Adverbs in Hungarian generally function the same as in English. There are a few different ways to form adverbs in Hungarian, depending on the adjective and its ending, which we will cover in this post. With regard to word order, adverbs typically go before the verb unless something else in the sentence is emphasised.
How to Form
Type 1: -n/-an/-en
This is a common way to form adverbs, but there are other adjectives that transform differently and will be covered further down.
words ending in a vowel: -n
(remember to lengthen a and e to á and é)
words ending in a consonant:
- back-vowel word: -an
- front-vowel word: -en
(if you missed the post on vowel harmony, you can read it here)
Note that a/e can also be used as a linking vowel when transforming adjectives ending in -i, ú, ű, -ó, and -ő. There are also cases where the vowel is removed (for example ‘lassú‘ (slow) becomes ‘lassan‘ and not ‘lassúan’) These unfortunately just have to be learned/memorized as you go. In the case of -ó and -ő, it seems like most of the time they do take the linking vowel.
Examples
| Adjective | English | Adverb | English |
| szép | nice, pretty | szépen | beautifully, nicely |
| bosszús | annoyed | bosszúsan | annoyedly, irritatedly |
| kedves | nice, kind, pleasant | kedvesen | nicely, kindly, pleasantly |
| gyors | quick, fast | gyorsan | quickly, fastly |
| könnyű | easy, light | könnyen | easily, effortlessly |
| kiváncsi | curious | kiváncsian | curiously |
| érthető | understandable | érthetően | understandably |
| látható | visible | láthatóan | visibly |
| alapvető | fundamental, essential, basic | alapvetően | fundamentally, essentially, basically |
Type 1.1: -o
There are some adjectives that, instead of -a/-e, take -o as a linking vowel. This is not a comprehensive list, but just some examples.
| Adjective | English | Adverb | English |
| nagy | big | nagyon | very, greatly |
| szabad | free | szabadon | freely |
| száraz | dry | szárazon | dryly |
Type 2: -ul/-ül
There are some adjectives that take -ul/-ül at the end instead. These include any adjectives with the -atlan/-etlen suffix.
Again, this is not a comprehensive list, but Wiktionary is a good source if you aren’t sure about a word (they only have so many words in their system unfortunately).
| Adjective | English | Adverb | English |
| jó | good | jól1 | well |
| rossz | bad, poor | rosszul | badly, poorly |
| álmatlan | sleepless | álmatlanul | sleeplessly |
| aránytalan | disproportionate | aránytalanul | disproportionately |
| elkerülhetetlen | unavoidable, inevitable | elkerülhetetlenül | unavoidably, inevitably |
| feltétlen | unconditional, absolute | feltétlenül | absolutely, definitely, unconditionally |
1In this case, the word just adds -l.
Type 3: -lag/-leg
There is less consistency with this one, though it seems to be used frequently for adjectives ending in -i.
| Adjective | English | Adverb | English |
| pillanatnyi | momentary, current | pillanatnyilag | presently, currently, right now |
| technikai | technical | technikailag | technically |
| szakmai | professional, occupational | szakmailag | professionally, technically |
| valószínű | probable, likely | valószínűleg1 | probably |
| lehető | possible | lehetőleg | possibly |
1You’ll likely see this word shortened to ‘valszeg‘ a lot. Less of a mouthful.
Type 4: Stem Changes
This is another thing that unfortunately just has to be memorized with practice. There are some adjectives that change their stem when they become an adverb.
Examples
| Adjective | English | Adverb | English |
| nehéz | difficult, heavy | nehezen | with difficulty, heavily |
| bátor | brave | bátran | bravely |
| bő | abundant | bőven | abundantly |
I hope this post was easy enough to understand. I hadn’t looked up adverbs in a while and forgot how many different suffixes there were.
Better Hungarian 
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