Hungarian Plural
Learning the Hungarian Plural is very important because its structure is used in every day conversation. The more you practice the subject, the closer you get to mastering the Hungarian language. But first we need to know what the role of Plural is in the structure of the grammar in Hungarian.
Hungarian Plurals are grammatical numbers, typically referring to more than one of the referent in the real world. In the English language, singular and plural are the only grammatical numbers.
Grammar Tips:
While in English, the plural is formed by
adding (s) to the singular. In Hungarian, to form the plural of nouns and adjectives we add (-k) to words ending in a vowel
and (-<vowel>k) to words ending in a
consonant. Sometimes the noun itself changes before adding the –k. Here are some examples:
Barát (a friend) becomes: Barátok (some friends)
Nő (one woman) becomes: Nők (some women)
Elv (principle) becomes Elvek.
Bőrönd (suitcase) becomes Bőröndök
Daru (crane, a machinery) becomes Daruk
Daru (crane, a bird) becomes Darvak
Ez az én piros autóm (this is my red car)
becomes: Ezek az én piros autóim (these are my red cars) (The Hungarian plural is formed
differently in the genitive case and there are lots of exceptions. Plural is
one of the most complicated aspect of Hungarian grammar.)
Here are some examples:
| English Plural | Hungarian Plural |
| Plural | Többes szám |
| my book | (az én) könyvem ((but this is not plural)) |
| my books | (az én) könyveim |
| our daughter | (a mi) lányunk |
| our daughters | (a mi) lányaink |
| I'm cold | fázom |
| we're cold | fázunk |
| his chickens | (az ő) csirkéi |
| their chicken | (az ő) csirkéik |
As you can see from the example above, the structure of the Plural in Hungarian has a logical pattern. Locate the Plural above and see how it works with the rest of the sentence in Hungarian.
List of Plurals in Hungarian
Below is a list of the Plurals and Singulars in Hungarian placed in a table. Memorizing this table will help you add very useful and important words to your Hungarian vocabulary.
| English Plural | Hungarian Plural |
| alligator | aligátor |
| alligators | aligátorok |
| bear | medve |
| bears | medvék |
| bird | madár |
| birds | madarak |
| bull | bika |
| bulls | bikák |
| cat | macska |
| cats | macskák |
| cow | tehén |
| cows | tehenek |
| deer | szarvas |
| many deer | szarvasok |
| dog | kutya |
| dogs | kutyák |
| donkey | szamár |
| donkeys | szamarak |
| eagle | sas |
| eagles | sasok |
| elephant | elefánt |
| elephants | elefántok |
| giraffe | zsiráf |
| giraffes | zsiráfok |
| goat | kecske |
| goats | kecskék |
| horse | ló |
| horses | lovak |
| lion | oroszlán |
| lions | oroszlánok |
| monkey | majom |
| monkeys | majmok |
| mouse | egér |
| mice | egerek |
| rabbit | nyúl |
| rabbits | nyulak |
| snake | kígyó |
| snakes | kígyók |
| tiger | tigris |
| tigers | tigrisek |
| wolf | farkas |
| wolves | farkasok |
Plural and Singular have a very important role in Hungarian, therefore they need very special attention. Once you're done with Hungarian Plural, you might want to check the rest of our Hungarian lessons here: Learn Hungarian. Don't forget to bookmark this page.