-nak

See also: nak, NAK, nák, nāk, -nák, and ␕

Hungarian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [nɒk]

Etymology 1

Case suffix.

Suffix

-nak

1. (case suffix) to, for. Used to form the dative case.

   húg (“younger sister”) → Adtam egy könyvet a húgomnak. - I gave a book to my little sister.

Usage notes

   Case suffix list

Case	Back vowel a, á, o, ó, u, ú	Front vowel
		unrounded e, é, i, í	rounded ö, ő, ü, ű
nominative	—
accusative	-t
	-ot / -at	-et	-öt
dative	-nak	-nek
instrumental	-val	-vel
causal-final	-ért
translative	-vá	-vé
terminative	-ig
essive-formal	-ként
essive-modal	-ul	-ül
inessive	-ban	-ben
superessive	-n
	-on	-en	-ön
adessive	-nál	-nél
illative	-ba	-be
sublative	-ra	-re
allative	-hoz	-hez	-höz
elative	-ból	-ből
delative	-ról	-ről
ablative	-tól	-től
Note for all endings: Stem-final -a/-e changes to -á-/-é-, respectively, except -ként.     alma - almában, but almaként     zene - zenében, but zeneként

• (case suffix) Harmonic variants:

  -nak is added to back vowel words. Final -a changes to -á-.

  házigazda (“host”) → Ajándékot hoztunk a házigazdának. - We brought gifts for the host.

  -nek is added to front vowel words. Final -e changes to -é-.

  gyerek (“child”) → Vettem egy játékot a gyereknek. - I bought a toy for the child.

  körte (“pear”) → A körtének jó íze van. - The pear tastes good.

Etymology 2

Personal suffix.

Suffix

-nak

1. (personal suffix) third-person plural present tense (indicative mood, indefinite conjugation)

   olvas (“read”) → olvasnak (“they read, they are reading”)

Usage notes

    Present tense indefinite - personal endings

Person		Back vowel	Front vowel
			unrounded	rounded
én	1st person singular	-ok	-ek	-ök
	-ik verbs (optional)	-om	-em	-öm
te	2nd person singular	-sz
	after two consonants or a long vowel + t	-asz	-esz
	after s, sz, z, dz	-ol	-el	-öl
ő maga ön	3rd person singular	–
	-ik verbs	-ik
mi	1st person plural	-unk	-ünk
ti	2nd person plural	-tok	-tek	-tök
	after two consonants or a long vowel + t	-otok	-etek	-ötök
ők maguk önök	3rd person plural	-nak	-nek
	after two consonants or a long vowel + t	-anak	-enek

• (personal suffix) Harmonic variants:

  -nak is added to back vowel verbs

  tanul (“study”) → A gyerekek nem tanulnak eleget. - The children are not studying enough.

  -nek is added to front vowel verbs

  énekel (“sing”) → A madarak énekelnek. - The birds are singing.

  -anak is added to front vowel verbs ending in two consonants or -ít

  tanít (“teach”) → Mire tanítanak minket az állatok? - What do animals teach us?

  -enek is added to front vowel verbs ending in two consonants or -ít

  fest (“paint”) → A gyerekek festenek. - The children are painting.

See also

• Category:Hungarian noun forms
• Category:Hungarian words taking -nak/-nek
• Category:Hungarian verb forms
• Appendix:Hungarian suffixes