Lesson 66 of 74 · A1, Unit 2: Basic structures
Vowel harmony: why endings change
Almost every Hungarian ending has a 'back' and a 'front' version: 'in' is -ban after ház ('house') but -ben after kert ('garden'). Which one a word takes depends on its vowels — this is vowel harmony, and once you hear it, it runs through the whole language.
Back vowels are a, á, o, ó, u, ú; front vowels are e, é, i, í, ö, ő, ü, ű. A word with any back vowel normally takes the back ending; a word with only front vowels takes the front one. Some endings have a third, rounded version for words whose last vowel is ö, ő, ü or ű: -hoz / -hez / -höz ('to').
By the end you can:
- tell back-vowel words from front-vowel words
- pick -ban or -ben, and -hoz, -hez or -höz, for a new word
- remember that a final -a or -e lengthens to -á or -é before an ending
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