[Hungarian] Vowel Lengthening
So this was something that confused me at first, but itâs actually really simple!
It all has to do with a noun that ends in vowels a or e, and what we do to them when we add a suffix to a word.
Essentially, when a noun ends in vowels a or e, and we add any kind of suffix (plural, possession, cases, verb conjugation, etc), we lengthen the vowel - which means that we turn a into ĂĄ, and e into Ă©. Thatâs it. Just a lil accent!
medve + nek â> medvĂ©nek (to/for the bear)
alma + nak â> almĂĄnak (to/for the apple)
bĂĄtya + val â> bĂĄtyĂĄval (with the brother)
tĂĄska + bĂłl â> tĂĄskĂĄbĂłl (out of the bag)
anya + m -> anyĂĄm (my mother)
kutya + k -> kutyĂĄk (the dogs)
Now the important thing to remember is:Â
1. Multiple suffixes can be added to one noun.Â
2. When multiple suffixes are added, the vowel lengthening rules apply to the suffixes as well.
So letâs look at one example:
medvéjével (with his/her bear)
Weird word, lots of vowels and accents. Letâs look!
medve (bear) + -je (his/her) + -vel (with)
The e on the end of medve is lengthened because we add the suffix -je (his/her)**.
But! There is still a vowel at the end of the suffix. So we have to lengthen it as well, when we add a second suffix. So the e in -je gets lengthened as well, when we add the suffix -vel (with).
Now we have medvéjével.
Just like vowel harmony, this is something that will start coming naturally with practise!Â
** -je is not the only suffix for his/her - there are others depending on the letter the noun ends in, but that will be explained later, so donât worry too much about it now!
(yes, because there are always theseâŠ)
There are some cases and suffixes that do not lengthen the vowel. Those are:
-képp(en) (in a certain way / as, by way of)
-såg/-ség (noun modifier - we will look into this later)
-szor/-szer/-ször (times)
There may be more, but these are the only ones Iâve specifically seen listed as exceptions. If I come across any others I will update this list!
The only words you will see in Hungarian that end in o or ö are foreign words or foreign place names.Â
In these instances, you will also lengthen these vowels (o -> Ăł ; ö -> Ć).
Example: Oslo + ban = OslĂłban
Actual Hungarian words will never end in o or ö so you otherwise never have to worry about lengthening them, because itâs already done!
As a side note, i, u, and ĂŒ never lengthen, even when at the end of a word.
Please if you have any questions or want further explanation, donât hesitate to message me!
