Hungryan, Lesson 1

Vowel Harmony

I learn best when I share what I’m studying. So, we’re going to figure this beautiful, complex language out together .

Hungarian is a “Lego language” (the fancy term is agglutinative).
Instead of having separate words for “in,” “on,” or “with,” Hungarians glue suffixes onto the ends of their base words.

But you can’t just snap any Lego brick onto any word.

You have to follow the absolute golden rule of the Hungarian language: Vowel Harmony.

Before anything else, you have to know how to sort words into their correct “team”.

Vowels and Hungarian Language

The alphabet has 14 vowels (!!!), split into seven short and long pairs. You can spot the long ones by their accent marks. But here is the trick: those marks don’t just stretch the sound out; they often change the actual sound itself.

For example, a basic ‘a’ sounds like the ‘a’ in “call,” but give it an accent (‘á’) and it turns into the ‘a’ from “father.”

Mastering these pairs is crucial because mixing them up changes the entire meaning of the word! Take the word agy (brain). Change that vowel to ágy, and you’re suddenly talking about a “bed.” So, when you want to compliment someone’s brain, be careful how to pronounce it, otherwise…

Here are the 14 vowels you see in the Hungarian alphabet:

• Short vowels: a, e, i, o, ö, u, ü
• Long vowels: á, é, í, ó, ő, ú, ű

What is Vowel Harmony?

Think of Hungarian vowels as two rival teams. (#HeatedRivalry)

Team “Back Vowels”
Notice how they are formed deep in the back of your throat: a, á, o, ó, u, ú
Think of Autó (car).

Team “Front Vowels”
Notice how they sit right at the front of your mouth behind your teeth: e, é, i, í, ö, ő, ü, ű
Think of Repülő (Airplane).

Let’s give it a try to find out the team for the following words!

• Asztal (Table) -> The vowels are a and a. Those are back vowels. Asztal is a Team Back word!
• Kenyér (Bread) -> The vowels are e and é. Those are front vowels. Kenyér is a Team Front word!
• Kutya (Dog) -> The vowels are u and a. Both are back vowels. Kutya is a Team Back word!
• Könyv (Book) -> The vowel is ö. This is a front vowel. Könyv is a Team Front word!

Test your new superpower. Look at the vowels in these 10 common words. Are they Team Front or Team Back?
(Answers are at the very bottom, but try on your own first!)

NOTE: When a word is mixed, the general beginner rule is that the LAST vowel in the word makes the final decision!

1. Város (City)
2. Üveg (Glass/Bottle)
3. Fagylalt (Ice cream)
4. Család (Family)
5. Gyerek (Child)
6. Macska (Cat)
7. Sör (Beer)
8. Bor (Wine)
9. Étterem (Restaurant)
10. Telefon (Telephone) -> (Hint: This is a mixed word!)

Your mission, should you choose to accept it:

Get Adina Socaci’s stories in your inbox

Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.

Remember me for faster sign in

Look at these 10 words. Say them out loud, pay attention to where your tongue sits in your mouth, and sort them by their teams (Front Vowels or Back Vowels).

1. Magyar (Hungarian)
2. Budapest (The capital city)
3. Gulyás (Goulash soup)
4. Lángos (Delicious fried dough)
5. Kürtőskalács (Chimney cake)
6. Duna (The Danube River)
7. Sziget (Island)
8. Parlament (The Parliament building)
9. Ruha (Clothes)
10. Cipő (Shoes)

Once you master spotting to which team the words belong to, you’ve unlocked the blueprint for this entire beautiful language.

Pop Quiz Answers:

1. Team Back; Város has ‘á’ and ‘o’, which are both deep back vowels.
2. Team Front; Üveg has ‘ü’ and ‘e’, which are both front vowels (notice the hat on the ü!).
3. Team Back; Fagylalt has two ‘a’s, which are back vowels.
4. Team Back; Család has ‘a’ and ‘á’, both back vowels.
5. Team Front; Gyerek has two ‘e’s, keeping it strictly Team Front.
6. Team Back; Macska has two ‘a’s. Team Back!
7. Team Front; Sör has ‘ö’. It has a hat, so it’s a front vowel.
8. Team Back; Bor has a single ‘o’, which is a deep back vowel.
9. Team Front; Étterem has ‘é’, ‘e’, and ‘e’. All front vowels.
10. Team Back; Telefon is a mixed word! It has two front vowels (‘e’, ‘e’) and one back vowel (‘o’). Because the ‘o’ is the final vowel, it acts as the captain and makes it a Team Back word!

Mini Homework Answers:

1. Team Back; Magyar uses ‘a’ and ‘a’, keeping everything deep in the throat.
2. Team Front; Budapest is our favorite mixed word! It has ‘u’ (back), ‘a’ (back), and ‘e’ (front). Because ‘e’ is the final vowel, it takes over the whole word!
3. Team Back; Gulyás has ‘u’ and ‘á’, both back vowels.
4. Team Back; Lángos has ‘á’ and ‘o’, both back vowels.
5. Team Back; Kürtőskalács is an epic mixed word. It starts with front vowels (‘ü’, ‘ő’) but ends with back vowels (‘a’, ‘á’). The last vowel is ‘á’, meaning this giant word plays for Team Back!
6. Team Back; Duna has ‘u’ and ‘a’, both back vowels.
7. Team Front; Sziget has ‘i’ and ‘e’, both front vowels.
8. Team Front; Parlament has ‘a’, ‘a’ (back), and ‘e’ (front). The ‘e’ is last, so it’s Team Front.
9. Team Back; Ruha has ‘u’ and ‘a’. Team Back all the way.
10. Team Front; Cipő has ‘i’ and ‘ő’, both front vowels.