Appendix:Hungarian words with alternating vowel length

Hungarian words with alternating vowel length have their (usually last) vowel shortened before several inflectional and derivational suffixes.

The column “Ending” contains the last two consonants in reverse-alphabetized order, in invisible format, only to enable sorting by the ending (aside from the other headers).

The vowel in the noun szív (“heart”) as well as in the numerals tíz (“ten”) and húsz (“twenty”) also become short before most of the same suffixes that shorten the vowel of the words above (szívet, szívek, szíven; szívem, szíved, szíve etc.; szíves, szívű — tízet, tízen, tíze etc., tízenként — húszat, húszak, húszan etc. pronounced etc.), but this change is not reflected in their spelling. However, the forms tized, tizedik, tizen- and huszad, huszadik, huszon- do reflect the shortened pronunciation. Native speakers are advised to use kéz as a point of reference on spelling these forms (irrespective of pronunciation).^[1]

Some words shorten their stem vowel before certain particular derivational suffixes but not before others. These are not productive processes and they are seen as matters of language history (etymology) only. These differences mainly affect close vowels such as i–í, u–ú, and ü–ű.

From nouns and adjectives

• bűn (“sin”) → büntet (“to punish”)
• csín (“neatness”) → csinos (“pretty”)
• csúcs (“peak, tip”) → csucsorít (“to purse one’s lips”) (also csücsörít)
• hír (“news item”) → hirdet (“to advertise”)
• hús (“meat, flesh”) → husi (“little piece of meat”)
• húg (“little sister”) → hugi (“endearing form of address for a little sister”)
• pír (“blush, flush, glow, rosiness”) → piros (“red”), pirít (“to toast, sauté, grill”)
• sík (“level, even, smooth”) → siklik (“to glide”), sikamlós (“slippery, risqué”)
• szűk (“narrow, tight”) → szükség (“need, necessity, scarcity”)
• űr (“void”) → üres (“empty”), ürít (“to empty sth”), ürül (“to get empty”), üreg (“cavity”)
• víg (“cheerful”) → vigad (“to enjoy oneself”), vigasz (“comfort, solace”), vigasság (“merrymaking”), vigalom
• zsír (“fat ”) → zsiradék (“material mainly composed of fat ; glyceride ”)

From verbs (for more comprehensive lists, see the “Derived terms” of the stem words)

• bír (“to own; to bear”) → birodalom (“empire”), birkózik (“to wrestle”)
• bízik (“to trust”) → biztos (“certain, sure”)
• bújik (“to hide ”) → bujdosik (“to hide and wander”), bujkál (“to keep hiding”)
• csíp (“to pinch, peck”) → csipesz (“clothes peg, tweezers”), csipet (“ pinch ”), csipked (“to keep pinching”), csipdes (“to peck around”), csipeget (“to peck ”)
• csúszik (“to slide, glide”) → csusszan, csuszamlik
• dívik (“to be in vogue”) → divat (“fashion, vogue”)
• dúl (“to ravage”) → dulakodik (“to grapple, tussle”)
• dől, dűl (“to tip over, tumble down”) → dülled (“to goggle”), dülleszt (“to thrust forward”), düledezik (“to be falling down”), dülöngél (“to stagger, totter”)
• fúl (“to suffocate, drown ”) → fullad (“to suffocate, drown”), fullaszt (“to suffocate, drown ”)
• fúr (“to bore, drill”) → furakodik (“to push one’s way”), furkál (“to drill around”)
• fűl, fűlik (“to heat ”) → fülled (“to become stuffy”)
• fűz (“to string ”) → füzér (“string ”), füzet (“exercise book”)
• gúny (“sarcasm, mockery”) → gunyoros (“sarcastic, mocking”)
• gyúl (“to catch fire”) → gyullad (“to catch fire”)
• gyúr (“to knead”) → gyurma (“plasticine”)
• gyűlik (“to gather ”) → gyülekezik (“to gather ”)
• gyűr (“to crumple, crease”) → gyürkőzik
• hív (“to call”) → hivatás (“vocation”), hivatal (“office, bureau, authority”), hivatkozik (“to refer”)
• hízik (“to get fat”) → hizlal (“to fatten ”)
• húz (“to pull”) → huzal (“wire”), huzamos (“prolonged”), huzat (“draught of air; (bedclothes) cover, slip”), huzigál (“to keep pulling”), huzakodik (“to quarrel, wrangle”), huzavona (“wrangle, quarrel”)
• hűl (“to become cool/cold”) → hüledezik (“to be struck dumb”)
• ír (“to write”) → irat (“document”), iroda (“office”), irodalom (“literature”), iratkozik (“to register, sign up”)
• ívik (“to spawn”) → ivar (“sex ”)
• nyílik (“to open ”) → nyilván (“obviously”), nyilatkozik (“to make a statement, declare”)
• múlik (“to pass, go by”) → mulandó (“passing, ephemeral”), mulaszt (“to miss , neglect, let slip; make go away”)
• nyír (“to shear, trim”) → nyiratkozik (“to have a haircut”), nyirbál (“to keep trimming”)
• rúg (“to kick”) → ruganyos, rugalmas (“elastic”), rugó (“spring ”)
• sír (“to weep, cry”) → siralom (“lamentation”), siránkozik (“to lament, whine”), sirat (“to mourn, bewail, lament”)
• súg (“to whisper, prompt”) → sugall, sugalmaz (“to suggest, intimate”), sugdos (“to keep whispering ”), sugdolózik (“to keep whispering between each other”)
• szív (“to suck, inhale, absorb”) → szivacs (“sponge”), szivárog (“to ooze, seep out/away”), szivar (“cigar”), szivattyú (“pump”)
• szúr (“to prick, stab”) → szurkál (“to keep pricking”), szurony (“bayonet”)
• szűnik (“to cease, stop ”) → szünet (“break, recess”), szüntet (“to cease, stop ”), szüntelen (“unceasing, incessant”), szünidő (“vacation ”)
• szűr (“to filter ”) → szüremkedik, szüremlik (“to filter (get filtered) through”), szürcsöl (“to slurp”)
• túr (“to dig up, root about, rummage”) → turkál (“to keep digging, rooting about, rummaging”)
• tűnik (“to appear”) → tünet (“symptom”), tünékeny (“elusive”), tünedezik (“to keep disappearing ”), tündöklik (“to gleam, glitter”), tünemény (“phenomenon, portent”), tündér (“fairy”), tüntet (“to demonstrate; to make sth vanish”)
• tűr (“to tolerate”) → türelem (“patience”)
• úszik (“to swim”) → uszoda (“swimming pool”), uszony (“fin”)
• űz (“to pursue”) → üzem (“ plant”), üzemel (“to operate ”), üzlet (“shop, store”), üzelmek (“machinations, practices”)
• ví(v) (“to fence, fight”) → viadal (“combat, fight”)

• Appendix:Hungarian words with an alternating final vowel