-m/-d/-a/-e

Singular Possessors

Level 1

In Hungarian, you don't say 'my book' by changing the word for 'I'. Instead, you add a suffix to the word 'book'. When a single owner possesses a single object, the suffixes are: -m (my), -d (your), and -a/-e (his/her/its). Unlike in English, possessed nouns almost always require the definite article a/az before them (e.g., a könyvem - my book).

How It Works

To indicate possession, suffixes are attached to the end of the noun. These suffixes follow vowel harmony and often require linking vowels. Note that for all possessive suffixes, final -a and -e lengthen to -á and -é (e.g., alma [apple] → almám [my apple], almája [his/her apple]).

1. First and Second Person (-m / -d):

  • After vowels: Add -m or -d directly.
  • After consonants: Use a linking vowel. Back vowels use -om/-am (asztalom - my table vs házam - my house). Front unrounded vowels use -em (kertem - my garden). Front rounded vowels can take either -em or -öm depending on the word (e.g., könyvem - my book, but bőröndöm - my suitcase); this choice is lexically determined.
  • Low-vowel nouns: Some nouns (like ház [house] or láb [leg/foot]) use -a- instead of -o- as a linking vowel.

2. Third Person Singular (-a/-e or -ja/-je):

  • Hungarian does not distinguish gender, so this suffix covers 'his', 'her', and 'its'. It is also used for the formal 'you' (Ön/Maga).
  • -ja/-je: This is almost always used after vowels (e.g., hajója [his/her ship], almája [his/her apple]), though there are a few exceptions like v-inserting stems (e.g., ló [horse] → lova [his/her horse]) and irregulars (e.g., fiú [boy/son] → fia [his/her son]; note that the regularized form fiúja means 'her boyfriend'). The words anya (mother) and apa (father) are also irregular, dropping their final vowel instead of lengthening it (anyja [his/her mother], apja [his/her father]).
  • -a/-e: This is generally used after sibilants and palatals (s, sz, z, zs, c, cs, j, ny, ty, gy) (e.g., busza [his/her bus], lánya [his/her daughter]), though there are exceptions (e.g., bátyja [his/her older brother]).
  • Note: For consonants like b, f, g, k, p, l, r, n, and t, the choice between -a/-e and -ja/-je is often unpredictable. For example, hát (back) becomes háta [his/her back], but bot (stick) becomes botja [his/her stick]. Similarly, fog (tooth) becomes foga, but nap (day) becomes napja. You will become proficient in these variations through practice.

3. Stem Changes:

4. With the Accusative Case:
When a possessed noun becomes a direct object, the linking vowel for the accusative -t often changes to -a- or -e- (e.g., asztalom [my table] → asztalomat [my table (accusative)]).

Important Note: If the owner is a plural noun, the possessed object still takes the singular 3rd person suffix (e.g., a gyerekek labdája - the children's ball). If the owners are plural pronouns (our, your [pl], their), the suffixes are -nk/-unk/-ünk, -tok/-tek/-tök, and -uk/-ük/-juk/-jük.

Possessing Multiple Objects: If you possess multiple objects, a different set of suffixes containing an -i- is used (e.g., almáim - my apples). You can learn more about this in the Plural Possessors pattern.

Examples (5)

  1. Hol van a kulcsom?

    Where is my key?

    Word by Word: Where is the key-my?

    The noun 'kulcs' (key) ends in a consonant, so it takes the linking vowel 'o' before the 1st person suffix '-m'.

  2. Ez a te lakásod?

    Is this your apartment?

    Word by Word: This the you apartment-your?

    Here, the pronoun 'te' is used for emphasis, but the suffix '-od' on 'lakás' is what grammatically marks it as 'your'.

  3. Péternek nincs autója.

    Peter doesn't have a car.

    Word by Word: To-Peter there-is-not car-his.

    In the not having something construction, the object 'autó' takes the 3rd person suffix '-ja'.

  4. Mi az Ön neve?

    What is your name? (Formal)

    Word by Word: What the you name-his/her?

    When addressing someone formally (Ön), you must use the 3rd person possessive suffix (-e in 'neve').

  5. Ez az én almám.

    This is my apple.

    Word by Word: This the I apple-my.

    Notice how the final 'a' in 'alma' lengthened to 'á' before adding the suffix '-m'.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the personal pronoun without the suffix.

    Ez az én könyv.
    Ez az én könyvem.

    In Hungarian, the suffix is mandatory. You cannot just place 'én' (I) before a noun to show possession; you must add the suffix to the noun itself.

  • Forgetting vowel lengthening on stem-final -a and -e.

    Itt a macskam.
    Itt a macskám.

    When a word ends in 'a' or 'e', it changes to 'á' or 'é' before the endings -m and -d (macskám, macskád). This is known as low-vowel lengthening.

  • Adding a 'j' before the 1st or 2nd person suffix on vowel-ending words.

    Ez az almájam.
    Ez az almám.

    For 1st and 2nd person possessors, you attach -m or -d directly to the lengthened vowel. The 'j' is only used in the 3rd person (e.g., almája - his/her apple).

How It Connects

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-m/-d/-a/-eLevel 1Singular Possessors

Learn This First

To learn possessive suffixes, you must first understand Hungarian vowel harmony, as the suffixes have different forms depending on the noun. You also need to be familiar with definite articles, which are used with possessed nouns, and the concept of pro-drop, as the suffix on the noun often makes a separate possessive pronoun unnecessary.

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Words in This Pattern

-m-d-a-e