Appendix:Hungarian low-vowel words
Low-vowel words (Hungarian nyitótő (literally “opening stem”), see also the article in the Hungarian Wikipedia) take a more open vowel than usual for their linking vowel:
- back-vowel types take -a- instead of the regular -o-,
- while rounded front-vowel types take -e- instead of the regular -ö-.
These words use this low linking vowel in the accusative even if it is not justified by the ending consonant, for example (low-vowel) vajat vs. (regular) bajt, from vaj (“butter”) and baj (“trouble”).
Apart from the accusative (-t), it affects the plural (-k), the possessive-suffixed forms (first and second person singular, second person plural: -m, -d, -tok/-tek/-tök), the distributive -nként, and the sociative -stul/-stül. As far as derivational suffixes are concerned, the adjective-forming suffix -s, and the ordinal-forming suffix -dik, the diminutive suffix -cska/-cske, and the verb forming suffixes -z/-zik and -l are also affected.
Back-vowel wordsEdit
| Word | Meaning | Vowel | Ending | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ág | branch | á | gá | |
| agy | brain | a | yga | |
| ágy | bed | á | ygá | |
| agyar | fang, tusk | zaa | rayga | |
| alj | lower part; skirt | a | jla | |
| áll | chin, jaw | á | llá | Inflection set apart from forms of the verb áll by the vowel. Homonymy brought about with állam (“state”). |
| ár | price; flood, flow, tide; awl | á | rá | Homonymy brought about with áram (“[electric] current”) and árad (“to swell/flood”); another homonymy with árok (“ditch, trench”) averted. |
| arany | gold | zaa | ynara | |
| árny | shade, shadow | á | ynrá | |
| báj | charm, gracefulness | á | jáb | Its accusative may also be bájt. |
| díj | fee; prize, award | í | jíd | |
| fal | wall | a | laf | Inflection set apart from forms of the verb fal by the vowel. Homonymy brought about with falat (“bite [of food]”). |
| fog | tooth | o | gof | Inflection set apart from forms of the verb fog by the vowel. Homonymy brought about with fogad (“to receive”) and fogat (“team of horses; carriage”). |
| gally | twig [small branch] | a | yllag | |
| gát | dam, dyke, levee | á | tág | |
| gyár | factory, plant | á | ráyg | |
| had | army, military troops | a | dah | |
| haj | hair [on the head] (only sing.) | a | jah | Homonymy brought about with hajadon (“maiden”). |
| háj | fat, flab | á | jáh | |
| hal | fish | a | lah | Inflection set apart from forms of the verb hal by the vowel. Homonymy brought about with halad (“to proceed”). |
| hamv | ash[es] (mostly in the plural) | a | vmah | |
| hárs | lime, linden | á | sráh | |
| has | abdomen, belly | a | sah | Homonymy brought about with hasad (“to crack, burst”). |
| hát | back | á | táh | |
| ház | house, building | á | záh | |
| héj | peel, shell, rind, [plant's] skin | é | jéh | |
| hold | moon; [approx.] acre | o | dloh | |
| hossz | length | o | zssoh | |
| igaz | truth; [being] right | zia | zagi | Used in the phrase igaza van (igazam, igazad, igazatok). |
| íj | bow [weapon] | í | jí | |
| kád | tub, bathtub | á | dák | |
| láb | leg, foot | á | bál | Homonymy brought about with lábad (“[of eyes] to fill with tears”). |
| láz | fever | á | zál | Homonymy brought about with lázad (“to revolt”). |
| lyuk | hole | u | kuyl | Homonymy brought about with lyukad (“to get a hole”). |
| máj | liver | á | jám | |
| máz | glaze, gloss; veneer, varnish | á | zám | |
| nád | reed, cane | á | dán | |
| nyáj | flock | á | jáyn | |
| nyak | neck | a | kayn | |
| nyál | saliva | á | láyn | |
| nyár | poplar, aspen | á | ráyn | Loses vowel length in the sense “summer”; see below. |
| nyárs | spit, skewer | á | sráyn | |
| ól | kennel, sty, henhouse | ó | ló | |
| olaj | oil | zoa | jalo | |
| oldal | side, flank | zoa | ladlo | Its accusative is oldalt. |
