Jön means “come”: it profiles motion toward the speaker, addressee, or another active reference center. Its forms alternate among jö-, jöv-, jött-, jönn-, and imperative jöjj-; everyday gyere adds a suppletive command. The irregularity is real, so principal parts are more reliable than a guessed stem rule.
This reference integrates those forms with source and goal cases, prefixes, and nonliteral uses. Compare the deictic partner megy for motion away from the reference center. Unlabeled forms below are neutral standard Hungarian.
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Present 3sg | Past 3sg | Imperative 2sg | Conditional 3sg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| jönni | jön | jött | jöjj / gyere | jönne |
The present paradigm alternates among jövök, jössz, jön, jövünk, jöttök, and jönnek rather than using one transparent stem throughout. The past uses jött-, while the conditional and infinitive have doubled nn. Do not drop the double consonants: jöttem, jönnék, jönni.
A szerelő kilenc körül jön, és előtte telefonálni fog.
The repair technician is coming around nine and will call beforehand.
Present and past
| Person | Present | Past |
|---|---|---|
| én | jövök | jöttem |
| te | jössz | jöttél |
| ő / ön | jön | jött |
| mi | jövünk | jöttünk |
| ti | jöttök | jöttetek |
| ők / önök | jönnek | jöttek |
Like megy, jön is intransitive and has no definite object paradigm. Source, destination, companion, and purpose phrases are oblique complements, not direct objects.
A szomszédaink tegnap jöttek vissza Horvátországból.
Our neighbors came back from Croatia yesterday.
Kivel jöttök a díjátadóra?
Who are you coming to the awards ceremony with?
Conditional and imperative–subjunctive
| Person | Conditional | Imperative–subjunctive |
|---|---|---|
| én | jönnék | jöjjek |
| te | jönnél | jöjj / jöjjél; gyere |
| ő / ön | jönne | jöjjön |
| mi | jönnénk | jöjjünk |
| ti | jönnétek | jöjjetek; gyertek |
| ők / önök | jönnének | jöjjenek |
Gyere and plural gyertek are the everyday informal commands of the unprefixed verb. Jöjj is also standard, but can sound more emphatic or elevated in an isolated invitation. With prefixes, everyday speech permits gyere be, while the productive paradigm remains visible in jöjjön be and subordinate clauses.
Gyere át vacsora után, ha még nem leszel fáradt!
Come over after dinner if you aren't too tired! (informal)
Kérem, jöjjön be, és foglaljon helyet!
Please come in and take a seat. (formal address)
Szeretném, ha a tolmács is eljönne a megbeszélésre.
I would like the interpreter to come to the meeting too.
Az orvos azt mondta, hogy két hét múlva jöjjek vissza kontrollra.
The doctor told me to come back for a check-up in two weeks.
The last sentence uses jöjjek because the subordinate subject is first-person singular. English leaves “to come” uninflected, while Hungarian marks that participant on the subjunctive verb.
An explicit future is built with fog + jönni (fogok jönni), but a present form plus a future-time expression is normally lighter for an arranged visit: Holnap jövök “I'm coming tomorrow.”
Infinitive and participles
The infinitive is jönni. Its personal forms are jönnöm, jönnöd, jönnie, jönnünk, jönnötök, jönniük. Rounded vowel harmony is visible in jönnöm, jönnöd, jönnünk, jönnötök.
A vendégeknek legkésőbb hatra kell megjönniük.
The guests have to arrive by six at the latest.
| Form | Function | Register |
|---|---|---|
| jövő | coming; next; future | neutral |
| jött | having come; originating from | neutral with a complement |
| jövendő / eljövendő | future; that which is to come | literary/formal |
| jőve | adverbial participle “coming” | rare and literary; normally replaced by a finite clause |
A vidékről jött hallgatók közül többen kollégiumban laknak.
Several of the students who came from outside the city live in a dormitory.
A jövő héten érkező csomagokat már az új raktárban vesszük át.
We will receive the parcels arriving next week at the new warehouse.
Here jövő in jövő héten is lexicalized as “next.” Eljövendő remains useful for recognition in elevated prose but is not an everyday substitute for ordinary jövő. The rare jőve exceptionally keeps long ő; ordinary finite forms use short ö.
