Relative Clauses in Hungarian

In Brief

A Hungarian relative clause adds information about a person, thing, place, or time. Use aki for people, ami for things or whole ideas, ahol for a location, and amikor for a time: A ház, ahol lakom means “The house where I live.” Unlike English who and that, Hungarian relative words often take case endings that show their role inside the relative clause.

Overview

A relative clause is a part of a sentence that identifies or describes something: in “the colleague who called,” the words “who called” form the relative clause. Hungarian calls this a vonatkozó mellékmondat. It normally follows the person, thing, place, or time it refers to, known as its antecedent (the earlier word being described).

At B1, the essential choice is manageable: aki refers to a person, ami to a thing or an entire statement, ahol to a place, and amikor to a time. You also need to recognize common forms such as akit and amit, where the accusative ending -t marks the direct object (the person or thing directly affected by the verb).

English often leaves out object relatives: “the book I am reading.” Hungarian cannot simply leave the relative position empty. It needs an explicit form: a könyv, amit olvasok. Hungarian also regularly places a matching demonstrative such as az (“that”) in the main clause: Az a könyv, amit keresek — “That is the book I’m looking for.”

How It Works

Choosing the basic relative word

What the clause refers to	Basic form	Typical English equivalent	Example
a person or people	aki, plural akik	who	A nő, aki itt dolgozik — “The woman who works here”
a thing, fact, or entire idea	ami	which, that, what	Ami történt, meglepett. — “What happened surprised me.”
a place	ahol	where	A város, ahol születtem — “The city where I was born”
a destination	ahová	where, to which	A hely, ahová megyünk — “The place we are going to”
a point of origin	ahonnan	where, from which	A falu, ahonnan jött — “The village he came from”
a time or occasion	amikor	when	A nap, amikor találkoztunk — “The day when we met”

The form is chosen according to the meaning inside the relative clause, not only according to the noun before it. Compare:

• A fiú, aki vár. — “The boy who is waiting.” The boy is the subject (the person doing the action).
• A fiú, akit várok. — “The boy whom I am waiting for.” The boy is the object of várok.
• A fiú, akivel beszélek. — “The boy I am speaking with.” The ending -vel expresses “with.”

Adding case endings

Hungarian uses cases: endings attached to a noun or pronoun to show its job, such as object, recipient, location, or companion. Relative pronouns take the ending required by the verb or relationship within their own clause.

Function inside the clause	Person	Thing	Meaning
subject	aki	ami	who/which does something
direct object	akit	amit	whom/which something affects
recipient or possessor	akinek	aminek	to/for whose; whose/of which
companion or means	akivel	amivel	with whom/with which
surface location	akin	amin	on whom/on which
into something	—	amibe	into which
from inside something	—	amiből	out of/from which

The same principle works with many other case endings. Hungarian therefore says a szék, amin ülök (“the chair I am sitting on”) rather than adding a separate equivalent of English on after the clause.

The role of the antecedent in the main clause and the role of the relative pronoun are grammatically separate:

• Látom azt az embert, aki integet. — “I see the person who is waving.” Azt is an object in the main clause; aki is the subject of integet.
• Annak adom a kulcsot, akinek szüksége van rá. — “I give the key to the person who needs it.” Here both forms happen to use -nak/-nek, but each belongs to its own clause.

The correlative pattern: az … aki/ami

Hungarian often pairs a demonstrative in the main clause with a relative word in the subordinate clause. A correlative pair is simply a pair of words that point to the same person or thing across the two clauses.

Main-clause pointer	Relative form	Natural meaning
az, aki …	person	the one who …
az, ami …	thing or idea	that which / what …
ott, ahol …	place	where / in the place where …
akkor, amikor …	time	when / at the time when …
oda, ahová …	destination	to where …
onnan, ahonnan …	origin	from where …

Examples include Az nyer, aki először ér célba (“The one who reaches the finish first wins”) and Ott találkozunk, ahol tegnap (“We’ll meet where we did yesterday”). The pointer may carry a case ending: Azt választom, amelyik olcsóbb (“I’ll choose the one that is cheaper”).

When az directly modifies a stated noun, its familiar article pattern appears: az a könyv (“that book”), azt a könyvet (“that book” as an object). Thus Az a könyv, amit keresek can mean “That is the book I’m looking for” or, depending on the larger sentence, begin a phrase meaning “that book which I’m looking for.”

Word order and punctuation

The relative clause normally comes immediately after what it describes. Hungarian marks it off with a comma:

• Ismered a lányt, aki Péterrel beszél?
• Megtaláltam a kulcsot, amit tegnap elvesztettem.

Use the comma even when English would use no comma before a defining that-clause. The difference between English “the guests who arrived early” and “the guests, who arrived early” is not represented by simply adding or removing the Hungarian comma; Hungarian uses context, wording, and intonation to convey that distinction.

Normal Hungarian word-order principles still operate inside the clause. The focused element tends to stand before the verb: a könyv, amit te választottál emphasizes “you,” while a könyv, amit tegnap választottál makes “yesterday” part of the central information.