| sál | scarf, cravat; shawl | á | lás | |
| sarj | sprout, offshoot | a | jras | Homonymy brought about with sarjad (“to sprout”). |
| sav | acid | a | vas | |
| szád | (rare) aperture [of a cave, pot, etc.] | á | dázs | Homonymy existing with szád (“your mouth”). |
| száj | mouth | á | jázs | |
| szakáll | beard | zaá | llákazs | |
| szál | thread, yarn, [thin] stick | á | lázs | |
| szár | stalk, stem | á | rázs | Homonymy brought about with szárad (“to get dry”). |
| szárny | wing | á | ynrázs | |
| szarv | horn | a | vrazs | |
| szíj | strap, belt, thong | í | jízs | |
| szomj | thirst | o | jmozs | |
| táj | landscape, scenery | á | ját | |
| tál | bowl, dish, platter | á | lát | |
| talp | sole, (lower) foot | a | plat | |
| tár | store, repository; [rifle] magazine | á | rát | Regular accusative tárt is also possible. Inflection set apart from forms of the verb tár by the vowel. |
| tárgy | object | á | ygrát | |
| társ | companion, mate, partner, spouse | á | srát | |
| toll | pen, feather | o | llot | |
| ujj | finger (or thumb, toe) | u | jju | |
| vad | game [wild animal] | a | dav | Polysemy existing with vad (“wild [adjective]”). |
| vád | accusation, prosecution | á | dáv | |
| vágy | desire | á | ygáv | Inflection set apart from forms of the verb vágyik by the vowel. |
| vaj | butter | a | jav | |
| váll | shoulder | á | lláv | |
| vár | castle, fortress | á | ráv | Inflection set apart from forms of the verb vár by the vowel. |
| vas | iron [material] | a | sav | |
| váz | frame, framework | á | záv | |
| vonal | line | zoa | lanov | |
| zár | lock | á | ráz | Inflection set apart from forms of the verb zár by the vowel. |
The words kaptár (“beehive”) (kaptárok~kaptárak) and var (“scab, incrustation”) (varok~varak) might have this kind of suffix in the plural, although their normal inflection is the regular one.
The nouns lábos and város are exceptional in terms of their linking vowel; the regular (adjectival) derivations would be lábas and váras.
Non-noun elements of this groupEdit
Most of the adjectives (e.g. gyors (“fast, quick”), okos (“smart, clever”), rossz (“bad”), excluding nationalities like orosz), past participle and verbal participle forms, definite numerals (nyolc (“eight”), harminc (“thirty”), -van: hatvan (“sixty”), nyolcvan (“eighty”), száz (“hundred”)), and pronouns (hány (“how many”)), as well as the indefinite numerals (e.g. sok (“many”), néhány (“some”)) can be grouped here, including the numeral sense of pár (“a couple of”). However, the definite numeral hat (“six”) is inflected as a regular noun.
Already inflected word forms that take further inflectional suffixes will also take the low-vowel variant (that is, after the past tense -t, the subjunctive -j and its alternative forms in verbs, the plural -k and any possessive suffix in nouns, and the comparative degree -bb and the marking suffix -ik in adjectives and some pronouns).
Overlap with other groupsEdit
- The back-vowel nouns in the loss-of-length group belong here: agár, bogár, darázs, derék, fazék, fonal/fonál, híd, ín, kanál, kosár, kút, lúd, madár, mocsár, mozsár, nyár (in the sense “summer”), nyíl, nyúl, parázs, pohár, rúd, sár, sugár, szamár, úr, and út, as well as the numeral húsz (“twenty”).
- A few back-vowel nouns in the fleeting-vowel group also belong here: ajak, farok, fátyol, jászol, kazal, sarok (in the sense “heel”), sátor, vászon, as well as the numeral három (“three”) and all nouns ending in -alom.
- The back-vowel words among v-stem words take the low-vowel stem after the v, namely javak/java (formally the plural and the possessive of jó), hó, ló, szó, szú, tó, and optionally the v-variant forms of falu and mag.
- The ú~a stems like varjú and fattyú may also take the low-vowel (varjatok, fattyatok), as well as fi and fiú (in the sense “son”).
