Hungarian

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Hungarian numbers (edit)
 ←  1 2 3  → [a], [b]
    Cardinal: kettő, két
    Nominal: kettes
    Ordinal: második
    Day of month: másodika
    A.o.: másodszor, másodjára
    Adverbial: kétszer
    Multiplier: kétszeres, kettős, dupla
    Distributive: kettesével
    Collective: mindkét, mindkettő
    Fractional: fél, ketted
    Number of people: ketten

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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mind +‎ két

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): [ˈmintkeːt]
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: mind‧két
  • Rhymes: -eːt

Numeral

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mindkét

  1. both
    Mindkét férfinak igaza volt.Both men were right.

Usage notes

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The numeral két (two) and the adjective kis (small, little) can only stand adjectively, before a noun (e.g. két alma (two apples) and kis alma (a small apple)). If they were to occur on their own (possibly also inflected), predicatively, or in reference to a whole noun phrase, the terms kettő (two) and kicsi (small) must be used instead: Csak kettő van (There are only two), Csak kicsi van (There is a small one only.) The same applies to compound numerals like tizenkét and tizenkettő (twelve). In terms of distribution, két and kis are like English sick (sick people ~ két/kis alma) while kettő and kicsi resemble ill (they are ill ~ csak kettő/kicsi van). The longer forms are definitely broader in use as they may also occur adjectively, whether for emphasis or as a form of colloquialism. As a rule of thumb, the short variants (két, kis) never stand on their own.

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Further reading

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  • mindkét in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (“The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language”, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN