Numbers 1-100 in Hungarian

In Brief

Hungarian numbers become highly regular once you know 1–10 and the forms for the tens. Eleven to nineteen begin with tizen-, while twenty-one to twenty-nine begin with huszon-: tizenegy “eleven,” huszonegy “twenty-one.” The most important grammar rule is that a noun stays singular after a number: öt könyv literally has “five book,” although English says “five books.”

Overview

Cardinal numbers are the ordinary counting words used for quantities: one ticket, twelve people, ninety forints. In Hungarian, they are useful from your first A1 conversations—for prices, addresses, ages, phone numbers, shopping, and telling someone how many things you need.

The basic system has only a few forms that need special attention. The number two is kettő when it stands on its own but normally két directly before a noun. Ten and twenty also change slightly when another digit follows them: tíz becomes tizen-, and húsz becomes huszon-.

English speakers need to build one new habit immediately. A Hungarian noun (a word for a person, place, thing, or idea) does not take a plural ending when a number already gives the quantity. Hungarian treats the number as enough information: három alma is “three apples,” not három almák.

How It Works

The numbers 1–10

Number	Hungarian	Practical note
1	egy	Also the indefinite article “a/an” in some contexts
2	kettő / két	kettő alone; usually két before a noun
3	három	—
4	négy	—
5	öt	—
6	hat	—
7	hét	Also means “week”; context distinguishes them
8	nyolc	—
9	kilenc	—
10	tíz	Uses the combining form tizen- for 11–19

Learn these ten as complete words. They provide the final digit in almost every larger number up to 100.

Eleven through nineteen

For 11–19, use tizen- + the number from 1 to 9. Write the result as one word.

Number	Formation	Hungarian
11	tizen + egy	tizenegy
12	tizen + kettő	tizenkettő
13	tizen + három	tizenhárom
14	tizen + négy	tizennégy
15	tizen + öt	tizenöt
16	tizen + hat	tizenhat
17	tizen + hét	tizenhét
18	tizen + nyolc	tizennyolc
19	tizen + kilenc	tizenkilenc

Notice that tíz does not remain unchanged: the long í is shortened and -en is added. There is no equivalent of English -teen at the end; the “ten” part comes first.

Twenty and the twenties

Twenty by itself is húsz. In 21–29, it changes to huszon-, followed by the final digit:

Number	Hungarian	Number	Hungarian
20	húsz	25	huszonöt
21	huszonegy	26	huszonhat
22	huszonkettő	27	huszonhét
23	huszonhárom	28	huszonnyolc
24	huszonnégy	29	huszonkilenc

The compound uses kettő, not két, when two is the final digit: huszonkettő. If the entire number comes before a noun, however, that final element takes the attributive form két: huszonkét könyv “twenty-two books.” The same contrast appears in tizenkettő but tizenkét ember.

Thirty through one hundred

From 30 onward, combine the word for the multiple of ten directly with the final digit. Unlike tíz and húsz, these tens do not use an extra linking element.

Number	Hungarian	Example compound	Meaning
30	harminc	harmincegy	31
40	negyven	negyvenkettő	42
50	ötven	ötvenhárom	53
60	hatvan	hatvannégy	64
70	hetven	hetvenöt	75
80	nyolcvan	nyolcvanhat	86
90	kilencven	kilencvenkilenc	99
100	száz	—	100

Several tens resemble their base digit but are not completely predictable: compare három–harminc, négy–negyven, and hét–hetven. Memorize the tens as vocabulary. Within the range 1–100, compounds are written without spaces or hyphens: negyvenhét, not negyven hét or negyven-hét.

Numbers before nouns

The beginner pattern is:

number + singular noun

Hungarian pattern	Natural English meaning
egy ház	one house / a house
két ház	two houses
öt ház	five houses
száz ház	one hundred houses

Hungarian does have a plural suffix, usually -k, but it is not used here. Compare házak “houses” when no exact quantity precedes it with öt ház “five houses.” The same singular rule applies to people, objects, units, money, and expressions of age: három ember, tíz perc, ötven forint, húsz éves.

Asking “how many?”

The question word hány means “how many?” It follows the same singular-noun pattern:

• Hány jegy? — “How many tickets?”
• Hány éves vagy? — “How old are you?” (literally, “How many years old are you?”)

The answer can be a bare number if the noun is already clear: Kettő. “Two.” Before the repeated noun, use két: Két jegy. “Two tickets.”

