To show possession in Hungarian, you just add on suffixes in the same way that you would with the typical cases. There are some exceptions, which I will explain to the best of my ability.
I cover plural possession in this post.
If you haven’t already, you should go over Vowel Harmony and Vowel Lengthening, so you can know how to apply the correct endings.
Possession: Singular Objects
Én
- words ending in a vowel: -m
- back-vowel words: -om (sometimes -am1)
- front-vowel words: -em
- rounded front-vowel words: -öm
a macska –> a macskám
the cat -> my cat
az anya –> az anyám
the mother -> my mother
a szék –> a székem
the chair -> my chair
a hörcsög –> a hörcsögöm
the hamster -> my hamster
1 “a” as a linking vowel: this was briefly touched upon in my post about plurals, and it applies here with possessives as well. Most back-vowel words will take “o” as a linking vowel, but some words take “a” instead. Unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be a simple, clear-cut rule on this, and the only thing I can suggest is memorizing the words that take “a” as you come across them.
For example, “my house” (ház) would be “házam” and not “házom”.
Te
- words ending in a vowel: -d
- back-vowel words: -od (sometimes -ad1)
- front-vowel words: -ed
- rounded front-vowel words: -öd
a kutya –> a kutyád
the dog -> your dog
az ágy –> az ágyad
the bed -> your bed
a feleség –> a feleséged
the wife -> your wife
a hörcsög –> a hörcsögöd
the hamster -> your hamster
1 “a” as a linking vowel: same situation as above.
Ő (Ön)1
(1Ő (xe) and Ön (you – formal sg.) use the same endings)
- words ending in a vowel (back-vowel word): -ja
- words ending in a vowel (front-vowel word): -je
- back-vowel words: -a
- front-vowel words (including rounded): -e
NOTE: There are actually special rules for the 3rd singular/2nd person singular formal possessive ending. Alex was kind enough to write an explanation here (downloadable PDF file). While it specifically says 3rd person, it applies to Ön/Önök as well, as they take the same endings as ő and ők respectively.
1The Hungarian 3rd person singular “ő” is not gender-coded and can mean he/she/they(singular). To be inclusive and also practical, I use “xe” as opposed to “he/she/they(sg.)”, because it’s rather cumbersome and time-consuming to type out.
Xe = he/she/they(sg.), xir = his/hers/theirs(sg.), xem = him/her/them(sg.).
Mi
- words ending in a vowel: -nk
- back-vowel words: -unk
- front-vowel words (including rounded): -ünk
a kutya –> a kutyánk
the dog -> our dog
az autó –> az autónk
the car -> our car
az ablak –> az ablakunk
the window -> our window
a gyerek –> a gyerekünk
the kid -> our kid
Ti
- words ending in a vowel (back-vowel words): -tok
- words ending in a vowel (front-vowel words): -tek
- words ending in a vowel (rounded front-vowel words): -tök
- back-vowel words: -otok (sometimes -atok1)
- front-vowel words: -etek
- rounded front-vowel words: -ötök
1 “a” as a linking vowel: same situation as the 1st and 2nd person above.
a macska –> a macskátok
the cat -> your (pl.) cat
a körte –> a körtétek
the pear -> your (pl.) pear
az erdő –> az erdőtök
the forest -> your (pl.) forest
a polc –> a polcotok
the shelf -> your (pl.) shelf
a szék –> a széketek
the chair -> your (pl.) chair
a hörcsög –> a hörcsögötök
the hamster -> your (pl.) hamster
Ők (Önök)1
(1Ők (they) and Önök (you – formal pl.) use the same endings)
- words ending in a vowel (back-vowel words): -juk
- words ending in a vowel (front-vowel words): -jük
- back-vowel words: -uk
- front-vowel words (including rounded): -ük
NOTE: There are special rules for the 3rd person plural/2nd person plural formal as well. You can read Alex’s explanation here (downloadable PDF file).
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