Basic Adjectives in Hungarian

Overview

Hungarian adjectives are remarkably learner-friendly in one key respect: when placed before a noun (attributive position), they do not agree in number or case. You say szép ház (beautiful house) and szép házak (beautiful houses) — the adjective stays the same. This is simpler than most European languages.

However, there is an important exception: when the adjective functions as a predicate (after the subject, with no noun following), it does take the plural marker. A házak szépek. (The houses are beautiful.) This attributive/predicative split is the main rule to internalize at the CEFR A1 level.

Hungarian adjectives precede the noun they modify, just like in English. They form a large and productive word class, with many derived from nouns and verbs using regular suffixes.

How It Works

Attributive Position (Before Noun) — No Agreement

Hungarian	English	Note
szép ház	beautiful house	singular
szép házak	beautiful houses	still szép, no -ek!
nagy kutya	big dog	singular
nagy kutyák	big dogs	still nagy
piros alma	red apple	singular
piros almák	red apples	still piros

Predicative Position (After Subject) — Plural Agreement

Hungarian	English	Note
A ház szép.	The house is beautiful.	singular predicate
A házak szépek.	The houses are beautiful.	plural!
A kutya nagy.	The dog is big.	singular
A kutyák nagyok.	The dogs are big.	plural!

Common Basic Adjectives

Hungarian	English	Hungarian	English
nagy	big	kicsi/kis	small
szép	beautiful	csúnya	ugly
jó	good	rossz	bad
új	new	régi	old (things)
fiatal	young	öreg/idős	old (people)
gyors	fast	lassú	slow
drága	expensive	olcsó	cheap
könnyű	easy	nehéz	hard/heavy
hideg	cold	meleg	warm/hot

Adjective Plural Forms

The plural suffix on predicative adjectives follows vowel harmony:

Adjective	Plural predicative	Vowel type
szép	szépek	front
nagy	nagyok	back
könnyű	könnyűek	front
piros	pirosak	back

Examples in Context

Hungarian	English	Note
szép ház	beautiful house	attributive
nagy kutya	big dog	attributive
A házak szépek.	The houses are beautiful.	predicative plural
Jó napot!	Good day!	greeting
Új könyvet olvasok.	I read a new book.	attributive, no change
Az autó piros.	The car is red.	predicative singular
Az autók pirosak.	The cars are red.	predicative plural
Drága a kávé?	Is the coffee expensive?	predicative question
Szép időnk van.	We have nice weather.	attributive
A szobák kicsik.	The rooms are small.	predicative plural

Common Mistakes

Adding plural to attributive adjectives

• Wrong: szép*ek házak*
• Right: szép házak
• Why: Adjectives before nouns never change form. Only predicative adjectives (without a following noun) take plural.

Forgetting plural on predicative adjectives

• Wrong: A házak szép.
• Right: A házak szépek.
• Why: When the adjective is the predicate and the subject is plural, the adjective must also be plural.

Wrong vowel harmony on plural

• Wrong: A házak szépok
• Right: A házak szépek
• Why: Szép has front vowels, so its plural suffix is -ek, not -ok.

Usage Notes

The adjective kis is the attributive form of kicsi: kis ház (small house) but A ház kicsi. (The house is small.) Some adjectives have shortened attributive forms, though this is not systematic.

Hungarian can stack multiple adjectives before a noun without commas: szép nagy piros ház (a beautiful big red house). The order is typically opinion → size → color → noun, similar to English.

Practice Tips

• Describe five objects around you using attributive adjectives: nagy asztal, piros könyv, régi szék.
• Then make predicative sentences: Az asztal nagy. A könyv piros. A szék régi.
• Practice switching between singular and plural predicate: A ház szép. → A házak szépek.

Related Concepts

• Next steps: Adjective Usage — deeper attributive/predicative rules
• Next steps: Colors and Basic Description — color adjectives and descriptive patterns