Source, goal, companion, and purpose
Motion toward a center can name both origin and endpoint. Hungarian chooses a source case according to the relation left behind, just as it chooses a goal case according to the relation reached.
| Frame | Typical case | Example |
|---|---|---|
| from inside | -ból/-ből | az irodából jön |
| from a surface/place | -ról/-ről | Szegedről jön |
| from a person/endpoint | -tól/-től | az orvostól jön |
| to a person | -hoz/-hez/-höz | hozzánk jön |
| for a person/thing | -ért | értem jön; a csomagért jön |
A futár a hátsó bejárat felől jött, ezért nem hallottuk a kapucsengőt.
The courier came from the direction of the rear entrance, so we didn't hear the doorbell.
Négyre jövök érted az edzés után.
I'll come and pick you up at four after practice.
English “pick you up” is Hungarian érted jön in this frame: the person sought takes -ért, not the accusative.
Deictic viewpoint, not permanent geography
The same traveler can megy or jön depending on where the conversational center is. A host at the destination asks Mikor jössz?; a caller elsewhere may ask the traveler Mikor mész?. Hungarian can also adopt a future destination as the viewpoint.
Mi már a tónál vagyunk; jöttök ti is délután?
We're already at the lake; are you coming too this afternoon?
A lakásból indulsz, vagy egyenesen a munkából jössz hozzánk?
Are you leaving from home, or are you coming to our place straight from work?
Prefixes and information structure
Common combinations include bejön “come in; appeal/work,” kijön “come out; get along; amount to,” eljön “come/attend,” megjön “arrive,” visszajön “come back,” rájön “realize,” and összejön “come together; succeed.” Several are lexicalized, so English cannot predict them from the direction alone.
Megjött a laboreredmény, de az orvos még nem hívott vissza.
The lab result has arrived, but the doctor hasn't called back yet.
A csapatból mindenki eljött a búcsúvacsorára.
Everyone on the team came to the farewell dinner.
Negation and focal material commonly separate the prefix.
A busz még nem jött meg, úgyhogy van időnk kávét venni.
The bus hasn't arrived yet, so we have time to buy coffee.
Mikor jöttetek rá, hogy rossz címet kaptatok?
When did you realize that you had been given the wrong address?
In the second sentence, interrogative mikor occupies the focus position and rá follows jöttetek. This is grammatical information structure, not an optional rearrangement made for style.
Idiomatic nonmotion uses
| Frame | Meaning | Register |
|---|---|---|
| jól jön valami | something comes in handy | neutral/conversational |
| bejön valakinek | appeal to someone | informal |
| kijön valakivel | get along with someone | informal |
| honnan jön valami | originate; be caused by | neutral |
Jól jönne még egy hosszabbító a vetítéshez.
Another extension lead would come in handy for the screening.
Nem tudom, honnan jön ez a furcsa szag.
I don't know where this strange smell is coming from.
Common Mistakes
❌ Tegnap a nagybátyám jönt látogatóba.
Incorrect past form: jön has the irregular past jött.
✅ Tegnap a nagybátyám jött látogatóba.
My uncle came to visit yesterday.
❌ A kollégáimnak hétre kell jönnötök.
Incorrect personal infinitive: a third-person plural subject requires jönniük.
✅ A kollégáimnak hétre kell jönniük.
My colleagues have to arrive by seven.
❌ A nővéremet jövök az állomásra.
Incorrect frame: the person collected takes -ért, not the accusative.
✅ A nővéremért jövök az állomásra.
I'm coming to the station to pick up my sister.
⚠️ A villamos nem megjött.
Possible only under a special corrective focus; it is not neutral negation.
✅ A villamos nem jött meg.
The tram hasn't arrived.
Key Takeaways
- Memorize jön – jött – jöjj/gyere – jönni and retain every doubled consonant.
- Jön is intransitive; source, goal, companion, and -ért phrases are not direct objects.
- Choose jön from a conversational viewpoint, not simply from the traveler's geography.
- Everyday commands favor gyere/gyertek, while the full jöjj- series remains essential.
- Prefixes contribute path, aspect, and lexical meaning; negation and focus can send them behind the verb.
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