Question Formation in Hungarian

In Brief

Hungarian does not add an equivalent of English do to make a question. In everyday speech, a yes/no question usually has the same words as a statement but uses question intonation: Jössz? (“Are you coming?”). The particle -e provides a more explicit, often formal or written alternative (Jössz-e?), while a question word normally occupies the important focus position immediately before the finite verb: Mit csinálsz? (“What are you doing?”).

Overview

At A1, you learn useful question words such as ki (“who”), mi (“what”), and hol (“where”). At A2, the key step is learning how these words interact with Hungarian sentence structure. Hungarian word order is flexible, but each order does not mean exactly the same thing: the position before the verb often carries focus, meaning the item presented as the answer, correction, or most important new information.

This differs from English in two useful ways. First, Hungarian does not use subject–auxiliary inversion or add do/does/did: Ismered Annát? literally keeps the words in the statement order, although its intonation makes it a question. Second, question words do not trigger an English-style switch such as “you are” → “are you.” Instead, the question word normally takes the preverbal focus slot: Kit ismersz? (“Whom do you know?”).

Hungarian question words also take case endings. A case ending is a suffix showing a word’s role or relation—roughly what English often expresses with a preposition. This produces forms such as kit (“whom”), kinek (“to whom/whose”), mivel (“with what”), and hova (“where to”). Forming natural questions therefore involves both choosing the right question word and putting it in the right place.

How It Works

1. Yes/no questions with intonation

A yes/no question asks whether a whole statement is true. In ordinary conversation, use the same basic sentence structure as in a statement and signal the question with intonation and a question mark in writing.

Statement	Question	Meaning
Anna otthon van.	Anna otthon van?	Is Anna at home?
Ismered Pétert.	Ismered Pétert?	Do you know Péter?
Holnap dolgoztok.	Holnap dolgoztok?	Are you working tomorrow?

There is no added word corresponding to English do. The Hungarian verb already carries person and tense information: látod means “you see it,” and Látod? means “Do you see it?”

In neutral yes/no questions, Hungarian speech commonly uses a characteristic question melody. With more than one syllable, the pitch often rises before the final syllable and then falls; very short questions may simply rise. You do not need to imitate a diagram: listen to complete questions and copy their rhythm as a unit.

2. Yes/no questions with -e

The unstressed particle -e marks a question explicitly. It is written with a hyphen and normally attaches to the finite verb—the verb form carrying person, tense, or mood.

Pattern	Example	Meaning
finite verb + -e	Jössz-e?	Are you coming?
finite auxiliary + -e	Fogsz-e jönni?	Will you come?
negative + finite verb + -e	Nem jössz-e?	Aren’t you coming? / Are you not coming?

With a conjugated auxiliary or modal, attach -e to that finite form, not to the infinitive: El tudsz-e jönni? (“Can you come?”), not El tudsz jönni-e? in careful standard usage.

The particle is common when a question must be unmistakable without spoken intonation: formal correspondence, questionnaires, surveys, official wording, and deliberate or rhetorical questions. It is grammatically available in speech too, but a simple Jössz? is usually more natural than Jössz-e? in casual conversation.

When the present-tense third-person copula (“is/are”) is omitted, -e can attach to the nominal or adjectival predicate—the expression saying what something is: Péter orvos-e? (“Is Péter a doctor?”), Fontos-e? (“Is it important?”). This is an important extension of the simple “attach it to the verb” rule.

3. Information questions and the focus position

An information question asks for a missing person, thing, place, reason, time, or manner. The question word normally stands directly before the finite verb because it is the unknown information in focus.

Basic pattern	Hungarian	Meaning
question word + verb	Ki jön?	Who is coming?
topic + question word + verb	Anna mikor érkezik?	When is Anna arriving?
time/topic + question word + verb	Holnap hova mész?	Where are you going tomorrow?

Other background information may come first. In Te mikor indulsz?, te sets the topic (“as for you”), while mikor asks for the missing information and remains before indulsz.

English speakers often expect the subject to follow the verb after a question word. Do not invert it. Hungarian says Mikor érkezik Anna? or Anna mikor érkezik?, depending on how the information is organised—not an English-derived structure requiring a separate auxiliary.

