mellett / között

Beside and Between

Level 1

Hungarian uses postpositions like mellett (beside) and között (between/among) to show location. Unlike English prepositions, these come after the noun.

How It Works

In Hungarian, spatial relationships are often expressed through postpositions. Two of the most common are mellett and között.

1. Spatial Usage:

  • Mellett: Indicates a static position next to something. Example: a ház mellett (beside the house).
  • Között: Indicates a position between two things or among many. Note that Hungarian uses the same word for both 'between' and 'among'. Example: a két fa között (between the two trees) or a gyerekek között (among the children).

2. Figurative Usage:
Both words have common non-spatial meanings:

  • Mellett can mean 'in addition to' or 'besides' (e.g., a munka mellett - besides work). It also expresses support (standing by someone).
  • Között is used for time intervals (e.g., két és három óra között - between two and three o'clock) and social relationships (e.g., barátok között - among friends).

3. Pronoun Forms:
You cannot say *én mellett. Instead, the postposition itself takes a personal suffix:

  • Mellettem (beside me), melletted (beside you), mellette (beside him/her/it).
  • Közöttünk or the more common shortened form köztünk (between/among us). Other shortened forms include köztem (between me), közted, közte, köztetek, and köztük.

4. Directionality:
These forms are static (answering 'Where?'). Hungarian distinguishes movement toward or away from these positions:

  • Beside: Moving toward is mellé; moving away is mellől.
  • Between/Among: Moving toward is közé (e.g., a fák közé - to between the trees); moving away or out from among is közül (e.g., a barátok közül - from among the friends).

Examples (5)

  1. A macska az asztal mellett alszik.

    The cat is sleeping beside the table.

    Word by Word: The cat the table beside sleeps.

    Here, 'mellett' follows the noun 'asztal' to show the cat's static location.

  2. A két fa között van egy kis ház.

    There is a small house between the two trees.

    Word by Word: The two tree between is a small house.

    Note that in Hungarian, nouns following numbers (két fa) stay singular, and 'között' follows the noun phrase.

  3. Sok jó ember között élek.

    I live among many good people.

    Word by Word: Many good person among I-live.

    'Között' is used here to mean 'among' a group of people.

  4. Ülj le mellém!

    Sit down beside me!

    Word by Word: Sit down beside-me!

    This uses the directional form 'mellé' with a personal suffix because it involves movement toward a spot.

  5. A munka mellett tanulok is.

    Besides work, I also study.

    Word by Word: The work beside I-study also.

    This demonstrates the figurative use of 'mellett' meaning 'in addition to'.

Common Mistakes

  • Placing the postposition before the noun like an English preposition.

    Mellett a ház.
    A ház mellett.

    Hungarian postpositions must always follow the noun they modify.

  • Adding case suffixes to the noun before the postposition.

    A házban mellett.
    A ház mellett.

    The noun should remain in the nominative (dictionary) form when followed by these postpositions.

  • Using a personal pronoun separately instead of inflecting the postposition.

    Én mellett.
    Mellettem.

    When referring to 'me', 'you', etc., you must add the personal suffix directly to the postposition.

How It Connects

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mellett / közöttLevel 1Beside and Between

Learn This First

To use 'mellett' and 'között', learners need to understand the basic syntax of Hungarian postpositions (which follow the noun) and how they interact with definite articles. A basic grasp of vowel harmony helps in distinguishing these specific forms.

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Words in This Pattern

mellettközött