Hungarian cases
Where English uses prepositions ("in the house", "with a friend"), Hungarian adds a suffix to the noun: a házban, a baráttal. The number of cases sounds frightening, but nine of them form one tidy grid, and several others are rare.
The core of the system: nine local cases
Three kinds of place (inside, on a surface, near a person or thing) times three directions (where, where to, where from):
Add the accusative -t, the dative -nak/-nek and the instrumental -val/-vel and you can build the vast majority of everyday sentences. The complete case overview lists all 18 with examples; the suffix builder generates them for any noun.
Recommended learning order
- Accusative -t, together with definite conjugation
- Inner cases, then the whole local grid
- Instrumental -val/-vel and dative -nak/-nek
- Possessive suffixes and "having" things
- Postpositions and the minor cases
All cases guides
- Beginner
Hungarian cases: the complete guide
All 18 Hungarian noun cases in one master table, with suffixes, question words, vowel harmony rules and a step-by-step method for choosing the right case.
- Beginner
The Hungarian accusative (-t)
How to form the Hungarian accusative: when -t attaches directly, when you need -ot, -at, -et or -öt, lowering stems like házat, stem changes and pronoun forms.
- Beginner
The dative case: -nak/-nek
The Hungarian dative -nak/-nek: recipients, "I have" with nekem van, feelings like tetszik, possessor -nak, verbs such as segít and telefonál, and pronouns.
- Beginner
The nine local cases
How the nine Hungarian local cases work as a 3x3 grid: inside, surface and proximity by where, where to and where from, with full tables and verb patterns.
- Beginner
The inner cases: -ban, -ba, -ból
When to use -ban/-ben, -ba/-be and -ból/-ből in Hungarian: space, time, languages, materials, abstract verbs, and why "a házba" for "in the house" is wrong.
- Beginner
The surface cases: -on, -ra, -ról
The Hungarian surface cases: three-way harmony in -on/-en/-ön, towns like Budapesten, days like hétfőn, "about" with -ról and verbs such as vár valakire.
- Beginner
The proximity cases: -nál, -hoz, -tól
How to use -nál/-nél, -hoz/-hez/-höz and -tól/-től: going to people (orvoshoz), comparison (nagyobb nálam), time spans with -tól/-ig and verbs like kap.
- Beginner
The instrumental case: -val/-vel
How to form -val/-vel after consonants (kézzel, busszal, heggyel), how digraphs double, and when to use the instrumental for tools, people, transport and time.
- Intermediate
The minor cases: -ért, -ig, -vá, -ként, -kor and others
A guide to the less frequent Hungarian cases: -ért, -ig, -vá/-vé, -ként, -kor, -ul/-ül, -stul, -nként, -nta/-nte and -képpen, with productivity notes.
- Intermediate
Place names: -ban or -on?
Which Hungarian place names take -ban/-ben and which take -on/-en/-ön: tables of towns, countries, islands and regions, predictive patterns and to/from forms.
- Intermediate
Hungarian possessive suffixes
The complete Hungarian possessive paradigm: -m, -d, -a/-ja, -nk, -tok, -uk/-juk, when to use the j, the plural -i- in házaim, stem changes and case endings.
- Intermediate
Possession: "X of Y", -nak and -é
How Hungarian expresses possession: Péter háza vs Péternek a háza, when -nak is required, the possessive -é (Péteré, az enyém) and "have" with van and nincs.
- Intermediate
Hungarian postpositions
Hungarian postpositions: the alatt/alá/alól triplets, után, óta, miatt, nélkül, pronoun forms like mellettem, case-governing postpositions and -i adjectives.
Frequently asked questions
How many cases does Hungarian have?
Most grammars count 18, but the figure ranges from about 17 to over 20 depending on whether rare or unproductive suffixes are counted as cases. The core in daily use is closer to 12.
Are Hungarian cases harder than German or Russian cases?
There are more of them, but they are far more regular: one suffix per case, no gender classes, and the same endings in singular and plural. Many learners find them easier in practice.
Do adjectives take case endings too?
Not when they stand before a noun: a nagy házban. Only the last word of the noun phrase takes the suffix.