4. Common question-word families

The ending on a question word must match the relationship you are asking about. Compare “where,” “where to,” and “where from”: English uses separate prepositions, while Hungarian builds the distinction into the question word.

Question word	Usual meaning	Example
ki?	who?	Ki telefonál? — Who is calling?
kit?	whom? (direct object)	Kit vársz? — Whom are you waiting for?
kinek?	to whom?; whose?	Kinek írsz? — Who are you writing to?
mi?	what?	Mi történt? — What happened?
mit?	what? (direct object)	Mit kérsz? — What would you like?
mivel?	with what?; by what means?	Mivel utazol? — How/By what means are you travelling?
hol?	where? (location)	Hol dolgozol? — Where do you work?
hova?	where to?	Hova mész? — Where are you going?
honnan?	where from?	Honnan jössz? — Where are you coming from?
mikor?	when?	Mikor kezdünk? — When do we start?
miért?	why?	Miért nevetsz? — Why are you laughing?
hogyan? / hogy?	how?	Hogyan működik? — How does it work?
melyik?	which one?	Melyiket választod? — Which one do you choose?
mennyi? / hány?	how much? / how many?	Hány jegyet kérsz? — How many tickets do you want?

The -t in kit, mit, and melyiket marks the direct object—the person or thing directly affected by the action. Use ki or mi when the requested item is the subject: Ki lát téged? (“Who sees you?”). Use kit or mit when it is the object: Kit látsz? (“Whom do you see?”).

5. Focus can change the position of verb prefixes

Many Hungarian verbs have a prefix, also called a preverb, such as el- in elolvas (“read through/finish reading”) or meg- in megvesz (“buy”). In a neutral statement, the prefix usually comes before the verb. When a question word takes focus immediately before the verb, the prefix commonly moves behind the verb.

Neutral statement	Question	Meaning
Elolvasod a könyvet.	Mit olvasol el?	What will you read through/finish?
Megveszed a jegyet.	Mit veszel meg?	What are you buying?
Felhívod Annát.	Kit hívsz fel?	Whom are you calling?

This prefix movement is one of the clearest signs that the question word is in focus. At A2, learn common question-and-verb combinations as whole patterns rather than trying to rearrange every prefix consciously.

6. Asking about a topic versus confirming it

A question word requests missing information: Ki jön? (“Who is coming?”). A yes/no question checks a proposed answer: Anna jön? (“Is Anna coming?”). Strong spoken emphasis can narrow what is being checked:

• ANNA jön? — Is it Anna who is coming?
• Anna JÖN? — Is Anna actually coming?
• Anna HOLNAP jön? — Is Anna coming tomorrow?

Capital letters here only show spoken stress; ordinary Hungarian spelling does not capitalise focused words.

Examples in Context

Hungarian	English	Note
Látod-e?	Do you see it?	Explicit -e question
Kérsz egy kávét?	Would you like a coffee?	Everyday yes/no question
El tudsz-e jönni pénteken?	Can you come on Friday?	-e on the finite modal tudsz
Péter otthon van-e?	Is Péter at home?	Formal or deliberate wording
Ez a hely szabad-e?	Is this seat/place free?	-e with an adjectival predicate
Ki jön velünk?	Who is coming with us?	ki is the subject
Kit vársz az állomáson?	Whom are you waiting for at the station?	kit is the direct object
Mit csinálsz hétvégén?	What are you doing at the weekend?	Question word before the verb
Hova mész munka után?	Where are you going after work?	Destination: hova
Honnan ismered Zsófit?	Where do you know Zsófi from?	Source/origin: honnan
Kinek adod a kulcsot?	Who are you giving the key to?	Recipient: kinek
Mivel mész Budapestre?	How are you getting to Budapest?	Means of transport: mivel
Melyik filmet nézzük meg?	Which film shall we watch?	Prefix meg follows the verb
Miért nem válaszoltál?	Why didn’t you answer?	Negative information question
Anna mikor érkezik meg?	When does Anna arrive?	Topic first; prefix after verb

Common Mistakes

Adding an English-style equivalent of “do”

• Wrong: Csinálsz te szereted ezt?
• Right: Szereted ezt?
• Why: Hungarian needs no extra auxiliary for “Do you like this?” The conjugated verb and question intonation are enough.

