-an/-en (határozóképző)

Adverb Formation

Level 1

Adjective + -an/-en = Adverb (Manner).
Example: gyors (fast) → gyorsan (fast/quickly).

How It Works

To describe how something happens, Hungarian uses the -an/-en/-on suffix. This is the most common way to form adverbs of manner.

1. Vowel Harmony and Linking Vowels:

  • Back-vowel adjectives take -an or -on. The linking vowel almost always matches the linking vowel of the adjective's plural form: gyorsak → gyorsan (quickly), szabadok → szabadon (freely), nagyok → nagyon (greatly/very). An exception is boldog → boldogan (happily).
  • Front-vowel adjectives take -en: szép (beautiful) → szépen (beautifully), meleg (warm) → melegen (warmly). Note that there is no -ön suffix for adverbs; front-vowel adjectives with rounded vowels always take -en (e.g., közös → közösen (jointly/together)).
  • Adjectives ending in -s (often formed with -os/-es/-ös/-as) reliably take -an/-en: okos (smart) → okosan (smartly), ügyes (skillful) → ügyesen (skillfully).

2. Special Stem Changes:

  • If an adjective ends in -a or -e, that vowel lengthens to -á or -é before adding the -n. This is a standard case of low-vowel lengthening. Example: tiszta (clean) → tisztán (cleanly/clearly).
  • Many adjectives ending in -ó/-ő take -an/-en without any stem changes: érthető (understandable) → érthetően (understandably). However, there are common exceptions that just take -n: olcsó (cheap) → olcsón, késő (late) → későn, and forró (hot) → forrón.
  • Adjectives ending in -ú/-ű usually take the full suffix: szomorú (sad) → szomorúan (sadly). However, several common adjectives drop their final vowel: lassú (slow) → lassan, könnyű (easy) → könnyen, hosszú (long) → hosszan, and szörnyű (terrible) → szörnyen.
  • Some adjectives undergo vowel shortening: nehéz (heavy/difficult) → nehezen (heavily/with difficulty).
  • Some adjectives drop a fleeting vowel: bátor (brave) → bátran (bravely).

3. Other Suffixes and Irregularities:

  • The adverb for jó (good) is jól (well).
  • The adverb for nagy (big) is nagyon. Note that it functions almost exclusively as an adverb of degree ('very') rather than an adverb of manner ('in a big way').
  • The adjective igaz (true) takes an irregular suffix -án to become igazán (truly/really).
  • Adjectives ending in -atlan/-etlen or -talan/-telen take the -ul/-ül suffix: véletlen (accidental) → véletlenül (accidentally), haszontalan (useless) → haszontalanul (uselessly). Some other common base adjectives also use this suffix, such as rossz (bad) → rosszul (badly), vad (wild) → vadul (wildly), and remek (splendid) → remekül (splendidly).
  • Languages always use -ul/-ül (e.g., magyarul, angolul).
  • Adjectives ending in -i typically take the -lag/-leg suffix rather than -an/-en: eredeti (original) → eredetileg (originally). A few exceptions take the full -an/-en suffix without dropping the vowel: kíváncsi (curious) → kíváncsian (curiously), isteni (divine) → istenien (divinely).

4. Comparative Adverbs:

  • To form the comparative of an adverb, add the comparative suffix -abb/-ebb to the stem before adding the -an/-en suffix: gyors (fast) → gyorsabb (faster) → gyorsabban (faster / more quickly).

Examples (6)

  1. Péter gyorsan fut.

    Peter runs quickly.

    Word by Word: Peter quickly runs.

    'Gyors' is a back-vowel adjective, so it takes the '-an' suffix.

  2. A tanár szépen beszél.

    The teacher speaks nicely.

    Word by Word: The teacher nicely speaks.

    'Szép' is a front-vowel adjective, so it takes the '-en' suffix.

  3. A madár szabadon repül.

    The bird flies freely.

    Word by Word: The bird freely flies.

    'Szabad' (free) is a back-vowel adjective that takes the '-on' variant of the suffix.

  4. Lassan sétáltunk a parkban.

    We walked slowly in the park.

    Word by Word: Slowly we-walked the park-in.

    'Lassú' (slow) is an irregular adjective; its stem shortens to 'lass-' before adding '-an'.

  5. A fiú szomorúan nézett.

    The boy looked sadly.

    Word by Word: The boy sadly looked.

    Adjectives ending in '-ú' or '-ű', like 'szomorú' (sad), typically take the full '-an' or '-en' suffix.

  6. Tisztán látom a hegyet.

    I see the mountain clearly.

    Word by Word: Clearly I-see the mountain-ACC.

    The final 'a' in 'tiszta' (clear) lengthens to 'á' before the '-n' suffix is added.

Common Mistakes

  • Using -an/-en for languages.

    Beszélek magyarán.
    Beszélek magyarul.

    Languages always use the '-ul/-ül' suffix, not '-an/-en'.

  • Forgetting vowel lengthening on stems ending in -a or -e.

    tisztan
    tisztán

    When a word ends in 'a' or 'e', it must lengthen to 'á' or 'é' before adding the adverbial suffix.

  • Applying the rule to 'jó' (good) or 'rossz' (bad).

    Jóan beszélek.
    Jól beszélek.

    'Jó' becomes 'jól' and 'rossz' becomes 'rosszul'. These are high-frequency irregular forms.

How It Connects

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-an/-en (határozóképző)Level 1Adverb Formation

Learn This First

To form adverbs using -an/-en, you must understand how Hungarian vowels are categorized into back and front groups to apply vowel harmony correctly. Familiarity with other two-way suffixes and basic adjective usage provides the necessary grammatical foundation.

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Words in This Pattern

-an-en