maga / ön

In Hungarian, addressing someone formally is not just a choice of pronoun, but a shift in the entire grammatical structure of the sentence. This system is known as magázás (using maga) or önözés (using ön), as opposed to the informal tegezés.

1. The Pronouns and Pro-Drop

• Ön (singular) / Önök (plural): The safest and most official form of address. In formal written correspondence, Ön and its declined forms are strictly capitalized out of respect, but outside of direct correspondence (e.g., in literature or general text), ön is lowercased.
• maga (singular) / maguk (plural): Formal but can imply a downward hierarchy or distance. It is generally lowercased. Note that maga is also the base for reflexive pronouns (magam, magad, magát - myself, yourself, himself/herself).

Just like with other pronouns, Hungarian often uses pro-drop. Native speakers rely on the third-person verb conjugation to maintain formality; repeating 'Ön' too frequently can sound overly pointed or stiff.

2. Grammatical Agreement and Definiteness
Formal address requires third-person verb forms. Singular pronouns (Ön, maga) take third-person singular verbs, while plural pronouns (Önök, maguk) require the third-person plural verb conjugation (e.g., Önök hol laknak?). Remember the zero copula rule: in present tense identity statements and with adjectives (e.g., Ön kedves - You are kind), the verb 'to be' is omitted. Use van only for location, existence, possession (e.g., Önnek van kutyája), or state/condition with an adverb.

Crucially, when Ön or maga is the direct object (accusative case) of a sentence, it acts as a third-person definite object. This means you must use the definite verb conjugation (e.g., Látom Önt - I see you), never the indefinite or the -lak/-lek ending. However, if the formal pronoun is an indirect object (e.g., Önnek), it does not trigger the definite conjugation. The verb's conjugation depends entirely on the direct object (e.g., Adok Önnek egy könyvet. [indefinite] vs. Adom Önnek a könyvet. [definite]).

3. Declension Like Nouns
Unlike first- and second-person pronouns which use conjugated case endings (like neked or veled), formal pronouns decline exactly like regular nouns. You simply attach the case suffixes directly to the pronoun: Önnek (to you), Önnel (with you), magát (you - accusative).

4. The 'Tetszik' and 'Tessék' Construction
When speaking to elders, a common method is using the tetszik (it pleases) auxiliary followed by an infinitive. For polite requests, the imperative form tessék is used.

5. Possessives
When talking about 'your' things formally, use third-person possessive suffixes. The definite article a/az is required before the formal pronoun in possessive constructions (e.g., az Ön könyve). If the possessor is plural (Önök), you use the third-person singular possessor paradigm, but you must still use plural possessed suffixes if the objects themselves are plural (e.g., az Önök autója = your car; az Önök autói = your cars).

6. Commands and Softening
Formal commands require the third-person imperative and subjunctive conjugation (e.g., Üljön le! vs. informal Ülj le!). Even when using formal address, giving a direct imperative command (e.g., Csukja be az ablakot!) can sound abrupt or rude. Hungarians often soften formal requests using the conditional mood (e.g., Szeretném megkérni...) or other polite phrases.