Putting -e on the infinitive

• Wrong: Tudsz segíteni-e?
• Right: Tudsz-e segíteni?
• Why: In careful standard Hungarian, -e attaches to the finite, conjugated verb, here tudsz, not to the infinitive segíteni.

Writing -e as a separate word

• Wrong: Jössz e holnap?
• Right: Jössz-e holnap?
• Why: The particle is joined to its host with a hyphen.

Using hol for movement toward a place

• Wrong: Hol mész? when you mean “Where are you going to?”
• Right: Hova mész?
• Why: Hol asks about location; hova asks about a destination. Hol mész? can make sense as “Where are you walking/travelling?”—the location of the movement—but it does not normally ask for the destination.

Confusing ki and kit

• Wrong: Ki látsz?
• Right: Kit látsz?
• Why: The person seen is the direct object, so ki takes the object ending -t. Compare Ki lát? (“Who sees?”), where the answer is the subject.

Leaving a verb prefix before the verb under question-word focus

• Wrong: Mit megveszel? as a neutral “What are you buying?”
• Right: Mit veszel meg?
• Why: The focused question word stands immediately before the verb, and the prefix moves after it.

Usage Notes

In friendly, spontaneous conversation, intonation questions are the default: Indulunk? (“Shall we go?”), Kész vagy? (“Are you ready?”). Replacing every one with -e may sound unusually careful, official, old-fashioned, or rhetorical. Use -e when you meet it in writing and when explicit marking suits the context; do not treat it as compulsory for every yes/no question.

The form vajon introduces wondering or uncertainty: Vajon eljön? (“I wonder whether he/she will come” or “Will he/she come, I wonder?”). It does not replace normal question structure and is not required for a direct question.

A negative question can express genuine uncertainty or an expectation: Nem jössz? may mean “Aren’t you coming?” and can suggest that the speaker expected you to come. Tone and context determine whether it sounds surprised, disappointed, or merely confirmatory.

In informal speech you may hear placements of -e that careful written standards avoid, especially after nem or later in a verb phrase. For dependable learner Hungarian, attach it to the finite verb: Nem tudod-e?, El fogsz-e jönni? Recognition of colloquial variants can come later.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master all of these points at A2, but they explain patterns you will meet later.

Multiple question words

Hungarian can ask about more than one unknown item: Ki mit hoz? (“Who is bringing what?”), Ki mikor érkezik? (“Who arrives when?”). One question word is usually closest to the verb, while another may stand earlier. The order can reflect how the speaker groups the possible answers. This belongs to a wider system of focus and quantifier word order, so begin by learning the common patterns as complete sentences.

Embedded questions

A question can sit inside a larger sentence: Nem tudom, hogy mikor érkezik. (“I don’t know when he/she is arriving.”) Here hogy introduces the embedded clause (a clause functioning inside another sentence), and mikor still asks for the missing time. Hungarian also uses -e in indirect yes/no questions: Nem tudom, hogy eljön-e. (“I don’t know whether he/she will come.”) In this use, -e corresponds closely to English “whether.”

Question words used indefinitely

With additional elements, question forms can develop non-question meanings: valaki (“someone”), senki (“nobody”), bárki (“anyone”), valami (“something”). These are separate pronoun systems, but recognising the ki/mi base helps you learn them. They do not automatically occupy question focus because they are not necessarily asking a question.

Questions that function as requests

A grammatical question may perform another social action. Ideadnád a sót? literally asks “Would you pass me the salt?” but functions as a polite request. Nem segítenél? (“Wouldn’t you help?”) can soften a request, though tone remains important. These patterns involve the conditional mood and go beyond basic A2 question formation.

Practice Tips

1. Build three-way place sets. Choose a familiar location and ask Hol vagy? Hova mész? Honnan jössz? Answer each aloud. This trains location, destination, and origin together.
2. Transform statements twice. Start with Anna holnap dolgozik. Make an intonation question (Anna holnap dolgozik?) and then an information question (Mikor dolgozik Anna?). Notice which information is being checked or requested.
3. Mark prefixes while listening. When you hear verbs such as megvesz, felhív, or elolvas, write one statement and one question: Megveszed a könyvet. Mit veszel meg? This makes focus-driven prefix movement visible.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Basic Questions — introduces the core Hungarian question words and simple yes/no questions.