Examples in Context

Hungarian	English	Note
Az ember, aki jön, a szomszédom.	The person who is coming is my neighbor.	aki is the subject.
A tanár, akit tegnap láttál, ma nincs itt.	The teacher whom you saw yesterday is not here today.	akit is a direct object.
Ő az a kolléga, akivel együtt dolgozom.	She is the colleague I work with.	-vel means “with.”
A könyv, amit olvasok, nagyon izgalmas.	The book I’m reading is very exciting.	Hungarian keeps amit; English may omit “that.”
Nem értem azt, amit mondasz.	I don’t understand what you are saying.	Correlative azt … amit.
Ez az az alkalmazás, amivel jegyet lehet venni.	This is the app you can buy a ticket with.	amivel expresses means.
A ház, ahol lakom, közel van az állomáshoz.	The house where I live is close to the station.	Static location.
Mutasd meg a helyet, ahová a csomagot viszem.	Show me the place where I should take the package.	Destination.
Visszamentünk a kávézóba, ahonnan telefonáltál.	We went back to the café you called from.	Origin.
Emlékszem arra a napra, amikor megismerkedtünk.	I remember the day when we met.	Time reference.
Az kap belépőt, aki időben jelentkezik.	Whoever applies on time gets a ticket.	az … aki means “the one who.”
Ami tegnap történt, arról még beszélnünk kell.	We still need to discuss what happened yesterday.	ami refers to an event.
Azt a kabátot vedd fel, amelyik melegebb.	Wear the coat that is warmer.	amelyik selects one from a set.
A dokumentum, amelyet aláírtak, holnap lép hatályba.	The document that they signed takes effect tomorrow.	Formal written amelyet.

Common Mistakes

Using aki for an ordinary thing

• Wrong: A telefon, aki az asztalon van…
• Right: A telefon, ami az asztalon van…
• Why: aki normally refers to people; use ami for a thing in ordinary speech.

Forgetting the accusative -t

• Wrong: A filmet, ami tegnap láttam…
• Right: A filmet, amit tegnap láttam…
• Why: The film is the direct object of láttam, so the relative pronoun must be amit. The ending on filmet belongs to the main clause and does not replace the ending on amit.

Omitting the relative word as English does

• Wrong: A könyv, olvasok, érdekes.
• Right: A könyv, amit olvasok, érdekes.
• Why: English permits “the book I’m reading,” but standard Hungarian requires the relative pronoun.

Copying English comma rules

• Wrong: A nő aki telefonált visszahív.
• Right: A nő, aki telefonált, visszahív.
• Why: Put a comma before the relative clause and, when the main sentence continues, after it as well.

Using ahol for every kind of “where”

• Wrong: A város, ahol holnap utazunk…
• Right: A város, ahová holnap utazunk…
• Why: ahol describes being at a place; ahová expresses movement toward it. Use ahonnan for movement from it.

Matching the relative form only to the main clause

• Wrong: Látom azt a férfit, akit ott áll.
• Right: Látom azt a férfit, aki ott áll.
• Why: The man is an object of látom but the subject of áll. Choose aki according to the relative clause.

Usage Notes

In everyday Hungarian, ami/amit is extremely common for things. Careful formal writing often prefers amely/amelyet when the antecedent is a clearly stated noun: a szerződés, amelyet aláírtak. This is mainly a register choice, not a reason to avoid ami in conversation.

Amelyik usually singles out one member of a known or implied set: Válaszd azt, amelyik tetszik (“Choose the one you like”). Its plural is amelyek or, when explicitly selecting among plural members, forms based on amelyik may appear according to the sentence. At B1, focus first on the frequent singular contrast between general ami and selective amelyik.

The person/thing distinction follows meaning rather than grammatical animacy in every imaginable context. Pets may be spoken about with person-like forms when they are treated as individuals, but the neutral learner choice for an animal is generally a thing-form. Collective nouns and organizations also commonly take ami/amely, even though English may use “who” for an organization.

Beyond the Basics: More Precise Relative Forms

Hungarian has a broader relative system built from forms beginning with a-. Alongside ahol, ahová, and ahonnan, you will meet forms such as ahogyan (“the way that/as”), ameddig (“as far as/until”), amilyen (“of the kind that”), and amennyi (“as much/many as”). These often pair with matching main-clause words:

• Úgy csináld, ahogyan mutattam. — “Do it the way I showed you.”
• Addig maradok, ameddig szükség van rám. — “I’ll stay as long as I’m needed.”
• Olyan kabátot keresek, amilyet a képen láttam. — “I’m looking for the kind of coat I saw in the picture.”

A relative clause can also refer back to an entire preceding statement rather than one noun. Ami is natural in this use: Lekéste a vonatot, ami nem lepett meg — “He missed the train, which did not surprise me.” Here ami refers to the whole fact that he missed it.

Possession requires particular care. Akinek or aminek can introduce the possessor, while the possessed noun carries its normal possessive ending: A nő, akinek a fia orvos means “The woman whose son is a doctor.” Literally, the structure is closer to “the woman, to whom her son is a doctor” than to English whose. Learn such combinations as complete patterns rather than translating word by word.

Finally, formal prose may use heavier forms with amely, while speech tends toward ami and amelyik. Recognizing the full range matters for reading; producing the simplest natural form accurately is more valuable at B1 than forcing a literary alternative into conversation.

Practice Tips

1. Change the role, not just the noun. Start with a nő, aki vár and transform it into a nő, akit várok, a nő, akivel beszélek, and a nő, akinek írok. This makes the case ending meaningful.
2. Build place triples. For each location, say one sentence with ahol (at), ahová (to), and ahonnan (from): a bolt, ahol vásárolok; ahová megyek; ahonnan jövök.
3. Join short sentences. Turn Ez a könyv. Ezt a könyvet keresem. into Ez az a könyv, amit keresek. When listening or reading, circle both halves of pairs such as az … aki, ott … ahol, and akkor … amikor.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Accusative Case (-t) — explains why object forms such as akit and amit end in -t.
• Next step: Reported Speech — develops your ability to connect main clauses with more complex subordinate clauses.