(Rounded) front-vowel wordsEdit
| Word | Meaning | Vowel | Ending | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| csönd | silence | ö | dnösc | Alternative form of csend. |
| föld | ground, earth, soil, land | ö | dlöf | |
| fül | ear; handle; tab | ü | lüf | |
| fürj | quail | ü | jrüf | |
| fűz | willow [tree] | ű | zűf | Inflection set apart from forms of the verb fűz (“to lace, to stitch”) by the vowel. |
| hölgy | lady | ö | yglöh | |
| könny | tear [from crying] | ö | ynnök | |
| könyv | book | ö | vynök | |
| öl | [someone's] lap | ö | lö | Inflection set apart from forms of the verb öl (“to kill”) by the vowel. |
| ölyv | buzzard | ö | vylö | |
| örv | [dog] collar; pretext | ö | vrö | |
| öv | belt, waistband | ö | vö | |
| őz | roe deer | ő | ző | |
| rügy | bud | ü | ygür | |
| rüh | scabies, mange | ü | hür | Often inflected with the regular linking vowel. |
| szög | nail [for woodwork] | ö | gözs | |
| szörny | monster | ö | ynrözs | |
| szügy | [animal's] chest or breast | ü | ygüzs | |
| szűz | virgin | ű | zűzs | |
| tőgy | udder | ő | ygőt | |
| tölgy | oak | ö | yglöt | |
| törzs | trunk, torso, hull; tribe | ö | szröt | |
| tűz | fire | ű | zűt | Inflection set apart from forms of the verb tűz (“to pin”) by the vowel. |
| ügy | matter, case, affair | ü | ygü | |
| ürügy | excuse, pretext, pretence | zü | ygürü | |
| völgy | valley | ö | yglöv |
The word öröm may also take the low linking vowel in the accusative (and rarely in other forms).
Non-noun elements of this groupEdit
All front-vowel adjectives (e.g. zöld (“green”), bölcs (“wise”), excluding nationalities like görög), past participle forms and any adjectives and/or nouns derived from them (tört, sült, sérült, jelölt, küldött, esküdt etc.), as well as the irregular comparative több (“more”)), can be grouped here. Some nouns whose meaning have departed far from the participle sense might take the regular suffix, e.g. pörkölt (“meat stew”) → pörköltem ~ pörköltöm, as opposed to pörkölt (“roasted, singed”), which latter sense only allows for the low vowel.
Overlap with other groupsEdit
- The words fűz, szűz, and tűz are also part of the loss-of-length group.
- Among v-stem words, cső, fű, kő, and nyű also take the low vowel -e- after the v.
Unrounded front-vowel wordsEdit
Certain unrounded front-vowel words may also be counted in this group, based on the fact that (considering their stem-final consonant[s]) they could take -t for their accusative, and yet they take -et:
- those ending in j or ly: fej (“head”), hely (“place”) and tej (“milk”) (compare e.g. pej (“bay, chestnut”) + ‑t, zörej (“noise, rustle”) + ‑t)
- those ending in l: jel (“sign, symbol”) (compare e.g. kel + ‑t)
- those ending in ll: mell (“breast”) (compare e.g. modell + ‑t)
- those ending in ny: meny (“daughter-in-law”) (compare e.g. köpeny (“coat”) + ‑t)
- those ending in z: méz (“honey”) (compare e.g. géz (“gauze”) + ‑t) and íz (“joint, piece”) (compare e.g. íz (“taste, flavor”) + ‑t, csíz (“siskin”) + ‑t)
Overlap with other groupsEdit
Further readingEdit
- Nyílt kötőhangzójú mássalhangzós tövű főnevek, mély (low-linking-vowel consonant-stem nouns with a back-vowel stem, including compound words and adjectives used as nouns)
- Nyílt kötőhangzójú mássalhangzós tövű főnevek, ajakkerekítéses, magas [“alacsony” is a typo] (low-linking-vowel consonant-stem nouns with a rounded front vowel, including compound words and adjectives used as nouns)
- Low-vowel nouns defined in Rounds, Carol. Hungarian: an Essential Grammar. London / New York: Routledge. 2013.
- Low-vowel nouns listed in Rounds, Carol. Hungarian: an Essential Grammar. London / New York: Routledge. 2013.
- Links to the 2nd-person plural possessive template hu-pos-atok, used in the entries of (back-vowel) low-vowel words in Wiktionary, including compound words, adjectives, numerals, pronouns, participles, etc.