Ül means “sit” or “be seated.” Its one-syllable stem is an excellent demonstration of front-rounded vowel harmony: ülök, ülünk, ültök, never forms with back-vowel -ok or -unk. Its ordinary posture meaning is intransitive, but prefixed compounds such as végigül “sit through” can take an object and therefore use definite conjugation.
The suffix choices follow the broader front-rounded harmony pattern, while this page supplies the complete verb-specific paradigm.
Principal parts and vowel harmony
Keep the two dots on ü. Hungarian u and ü are different vowels and can distinguish words; the accent is not optional decoration.
| Function | Form | Note |
|---|---|---|
| dictionary / present 3sg | ül | front rounded vowel |
| past 3sg | ült | stem + -t |
| conditional 3sg | ülne | front-vowel ending |
| imperative–subjunctive 2sg | ülj | stem + -j |
| infinitive | ülni | stem + -ni |
| present participle | ülő | long front rounded ő |
The contrast between short ü in ül and long ő in participial ülő must be pronounced and written. The ending harmonizes to the stem but can have a different rounding pattern according to the suffix’s own forms.
Indefinite conjugation
| Person | Present | Past | Conditional | Imperative–subjunctive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| én | ülök | ültem | ülnék | üljek |
| te | ülsz | ültél | ülnél | ülj / üljél |
| ő | ül | ült | ülne | üljön |
| mi | ülünk | ültünk | ülnénk | üljünk |
| ti | ültök | ültetek | ülnétek | üljetek |
| ők | ülnek | ültek | ülnének | üljenek |
A váróteremben ülök, közvetlenül a kijelző alatt.
I’m sitting in the waiting room, directly under the display.
Hungarian ülök can mean “I sit” or “I am sitting.” English aspect does not require a different Hungarian tense.
The person ending normally identifies the subject, so én ülök is used when “I” is contrasted or corrected, not simply because English requires an overt pronoun. In Én elöl ülök, te pedig hátul, the pronouns set up a contrast: “I sit in front, while you sit in back.” Neutral Elöl ülök already means “I am sitting in front.” This interaction between person marking and focus matters in every tense; ültünk supplies both past time and a first-person plural subject without a separate mi.
Definite forms in transitive extensions
Neutral posture ül has no accusative object. Definite forms occur especially with lexicalized or prefixed transitive uses: végigüli az előadást “sit through the lecture,” leüli a büntetését “serve the sentence,” and megüli a lovat “ride/manage to sit the horse.”
| Person | Present | Past | Conditional | Imperative–subjunctive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| én | ülöm | ültem | ülném | üljem |
| te | ülöd | ülted | ülnéd | üld / üljed |
| ő | üli | ülte | ülné | ülje |
| mi | üljük | ültük | ülnénk | üljük |
| ti | ülitek | ültétek | ülnétek | üljétek |
| ők | ülik | ülték | ülnék | üljék |
Nem szeretném végigülni a háromórás díjátadót.
I wouldn’t like to sit through the three-hour awards ceremony.
A diákok csendben végigülték az utolsó előadást is.
The students quietly sat through the final lecture too.
These uses are real but semantically restricted. Do not choose ülöm merely because an English sentence has on a chair: a széken is a location, not an object.
Seats, surfaces, and rooms
A chair, bench, floor, or other supporting surface commonly takes -n/-on/-en/-ön. A room or enclosed space commonly takes -ban/-ben.
A nagypapám a teraszon ül, és keresztrejtvényt fejt.
My grandfather is sitting on the terrace doing a crossword.
Ülj mellém a kanapéra, innen jobban látni a képernyőt.
Sit beside me on the sofa; you can see the screen better from here.
The state uses a static location: a kanapén ül “is sitting on the sofa.” Movement into the seated position uses a direction: a kanapéra ül “sits down onto the sofa.” English on does not show that static-versus-directional contrast.
Ülve turns posture into the manner or simultaneous background of another event:
A gyerekek a szőnyegen ülve hallgatták a mesét.
The children listened to the story while sitting on the rug.
Vehicles: learn the conventional location
Hungarian vehicle expressions do not follow a single literal “in/on” rule. One normally sits az autóban “in the car,” but a buszon, a vonaton, or a repülőn “on the bus/train/plane.”
A vonaton mindig az ablak mellett ülök, ha van szabad hely.
On the train I always sit by the window if there’s a free seat.
A taxiban hátul ültünk, mert elöl csomagok voltak.
We sat in the back of the taxi because there were packages in front.
Movement uses the corresponding prefixed verb and directional case. Beül az autóba/taxiba means get into and take a seat in it. Public transport typically uses felszáll a buszra/vonatra for “get on,” not felül in an ordinary travel instruction.
Beülök az autóba, és öt perc múlva ott vagyok.
I’ll get in the car, and I’ll be there in five minutes.
State, transition, and extended settings
Bare ül describes an existing seated state. Leül profiles the transition into that state, and ülve marad means remain seated. English sit can cover both state and change, especially in commands, so English speakers often omit le- where Hungarian naturally presents sitting down.
