Hungarian verbal prefixes (igekötők)

Verbal prefixes (igekötők) are small words like meg, el, ki and be that attach to the front of a verb. They do the work of English particles in "go out", "eat up" and "write down", but they also mark whether an action is completed, and they can leave the verb and move around the sentence. This page covers what each prefix means, how prefixes change aspect and meaning, and a step-by-step procedure for where the prefix goes.

What a verbal prefix does

A Hungarian prefix can contribute three kinds of meaning, often at the same time:

1. Direction. megy "go" → bemegy "go in", kimegy "go out", felmegy "go up", átmegy "go across".
2. Completion (perfective aspect). ír "write, be writing" → megír "write (to the end), get written".
3. A new lexical meaning. ad "give" → elad "sell"; jön "come" → rájön "realize, figure out".

In a neutral sentence the prefix is written as one word with the verb and carries the main stress: MEGírtam a levelet ("I wrote the letter"). As soon as it stands apart from the verb it is written as a separate word: Nem írtam meg a levelet. Prefixes stay attached in derived words too: a megírt levél ("the written letter"), bejárat ("entrance"), kijárat ("exit").

Directional prefixes pair naturally with local cases that point the same way: be with -ba/-be, ki with -ból/-ből, fel and le with -ra/-re, oda with -hoz/-hez/-höz.

• Bementem a boltba. I went into the shop.
• Kijött a házból. She came out of the house.
• Felmentünk a hegyre. We went up the mountain.
• Odamentem a pulthoz. I went over to the counter.

The main prefixes and their meanings

The first eight prefixes in this table are the ones you will meet most often. For each one, the literal direction is given first, then the extended (aspectual or idiomatic) uses.

Fel and föl are variants with the same meaning; fel is more common in writing. Prefixes also combine with ide and oda to show the speaker's viewpoint: Gyere ide! ("Come here!") but Menj oda! ("Go over there!").

Aspect: how meg- and friends mark completion

Hungarian has no separate perfective tense. Instead, a prefix (most neutrally meg- or el-) turns an open-ended activity into a bounded event with a result.

Prefixed present often means future

Because a prefixed verb describes a completed event, and an event in progress cannot be complete, a prefixed verb in the present tense usually refers to the future:

• Írom a levelet. I'm writing the letter (right now).
• Megírom a levelet. I'll write the letter (and get it done).
• Holnap felhívlak. I'll call you tomorrow.

This is why Hungarians use the fog-future far less than English speakers use "will".

Directional, aspectual and idiomatic meanings

The same verb can take several prefixes, each with its own meaning. The pairs below are the ones learners most often misjudge, because the prefixed verb is not simply "the same, but finished".

• Nem látok semmit. I can't see anything.
• Megláttam Pétert a villamoson. I spotted Péter on the tram.
• Fogd meg a kezem! Take my hand!
• Eladtam a régi autómat. I sold my old car.
• Végre rájöttem a megoldásra. I finally figured out the solution.

When the prefix separates from the verb

The prefix sits directly in front of the verb only in neutral, positive statements and yes/no questions. The position right before the verb is also where Hungarian puts negation and focus (see word order and focus), and the prefix gives way to them.

1. Negation

After nem (and sem, se, soha nem), the prefix follows the verb.

• Megírtam. → Nem írtam meg. I wrote it. → I didn't write it.
• Még nem jött haza. She hasn't come home yet.
• Senki sem hívott fel. Nobody called me.

2. Focus

A stressed, contrasted element placed before the verb pushes the prefix behind it. Csak ("only") always creates focus.

• PÉTER írta meg a levelet. It was Péter who wrote the letter.
• Tegnap írtam meg, nem ma. I wrote it yesterday, not today.
• Csak este érek haza. I'll only get home in the evening.

3. Question words

Question words occupy the focus position, so the prefix follows the verb. Yes/no questions do not separate. More on question formation.

• Mikor jössz haza? When are you coming home?
• Ki nyitotta ki az ablakot? Who opened the window?
• Hazajössz? Are you coming home? (yes/no: no separation)

4. Commands

In a positive imperative the prefix follows the verb. In a negative command it also follows, after ne.

