is often better than gondol valamire:

Napok óta gondolkodom a költözésen, de még nem döntöttem.

I’ve been thinking about moving for days, but I haven’t decided yet.

Gondol can name a directed thought in an instant; gondolkodik profiles the ongoing mental process. This is a lexical contrast, not merely two aspect forms of one verb.

Topic and content: valakiről valamit gondol

When someone holds an opinion about a topic, the topic commonly takes delative -ról/-ről and the opinion itself can be an accusative object.

Mit gondolsz az új menetrendről?

What do you think about the new timetable?

A kollégáim csupa jót gondolnak az új osztályvezetőről.

My colleagues think very highly of the new department head.

Interrogative mit and indefinite jót select indefinite conjugation. A definite content object changes it:

Ugyanezt gondolom a második javaslatról is.

I think the same about the second proposal too.

English uses about for both directed thought and an opinion topic. Hungarian contrasts gondol valamire with gondol valamit valamiről. The sublative and delative pages develop the case opposition.

Azt gondolja, hogy…: belief content

A hogy clause can provide the content of a belief or conclusion. Explicit azt makes the object structure visible, but speakers often omit it while retaining definite gondolom/gondolja.

Gondolom, már értesítettek a programváltozásról.

I assume they’ve already informed you about the schedule change.

A meteorológusok úgy gondolják, hogy estére gyengül a szél.

Meteorologists think that the wind will weaken by evening.

Gondolom used parenthetically often means “I assume/suppose.” It is neutral in conversation. Úgy gondolom, hogy… is common in careful argument and meetings (formal); it softens a claim by presenting it as the speaker’s considered view.

Úgy gondolom, ezt a döntést részletesebben meg kell indokolnunk.

I believe we need to justify this decision in greater detail.

The omitted or represented content behaves like a definite object, which explains gondolom, not gondolok.

Azt gondoltam versus arra gondoltam

Azt gondoltam, hogy… most often reports a belief: the speaker held a proposition to be true. Arra gondoltam, hogy… presents a thought directed toward a possibility and commonly introduces a suggestion, plan, or idea under consideration.

Azt gondoltam, hogy a múzeum hétfőn zárva van.

I thought the museum was closed on Mondays.

Arra gondoltam, hogy hétvégén elmehetnénk a tóhoz.

I was thinking that we could go to the lake this weekend.

The contrast is strong and useful but not mathematically absolute; context can make arra gondoltam introduce a contemplated proposition without a concrete plan. What remains grammatical is the case/conjugation pairing: accusative azt with definite gondoltam, sublative arra with indefinite gondoltam—surface-identical here because first-person past is syncretic.

Intended meaning: komolyan and úgy gondol

Komolyan gondol valamit means mean something seriously or genuinely intend it. Úgy gondol valamit can refer to how a statement was intended.

Komolyan gondolod, hogy egyedül végigmész ezen az útvonalon?

Do you seriously mean that you’re going to complete this route alone?

Nem bántásnak szántam; egyáltalán nem úgy gondoltam.

I didn’t intend it as an insult; that isn’t how I meant it at all.

Hungarian often chooses szán valaminek when the intended role itself is named, as the first clause shows. Gondol expresses seriousness or intended interpretation rather than replacing English mean in every construction.

Conversational formulas

Hungarian can omit a recoverable thought-content object. Gondolod? means “Do you think so?”; its definite ending points to an understood ezt/azt. In Ki gondolta volna? “Who would have thought?”, ki is the subject, while the surprising proposition is the understood definite content.

Gondolod, hogy még elérjük az utolsó vonatot?

Do you think we’ll still catch the last train?

Ki gondolta volna, hogy a régi recept lesz a legnépszerűbb?

Who would have thought that the old recipe would be the most popular?

The idiom gondol egyet presents a spontaneous decision (informal). Here egyet is an indefinite object, so the verb uses the indefinite paradigm.

Tegnap gondoltam egyet, és átrendeztem a dolgozószobát.

Yesterday I made a spur-of-the-moment decision and rearranged my study.

The imperative Gondolj bele! means “Just think about it!” or “Consider what that entails.” In the positive command the directional element bele follows the verb.

Gondolj bele, mennyi időt takarítanánk meg ezzel!

Just think how much time we would save with this!

English permits think of doing and think about going. Hungarian does not normally use bare gondol + infinitive for a plan. Say arra gondolok, hogy elmegyek “I’m thinking of going” or azt tervezem, hogy elmegyek “I plan to go.”

Meggondol, átgondol, and kigondol

Meggondol valamit means consider it; reflexive meggondolja magát means change one’s mind. Átgondol valamit means think it through. Kigondol valamit means devise or conceive it.

Még egyszer meggondolom az ajánlatot, mielőtt válaszolok.

I’ll consider the offer once more before I reply.

A részleteket nem gondoltuk át elég alaposan.

We did not think the details through carefully enough.

Ki gondolta ki ezt az ügyes tárolási rendszert?

Who came up with this clever storage system?

Negation and interrogative focus separate át/ki from the verb. The definite object still controls gondoltuk, while question-word subject ki causes prefix separation independently. The prefix-order guide explains that interaction.

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Learn prefixed meanings as complete entries: meggondol valamit, meggondolja magát, átgondol valamit, and kigondol valamit. The prefixes change lexical meaning, not just completion.

Infinitive and participles

Personal infinitive forms are gondolnom, gondolnod, gondolnia, gondolnunk, gondolnotok, gondolniuk.

Át kell gondolnunk, milyen adatokat kérünk az űrlapon.

We need to think through which data we request on the form.

Form	Typical use	Register
gondolni	valakire gondolni “think of someone”	unmarked
gondoló	a jövőre gondoló vezető “a leader thinking about the future”	mainly with a complement
gondolt	ajándéknak gondolt tárgy “object thought to be a gift”	expanded attributive use
gondolva	a gyerekekre gondolva “with the children in mind”	unmarked
gondolandó	meggondolandó javaslat “proposal worth considering”	(formal), usually prefixed

Common Mistakes

❌ Minden este a családomról gondolok.

Incorrect for directed thought — the person thought of takes -ra/-re.

✅ Minden este az otthon maradt családomra gondolok.

Every evening I think of my family back home.

❌ Azt gondolok, hogy később kezdődik az előadás.

Incorrect — definite azt requires gondolom.

✅ Azt gondolom, hogy később kezdődik az előadás.

I think the performance starts later.

❌ Mit gondolod erről a módosításról?

Incorrect — interrogative mit selects indefinite gondolsz.

✅ Mit gondolsz erről a költségvetési módosításról?

What do you think about this budget amendment?

❌ Nem átgondoltuk a költözés minden költségét.

Incorrect — neutral negation separates át- from the verb.

✅ Nem gondoltuk át a költözés minden költségét.

We did not think through every cost of the move.

Key Takeaways

The principal forms are gondol – gondolt – gondolna – gondolj – gondolni – gondoló.
Directed thought takes sublative: rád/valamire gondol, with indefinite conjugation.
An opinion topic can take delative, while its content is an object: gondol valamit valamiről.
Azt gondolom, hogy… presents belief content; arra gondoltam, hogy… often introduces a contemplated plan.
Komolyan gondolja means “means it seriously,” but Hungarian uses other verbs for some English mean constructions.
Recoverable content can remain implicit in formulas such as Gondolod? and Ki gondolta volna?
Prefixes create distinct verbs, and their placement responds to negation and focus.

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