Examples in Context

Hungarian	English	Note
Egy kávét kérek.	I’d like one coffee.	Egy before a noun
Kettő.	Two.	Standalone answer
Két jegyet kérek.	I’d like two tickets.	Két directly before a noun
Három alma van az asztalon.	There are three apples on the table.	Alma remains singular
Öt ház van az utcában.	There are five houses in the street.	Basic quantity pattern
Hány könyved van?	How many books do you have?	Hány + singular könyv
Tizenegy diák van itt.	There are eleven students here.	Tizen- compound
Tizenkét ember vár.	Twelve people are waiting.	Final két before a noun
A válasz tizenkettő.	The answer is twelve.	Standalone kettő in the compound
Huszonegy éves vagyok.	I am twenty-one years old.	Age expression
Huszonkét széket látok.	I see twenty-two chairs.	Két before szék
Ez harminc forint.	This is thirty forints.	Currency unit remains singular
Negyvenöt percet várunk.	We are waiting forty-five minutes.	Compound written as one word
A busz száma hetven.	The bus number is seventy.	A number used as a label
Száz ember dolgozik itt.	One hundred people work here.	Ember remains singular

The endings visible in forms such as kávét, jegyet, and percet have jobs elsewhere in the sentence; they do not make the noun plural. The key point here is that the noun still does not take plural -k.

Common Mistakes

Making the noun plural after a number

• Wrong: öt házak
• Right: öt ház
• Why: The number already expresses plurality, so the following noun stays singular. Do not copy the English pattern “five houses.”

Using kettő directly before a noun

• Less standard in a neutral phrase: kettő könyv
• Right: két könyv
• Why: Use két immediately before a noun. Use kettő when counting or when the number stands alone: Egy, kettő, három; Kettőt kérek.

Forgetting the same rule inside compound numbers

• Wrong: huszonkettő ember
• Right: huszonkét ember
• Why: When a compound ending in two modifies a noun, its ending changes from kettő to két. Compare standalone huszonkettő with huszonkét ember.

Keeping tíz or húsz unchanged in compounds

• Wrong: tízegy, húszegy
• Right: tizenegy, huszonegy
• Why: Eleven to nineteen require tizen-; twenty-one to twenty-nine require huszon-.

Separating numbers below 100

• Wrong: negyven öt
• Right: negyvenöt
• Why: Hungarian writes these compounds as one word. A space would not represent the standard spelling of 45.

Confusing hét “seven” with hét “week”

• Misleading assumption: két hét means “two sevens.”
• Right interpretation: két hét normally means “two weeks.”
• Why: The two words sound and look identical, so the surrounding phrase supplies the meaning.

Usage Notes

When reciting digits or giving a bare answer, kettő is clearer and is the normal full form for two. Before a named item, két is the everyday choice. Speakers may use kettő contrastively or for extra clarity in some situations, but learners can safely follow the simple distinction: standalone kettő, before a noun két.

A number can count something or identify it as a label. Bus numbers, room numbers, and similar labels may be expressed through number-derived forms in real-life Hungarian, not always as a bare cardinal number. At A1, focus first on recognizing and producing the cardinal forms in this article; labels and ordinal forms vary by context.

Hungarian attaches grammatical endings to number phrases when the sentence requires them. Often the ending appears on the noun: öt könyvet “five books” as the object of a verb. A grammatical object is the person or thing directly affected by the action. The number itself can also receive an ending when it stands alone, as in Kettőt kérek “I’d like two.” This does not change how the basic number is formed.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master these details yet, but they explain forms you will meet later.

Number words can behave like nouns and take suffixes: ötöt “five” as an object, öten “five people (as a group),” and öttel “by five/with five.” Their suffixes follow Hungarian vowel harmony, the system in which suffix vowels adjust to the vowels in the word, and some forms involve consonant changes. Learn these as part of the wider case and suffix system rather than trying to add endings mechanically now.

Hungarian also builds related words from numbers. Ordinal numbers show position in a sequence: első “first,” második “second,” harmadik “third.” Forms such as ötös can identify a grade, route, or item associated with five, depending on context. These are connected to cardinal numbers but have their own patterns and uses.

Above the range of this lesson, spelling becomes more important. Hungarian continues to build long number compounds, but larger numbers follow grouping and hyphenation rules that are unnecessary for counting from 1 to 100. Within this article’s range, writing the number as one word is the reliable rule.

Finally, egy is both the number “one” and the form used as the indefinite article corresponding roughly to English “a/an.” Context and emphasis help distinguish counting one item from merely introducing an unspecified item. That distinction belongs to the article system, but it explains why egy könyv can mean either “one book” or “a book.”

Practice Tips

1. Build in layers. First recall 1–10 without looking, then the ten multiples from 10 to 100. Once those are secure, generate random compounds such as 34, 58, and 97.
2. Pair every number with a singular noun. Say három könyv, nyolc alma, and húsz perc. This trains the grammar habit at the same time as the vocabulary.
3. Drill the two contrasts aloud. Alternate kettő — két jegy, tizenkettő — tizenkét ember, and huszonkettő — huszonkét könyv. This makes the form depend naturally on whether a noun follows.

Related Concepts

• Independent foundation: No prerequisite or downstream concepts are linked for this grammar item. It can be studied on its own before moving on to Hungarian age, time, prices, ordinal numbers, and noun suffixes.