Már mindenki az asztalnál ült, amikor behozták a levest.
Everyone was already seated at the table when they brought in the soup.
A nézők csak akkor ültek le, amikor kialudtak a fények.
The audience sat down only when the lights went out.
Institutional settings extend the posture meaning. Bizottságban ül means serve as a member of a committee (formal), while börtönben ül means be in prison or serve time. The place remains a location, not an accusative object.
Kata három éve ül az egyetem etikai bizottságában.
Kata has served on the university’s ethics committee for three years.
A csaló jelenleg előzetes letartóztatásban ül.
The fraudster is currently being held in pretrial detention.
The second expression is common in news reporting and informal summaries; (formal) official legal prose usually chooses a more precise verb such as van or tartózkodik with the legal status.
Colloquial Hungarian also uses otthon ül to imply remaining at home, often inactive, not merely adopting a seated posture. Register and context carry that inference.
Nem akarok egész hétvégén otthon ülni, menjünk el valahová!
I don’t want to sit at home all weekend; let’s go somewhere!
Finally, ül valamin may describe literal support, while transitive prefixed ráül valamire can also mean physically sit on something or, figuratively, obstruct or delay it (informal). The figurative reading is lexical and should not be generalized to every prefix.
With posture commands, word choice also signals whether movement is intended. Ülj! by itself is commonly understood as “Sit down!”, although its morphological base is ül. Maradj ülve! explicitly means “Stay seated!”, while Ne ülj le! blocks the transition into sitting. English often uses the same imperative sit for all three messages, but Hungarian distributes them across a simple imperative, an adverbial-participle construction, and a prefixed verb.
A jóváhagyás hetek óta késik; valaki biztosan ráült az ügyre.
The approval has been delayed for weeks; someone must be sitting on the case.
Prefixes and changes of position
Leül focuses on becoming seated, felül on sitting up or mounting, beül on sitting inside, átül on changing seats, and végigül on enduring an event while seated. Context selects the prefix.
A vizsgálat előtt leültünk a folyosó végén.
Before the examination, we sat down at the end of the corridor.
Éjszaka hirtelen felültem az ágyban egy zajra.
At night I suddenly sat up in bed because of a noise.
Neutral negation and preverbal focus separate a prefix from its verb:
A későn érkezők már nem ültek le, csak az ajtó mellett maradtak.
The late arrivals didn’t sit down anymore; they just remained by the door.
Miért ültél át a másik kocsiba?
Why did you move to a seat in the other carriage?
The written forms mirror syntax: leültek when adjacent, nem ültek le when separated. Prefix placement is part of Hungarian information structure, not an optional stylistic rearrangement.
The prefix-order guide explains the same movement across the verb system.
Infinitive and participles
The personal infinitive is ülnöm, ülnöd, ülnie, ülnünk, ülnötök, ülniük. Rounded -nöm/-nöd/-nötök reflects the stem vowel.
A sérülésem miatt az első sorban kell ülnöm.
Because of my injury, I have to sit in the first row.
| Form | Typical use | Register |
|---|---|---|
| ülni | szeret az ablaknál ülni “likes sitting by the window” | unmarked |
| ülő | a sarokban ülő vendég “the guest sitting in the corner” | unmarked |
| ült | a korábban itt ült utas “the passenger who sat here earlier” | mainly expanded attributive use |
| ülve | ülve marad “remain seated” | unmarked |
| ülendő | rare future-participial form | (formal) and uncommon |
Common Mistakes
❌ Minden reggel ugyanazon a helyen ulok.
Incorrect — ül and ülök require the front rounded vowel ü.
✅ Minden reggel ugyanazon az ablak melletti helyen ülök.
Every morning I sit in the same seat by the window.
❌ A széket ülök a tárgyalóban.
Incorrect — the chair is a location, not an accusative object.
✅ A tárgyalóban a bejárathoz legközelebbi széken ülök.
In the meeting room, I sit on the chair closest to the entrance.
❌ Nem leülünk a hideg kőre.
Incorrect — neutral negation separates le- from the finite verb.
✅ Nem ülünk le a hideg kőre, mert nedves.
We aren’t sitting down on the cold stone because it’s wet.
❌ A taxira ülök be, mert túl nagy a csomagom.
Incorrect — beül requires an interior goal in -ba/-be, not a surface goal.
✅ A taxiba ülök be, mert túl nagy a csomagom.
I’m getting into a taxi because my luggage is too large.
Key Takeaways
- The principal forms are ül – ült – ülne – ülj – ülni – ülő.
- Front-rounded harmony produces ülök, ülünk, ültök and personal infinitive ülnöm.
- Ordinary posture ül is intransitive; transitive extensions such as végigül license definite forms.
- Static a széken ül contrasts with directional a székre ül.
- Bare ül describes a state, while leül normally presents the change into that state.
- Vehicle locations are conventional: az autóban, but a vonaton; say beül az autóba.
- Prefixes separate under negation and focus: leült, but nem ült le and miért ült át?
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