-dik

Ordinal Numbers

Level 1

Ordinal numbers (1st, 2nd, 3rd...) are formed by adding -dik to the cardinal number, following vowel harmony. Note that 'first' (első) and 'second' (második) are irregular, and digits require a period (e.g., 3.).

How It Works

To form an ordinal number, you generally take the cardinal number and add the suffix -dik. However, there are several important rules to follow:

1. Vowel Harmony and Linking Vowels
The suffix requires a linking vowel based on vowel harmony:

  • -adik: Used for specific back-vowel numbers: nyolc (8 → nyolcadik), húsz (20 → huszadik), harminc (30 → harmincadik), tens ending in -van (e.g., hatvan → hatvanadik), and száz (100 → századik).
  • -odik: Used for other back-vowel numbers like hat (6 → hatodik).
  • -edik: Used for front-vowel unrounded numbers, including kilenc (9 → kilencedik), tíz (10 → tizedik), and tens ending in -ven (e.g., ötven → ötvenedik, hetven → hetvenedik).
  • -ödik: Primarily used for the number öt (5 → ötödik) and compound numbers ending in 5.

2. Irregular Stems and Nulladik
The most common ordinals are irregular:

  • 1st: első (completely irregular).
  • 2nd: második (uses a different stem).
  • 0th: nulladik (Hungarian commonly uses "zeroth" for preliminary events, like nulladik nap "day zero". Note that the standard word for the ground floor of a building is földszint, not nulladik emelet).

3. Fractions and Stem Changes
A key rule in Hungarian is that ordinals from 3 onwards are formed by taking the fraction form of the number and adding -ik. This explains why many numbers undergo vowel shortening or vowel dropping, and why an 'm' appears in milliomodik:

  • három (3) → harmad (third) → harmadik (3rd)
  • négy (4) → negyed (quarter) → negyedik (4th)
  • hét (7) → heted (seventh) → hetedik (7th)
  • tíz (10) → tized (tenth) → tizedik (10th)
  • húsz (20) → huszad (twentieth) → huszadik (20th)
  • ezer (1000) → ezred (thousandth) → ezredik (1000th)
  • millió (1,000,000) → milliomod (millionth) → milliomodik (1,000,000th)

4. Writing Ordinals
In Hungarian, when using digits, ordinality is indicated by a period after the number: 1. (1st), 2. (2nd), 10. (10th). Roman numerals followed by a period are also frequently used for centuries, monarchs, and city districts (e.g., XX. század "20th century", V. kerület "5th district").

5. Compound Numbers
Unlike English (21st, 22nd), Hungarian uses the regularized -egyedik and -kettedik forms for compound numbers: huszonegyedik (21st), huszonkettedik (22nd). Additionally, in multi-word numbers, only the very last word takes the ordinal suffix (e.g., százhuszonharmadik for 123rd).

6. Spoken Dates
While written dates use the ordinal dot, spoken dates use a possessive suffix (-a/-e) instead of the standard ordinal (e.g., március tizenötödike). For the 1st of the month, the special word elseje is used.

7. Fractions Recap
As shown above, fractions are the base for ordinal numbers. If you know the ordinal, you can simply drop the -ik to get the fraction (e.g., harmadik → harmad "third", negyedik → negyed "quarter").

Examples (4)

  1. A harmadik emeleten lakom.

    I live on the third floor.

    Word by Word: The third floor-on I-live.

    Shows the vowel-dropping stem 'három' becoming 'harmadik'.

  2. Ez a huszonegyedik század.

    This is the twenty-first century.

    Word by Word: This the twenty-oneth century.

    Demonstrates that compound numbers use '-egyedik' instead of 'első'.

  3. Hányadik lettél a versenyen?

    What place did you finish in the race?

    Word by Word: Which-one-in-sequence you-became the race-on?

    Uses the question word 'hányadik' to ask for a rank.

  4. Az ötödik ajtó balra van.

    The fifth door is to the left.

    Word by Word: The fifth door left-to is.

    Shows the front-rounded linking vowel '-ödik' for the number 'öt'.

Common Mistakes

  • Using 'első' in compound numbers like 21st.

    huszonelső
    huszonegyedik

    While 'első' means 1st, compound numbers must use the regularized '-egyedik' form.

  • Forgetting to shorten the vowel in the stem.

    tízedik
    tizedik

    Numbers like négy, hét, tíz, and húsz shorten their long vowels when the ordinal suffix is added.

How It Connects

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-dikLevel 1Ordinal Numbers

Learn This First

To form ordinal numbers, you must understand how to apply vowel harmony to the suffix -dik, specifically using the three-way linking vowel system. You also need a foundation in cardinal numbers, as ordinals are built directly upon them.

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-dik