törik

Hungarian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):
• Hyphenation: tö‧rik
• Rhymes: -ørik

Etymology 1

tör +‎ -ik (ancient middle-voice marking suffix)

Verb

törik

1. (intransitive) to break (to end up in two or more pieces)

   Active-voice counterpart: tör

Usage notes

• This verb is a member of one of those (few) quasi-homonymous verb pairs that exist both with and without an -ik ending. All (intransitive) suffixed forms of these pairs are identical (sometimes they can even have derived forms that coincide), with the exception of their dictionary form (the third-person singular indicative present, with or without -ik). However, the meaning of these pairs is usually distinct, sometimes unrelated. Examples include (fel)áldoz–(le)áldozik, bán–bánik, (meg)bíz–(meg)bízik, ér–érik, esz (rare)–eszik, hajol–hajlik, (felül)múl–(el)múlik, (hozzá)nyúl–nyúlik, (el)vesz–(el)veszik~(el)vész, and tör–törik (along with their verbal prefixes), hall–hallik (archaic), érez–érzik (archaic), sometimes with some difference: (el)hibáz–hibádzik, (le)torkol–torkollik. Therefore one may well need to check the context and the arguments to ascertain which member of the verb pair is relevant.
• This verb is called a pseudo-ik verb, as its -ik ending presents itself only in the 3rd-person singular (indicative present) form, but it is not an -ik verb in any other aspect. As a result, it cannot take the -om/-em/-öm ending in the 1st-person singular (indicative present) form, even in the most erudite style, only -ok/-ek/-ök. Naturally, the optional -m ending cannot appear, either, in their subjunctive or conditional 1st-person singular forms, so only -jak/-jek and -nék is possible in these respective forms. These verbs include the following: bomlik, (el)bújik, (meg)érik, (le)folyik, (össze)gyűlik, hazudik, (le)hull(ik), (bele)/(oda)illik, (meg)jelenik, (el)kopik, (el)múlik, ömlik, (meg)születik, (meg)szűnik, (meg)telik, tojik, (el)törik, (el)/(fel)tűnik, (el)válik, and (el)züllik. (Ki)nyílik partially belongs here, as it cannot take the first-person -om ending but it can take the third-person -jék.

Conjugation

The regular past participle of törik is törött, unless there is an adverbial phrase or verbal prefix modifying its meaning, in which case tört is more common. For example:

törött üveg (“broken glass”) ~ darabokra tört üveg (“glass broken to pieces”)

törött ág (“broken branch”) ~ letört ág (“broken off branch”)

Derived terms

(With verbal prefixes):

Etymology 2

tör +‎ -ik (personal suffix)

Verb

törik

1. third-person plural indicative present definite of tör

Further reading

• törik in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (‘The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN