Master Hungarian Numbers
Hungarian, a Uralic language unrelated to its Indo-European neighbors, has a logical and recursive decimal number system. As an agglutinative language, Hungarian builds words by attaching suffixes — ordinals are formed by adding -dik to the cardinal, and vowel harmony determines the exact suffix form. Numbers also have special people-counting forms (like négyen for "four people") used when counting groups.
Watch the videos below, then download the Foreign Numbers app and practice what you've learned!
Hungarian Phone Numbers
How phone numbers work in Hungary & how locals say them
| Numeral | Cardinal | Ordinal |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | nulla | nulladik |
| 1 | egy | első |
| 2 | kettő | második |
| 3 | három | harmadik |
| 4 | négy | negyedik |
| 5 | öt | ötödik |
| 6 | hat | hatodik |
| 7 | hét | hetedik |
| 8 | nyolc | nyolcadik |
| 9 | kilenc | kilencedik |
| 10 | tíz | tizedik |
| 11 | tizenegy | tizenegyedik |
| 12 | tizenkettő | tizenkettedik |
| 13 | tizenhárom | tizenharmadik |
| 14 | tizennégy | tizennegyedik |
| 15 | tizenöt | tizenötödik |
| 16 | tizenhat | tizenhatodik |
| 17 | tizenhét | tizenhetedik |
| 18 | tizennyolc | tizennyolcadik |
| 19 | tizenkilenc | tizenkilencedik |
| 20 | húsz | huszadik |
| 21 | huszonegy | huszonegyedik |
| 30 | harminc | harmincadik |
| 40 | negyven | negyvenedik |
| 50 | ötven | ötvenedik |
| 60 | hatvan | hatvanadik |
| 70 | hetven | hetvenedik |
| 80 | nyolcvan | nyolcvanadik |
| 90 | kilencven | kilencvenedik |
| 100 | száz | századik |
| 1000 | ezer | ezredik |
| 1000000 | egymillió | egymilliomodik |
| 1000000000 | egymilliárd | egymilliárdodik |
Number data and information courtesy of Omniglot.
What Makes Hungarian Numbers Challenging
Hungarian is unrelated to any of its neighboring languages, making its number words completely unfamiliar to speakers of Germanic, Romance, or Slavic languages. The vowel harmony system means suffixes change their vowels to match the word they attach to. Special people-counting forms (négyen, öten, hatan) are used when saying how many people are in a group. While the decimal system is logical, the agglutinative word formation means numbers can have many suffixed forms.
Tips for Learning Hungarian Numbers
Hungarian numbers are refreshingly regular once you learn the base digits and tens — focus on these first. The agglutinative patterns are consistent, so learning the system of suffixes pays off across all numbers. Practice with prices at Hungarian markets and restaurants. The people-counting forms (hárman = 'three of us') are commonly heard in everyday conversation. Hungarian pronunciation is consistent — what you see is what you say.
Practice Hungarian Numbers
Reading about numbers is one thing — understanding them spoken at natural speed is another. Test your Hungarian number skills with our free listening game.
Play the Number Game