-ból/-ből

Out of

Level 1

The elative case suffix -ból/-ből primarily means 'out of' or 'from inside'. It is used for physical movement, materials, and motives.

How It Works

The elative case is one of the most common spatial cases in Hungarian. It has three main functions:

  • Spatial: Movement from the inside of a 3D container or building. For example, a házból (out of the house).
  • Material: Stating what an object is composed of. For example, fából van (it is made of wood).
  • Causal/Abstract: Expressing a motive or selection. For example, szeretetből (out of love) or tízből egy (one out of ten).

Unlike the English word 'from', which is very broad, -ból/-ből is precise. If you are moving away from a surface (like a table) or a person, you must use different suffixes like -ról/-ről or -tól/-től.

Important Exception: While most countries use -ból/-ből (e.g., Németországból - from Germany), the word Magyarország (Hungary) always uses the delative case: Magyarországról.

Vowel Harmony Rules:
1. -ból: Used with back vowels (a, á, o, ó, u, ú), and also when a back vowel appears together with i, í or é (e.g., papír → papírból). Example: táska → táskából.
2. -ből: Used with front vowels (e, é, i, í, ö, ő, ü, ű). Example: zseb → zsebből.

Note that this suffix is 'stable', meaning it usually attaches directly to the stem without triggering the vowel shortening seen in patterns like vowel-shortening stems (e.g., víz stays vízből).

Examples (5)

  1. Kiveszem a tollat a táskából.

    I take the pen out of the bag.

    Word by Word: I-take-out the pen-ACC the bag-ELATIVE.

    Here, -ból is used because the pen was inside the 3D space of the bag.

  2. Ez az asztal fából készült.

    This table was made of wood.

    Word by Word: This the table wood-ELATIVE made-was.

    The elative case is the standard way to express the material something is made of.

  3. Csak kíváncsiságból kérdeztem.

    I only asked out of curiosity.

    Word by Word: Only curiosity-ELATIVE I-asked.

    In abstract terms, -ból/-ből expresses the 'source' or reason for an action.

  4. Péter kijön az erdőből.

    Péter comes out of the forest.

    Word by Word: Péter out-comes the forest-ELATIVE.

    Forest (erdő) uses -ből because it contains front vowels (e, ő).

  5. Londonból jövök.

    I am coming from London.

    Word by Word: London-ELATIVE I-come.

    Most foreign cities use the elative case to indicate where someone is coming from.

Common Mistakes

  • Using -ból for movement from Hungary.

    Magyarországból jövök.
    Magyarországról jövök.

    While most countries use the elative case, the word 'Magyarország' (Hungary) is a major exception and requires the delative case (-ról/-ről).

  • Using -ból for movement away from a person.

    Jövök az orvosból.
    Jövök az orvostól.

    You cannot come 'out of' a person. For people, use the ablative case (-tól/-től).

  • Using -ból for all cities.

    Budapestből jövök.
    Budapestről jövök.

    While foreign cities use -ból, many Hungarian cities (like Budapest) use the delative case (-ról/-ről).

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

-ból/-bőlLevel 1Out of

Learn This First

To understand the elative case (-ból/-ből), you must first understand Hungarian vowel harmony to choose the correct suffix form. It is also helpful to understand the inessive case (-ban/-ben), as the elative describes movement out of the same interior spaces where the inessive describes static location.

Words in This Pattern

-ból-ből