Hungarian Cases Made Easy

Overview

Hungarian uses word endings to express ideas such as in the house, to a friend and with my family. These endings may seem difficult at first, but they become much easier when you learn what question each one answers.

Across 41 lessons, this course explains Hungarian cases step by step in English. Clear comparisons and plenty of example sentences help you understand the differences and choose the right ending in everyday situations.

Category:

Beginner

Enrollments

Level

Beginner

Time to Complete:

0 hour 0 minute

Lessons:

Certificate:

Yes

Overview

What You’ll Learn?

Understand what Hungarian case endings do.

Talk about where something is, where it is going and where it comes from.

Mark objects, recipients and other roles in a sentence.

Use common endings meaning “with,” “for,” “until” and more.

Recognise when a verb requires a particular ending.

Choose endings according to meaning rather than translating English prepositions word for word.

Requirements

You should be familiar with the Hungarian alphabet and basic sentence structure. Follow the lessons in order, pay attention to the question each ending answers, and practise changing the nouns in the example sentences. Revisit the comparison tables whenever two endings seem similar.

Syllabus Overview

Lessons

Quizzes

Tasks

Resources

Getting started

Welcome to Hungarian Cases Made Easy

What Is a Case Ending?

The Basic Form of a Noun

Vowel Harmony Made Simple

Adding Suffixes to Nouns

How to Ask the Right Question

Where? Inside, on, and at

Inside Something: -ban/-ben — a házban, az iskolában

On a Surface: -on/-en/-ön/-n — az asztalon, a széken

At a Place: -nál/-nél — az orvosnál, a barátomnál

Choosing Between “In,” “On,” and “At” — Comparing the three location cases

Location in Everyday Sentences — Homes, schools, shops, events, and people

Where to? Movement toward a place

Into Something: -ba/-be — a házba

Onto Something: -ra/-re — az asztalra

Toward a Place or Person: -hoz/-hez/-höz — az orvoshoz

Location or Movement? — -ban/-ben versus -ba/-be, and the other pairs

Talking About Where You’re Going — Natural sentences with common movement verbs

Where from? Movement away from a place

Out of Something: -ból/-ből — a házból

Off a Surface: -ról/-ről — az asztalról

Away from a Place or Person: -tól/-től — az orvostól

The Nine Place Endings at a Glance — Inside, surface, and nearby: location, destination, and origin

Describing a Complete Journey — Where you are, where you go, and where you come from

People and things in a sentence

The Direct Object: -t — Who or what receives the action?

Choosing the Object Ending — Connecting vowels and forms such as könyvet, almát

To or For Someone: -nak/-nek — Giving, telling, and showing

The Two Common Jobs of -nak/-nek — Recipient and possession: a lánynak adom; a lánynak a könyve

Object or Recipient? — Building sentences with both endings

With, without, for, and as

With Someone or Something: -val/-vel — Including consonant changes: kézzel, busszal

Without Someone or Something: nélkül — A useful case-like word

For a Purpose: -ért — segítségért, a családomért

As Someone or Something: -ként — tanárként

With or By Means of? — Natural uses of -val/-vel for companions and tools

Changes, endpoints, and comparisons

Becoming Something: -vá/-vé — orvossá válik

Until or Up To: -ig — Time and place: ötig, a városig

Compared with Something: -nál/-nél — nálam magasabb

About Something: -ról/-ről — a filmről beszélünk

From Someone or Something: -tól/-től — People, sources, and causes

Cases in real Hungarian

Time Expressions with Case Endings — reggel, hétfőn, nyáron, ötig

Case Endings and Possessive Forms — a házamban, a barátomhoz

Case Endings with Pronouns — bennem, nálad, velem, tőle

Place Names and Countries — Why we say Budapesten, Magyarországon, but Párizsban

Common Verbs and Their Case Endings — Learning combinations such as gondol valamire

Material Includes

41 PDF lessons with English explanations.

Hungarian example sentences with English translations.

Tables comparing related endings and their uses.

Clear examples of cases in complete sentences.

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