Hungarian edit

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 edit

Etymology edit

mind +‎ két

Pronunciation edit

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

Numeral edit

mindkét

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

Usage notes edit

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.

Related terms edit

Further reading edit

  • 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