Pronouns
Interrogative pronouns
Section titled “Interrogative pronouns”- Mi? Micsoda? Mik? — What?
- Ki? Kik? — Who?
- Kinek? — Whose? / For whom?
- Melyik? Melyek? — Which?
- Hol? — Where? · Mikor? — When?
- Hogyan? Hogy? — How?
- Milyen? — What kind of?
- Mennyi? — How much?
-k pluralizes them (mik?, kik?), and the accusative attaches when asking for the direct object: mit?, kit?, miket?, kiket?
- Mik ezek? — What are these?
- Melyik emeleten vagy? — Which floor are you on?
Relative pronouns: the a- trick
Section titled “Relative pronouns: the a- trick”Add a- to a question word and it becomes a relative pronoun — one prefix, the whole system:
ami (that/which) · aki (who) · ahol (where) · amikor (when) · ahogy(an) (as) · amilyen (such as) · amennyi (as much as) · amelyik (which one)
Vacsoráztam, amikor hívtál.
I was having dinner when you called.
Amelyik kutya ugat, az nem harap.
Idiom: the dog that barks doesn't bite.
Demonstratives: the near/far grid
Section titled “Demonstratives: the near/far grid”The ez/az pairing extends across the whole pronoun system:
| Asks | Near | Far |
|---|---|---|
| what/which/who | ez | az |
| where | itt | ott |
| how | így | úgy |
| what kind | ilyen | olyan |
| how much | ennyi | annyi |
| something like | ilyesmi | olyasmi |
| home | itthon | otthon |
Near = physically, temporally, or conversationally close; far = distant or exaggerated. Note itthon/otthon: at home here vs. at home elsewhere — a distinction English doesn’t even have.
- Ez az! — That’s it!
- Csak így tovább! — Keep it up!
- Előfordul az ilyesmi. — These things happen.
- Igyál annyit, amennyi jólesik! — Drink as much as you like!
- Amilyen az apa, olyan a fiú. — Like father, like son.
The far-forms pair naturally with their a- relatives — that’s the classic Hungarian correlative sentence:
Ott lakunk, ahol akarunk.
We live where we want.