• Nézd meg! Have a look at it!
• Gyere be! Come in!
• Ne menj el! Don't leave!

In hogy clauses expressing a wish or purpose, the subjunctive normally keeps the prefix in front: Azt akarom, hogy megnézd ("I want you to look at it"), Azért jöttem, hogy elbúcsúzzak ("I came to say goodbye"). Reported commands often keep the command order: Szólj neki, hogy jöjjön be! ("Tell him to come in!").

5. The fog-future and modal verbs

With fog, akar, tud, kell, szeretne, szokott, lehet, szabad and similar words followed by an infinitive, the prefix climbs in front of the auxiliary in a neutral sentence. If negation or focus takes that slot, the prefix stays on the infinitive.

In the last cell, the first ki is the question word "who" and the second is the prefix: "Who can open it?"

6. Short answers: repeat the prefix

A prefix alone can answer a yes/no question. This is the most natural "yes" in many contexts.

• Megcsináltad a házit? Meg. Did you do your homework? Yes.
• Hazaértek már? Haza. Have they got home yet? Yes.
• Elolvastad? Nem, még nem olvastam el. Have you read it? No, not yet.

7. Is and sem: prefix + particle + verb

The particles is ("also, indeed") and sem/se ("not even") slip in between the prefix and the verb.

• Meg is csináltam. And I did do it.
• Meg sem nézte. He didn't even look at it.

Decision flowchart: where does the prefix go?

Run through these questions in order and stop at the first "yes". The procedure handles the vast majority of everyday sentences.

1. Is the verb a command (nézd, gyere, ne menj)? → prefix after the verb: Nézd meg! Ne nézd meg!
2. Is there a negation word directly before the verb or auxiliary (nem, sem, soha nem)? → prefix after the verb, or on the infinitive: Nem nézem meg. Nem akarom megnézni.
3. Is there a question word or a focused element before the verb (ki, mikor, hol, csak X, a contrasted word)? → prefix after the verb, or on the infinitive: Mikor nézed meg? Csak holnap akarom megnézni.
4. Is there an auxiliary (fog, akar, tud, kell, szeretne, szokott)? → prefix before the auxiliary, infinitive after it: Meg fogom nézni.
5. Is it a one-word answer? → the prefix alone: Meg.
6. Otherwise (neutral statement, yes/no question, hogy clause of purpose) → prefix attached: Megnézem. Megnézed?

Learner errors and advanced patterns

Typical mistakes

1. Leaving the prefix attached after nem: *Nem megcsináltam → Nem csináltam meg.
2. Attaching it in a question with a question word: *Mikor hazajössz? → Mikor jössz haza?
3. Separating in a yes/no question: *Nézed meg? sounds like a strange command; say Megnézed?
4. Writing a separated prefix together, or an attached one apart: *Meg csináltam and *Nemcsináltam meg are both spelling errors.
5. Splitting a verb that has no prefix. Some verbs only look prefixed. beszél ("speak"), felel ("answer"), kiabál ("shout"), kiált ("cry out") and elemez ("analyse") never split: Nem beszélek, never *Nem szélek be.
6. Using the plain verb for a completed event: Olvastam a könyvet does not tell anyone you finished it. Use Elolvastam.

Progressive order

Putting the prefix after the verb without negation or focus, usually with éppen, presents the event as ongoing, like the English progressive: Éppen jött ki a boltból, amikor megláttam ("He was just coming out of the shop when I spotted him").

Doubled prefixes

A repeated, hyphenated prefix signals an action done now and then: be-benézett ("she kept looking in"), ki-kiment a teraszra ("he would go out onto the terrace every so often").

Sources and further reading

• Katalin É. Kiss, The Syntax of Hungarian (Cambridge University Press, 2002), on verbal modifiers, focus and aspect
• Carol H. Rounds, Hungarian: An Essential Grammar (2nd ed., Routledge, 2009), chapter on verbal prefixes
• István Kenesei, Robert M. Vago and Anna Fenyvesi, Hungarian (Descriptive Grammars series, Routledge, 1998)
• Magyar Tudományos Akadémia, A magyar helyesírás szabályai (12th ed., Akadémiai Kiadó, 2015), on writing prefixes together or apart

Frequently asked questions