Better Hungarian

You may have already learned about ‘tud‘, and how to express ‘can/cannot‘ in this way. BUT there is another way that potential is expressed in Hungarian – and you guessed it, it’s by adding another suffix.

-hat/-het will only be attached to verbs, and it will always come BEFORE the conjugated suffix
-hat is for back-vowel words and -het is for front-vowel words (read this post if you’re confused)

*note that irregular verbs will still have stem changes

beszél (to speak) – beszélhet (able to speak) – beszélhetek (I am able to speak)

áll (to stand) – állhat (able to stand) – állhatok (I am able to stand)

*megy (to go) – mehet (able to go) – mehetek (I am able to go)

You’re essentially just smushing an extra bit in between the verb and its conjugated ending (Alex says ‘adding more cases’ is ‘basically just the Hungarian language in a nutshell’)

The differences between ‘-hat/-het‘ and ‘tud‘ can be a bit subtle and nuanced sometimes. In some situations, both ‘tud’ or ‘-hat/-het’ can be appropriate, although depending on the speaker’s intentions, each one may have a slightly different connotation/nuance. I will explain as best I can about the situations where one of them is preferred/more correct.

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Tud (to be able to, to know (how))

‘Tud‘ is more about ability, as in ‘I am capable of doing this’ (i.e. I have learned this thing, this is an innate ability, there are no tangible obstacles preventing me from doing this)

Tudok magyarul beszélni¹ (‘I can speak Hungarian’, or, ‘I know how to speak Hungarian’)

¹Note: in these sentences/situations, the verb ‘beszél’ is not actually necessary. You can simply say “tudok magyarul(or whatever language)”

Az anyám angol, ezért tudok angolul beszélni (My mother is English, so I am able to/I know how to speak English)

Az ajtó nyitva van, szóval be tudunk menni (The door is open, so we can/are able to go inside)

In negative sentences, ‘tud‘ represents more of a physical/literal barrier to doing something.

Nem tudok bemenni az épületbe, mert az ajtója zárva van (I cannot/am unable to go into the building, because the door is locked) – the door (a physical object) is preventing you from being able to enter

Nem tudok enni a sütiből, mert allergiás vagyok a cukorra (I cannot/am unable to eat any of the cake, because I am allergic to sugar) – a medical condition (allergies) makes the action impossible (without some kind of consequences)

Ma nem tudok utazni, mert beteg vagyok (I cannot/am unable to travel today, because I am sick) – your sickness (beyond your control) is preventing you from being able to travel

Nem tudok kaját rendelni, mert nincs pénzem (I cannot/am unable to order food, because I don’t have the money) – your lack of money is preventing you from being able to order food

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-hat/-het

-hat/-het is used more for permission or possibility, rather than direct ability/capacity to do something. Think of it as the ‘permissive-potential’ case. It works a bit like “may” does in English. Did any of you have that teacher who, when you asked ‘can I go to the bathroom?’, responded with ‘I don’t know, CAN you?’, before reminding you that ‘may I go to the bathroom’ is the “proper” phrasing. While you technically CAN do something, it doesn’t always mean that you MAY do something.

Beszélhetek¹ magyarul, mert Magyarországon vagyok (I can/I have the possibility to speak Hungarian, because I am in Hungary)

¹I would like to briefly explain the word order here. If you’re familiar with typical Hungarian sentence structure, you’ve likely seen this sort of phrase in the order “magyarul beszélek”. However, because we are emphasizing the fact that you CAN speak Hungarian (the action), and not the Hungarian language itself,  in this case the verb is going to go first. This is common with -hat/-het sentences, but it won’t always be the case.

Behozhatom a kutyámat a kutyaparkba? (Am I able to/allowed to bring my dog into the dog park?) 

Ha éhes vagy, ehetsz gulyást (If you’re hungry, you can/have permission to/are allowed to eat some goulash) – maybe something you’d say to a friend you have over, and there’s some goulash already on the stove

Barátok vagyunk, szóval bármit mondhatsz nekem (We are friends, so you can/are free to tell me anything)

Anyukám azt mondta, hogy elmehetek a buliba (My mom said that I can/have permission to go to the party)

In negative sentences, ‘-hat/-het‘ refers more to a lack of permission/right to do something, rather than something physically/directly preventing you

Nem mehetek be az épületbe, mert nem dolgozom itt (I cannot/don’t have permission to enter the building, because I don’t work here) – physically, you may be able to enter the building, but the rules in place prevent you from doing so (without consequences)

Most nem beszélgethetek, mert sok dolgom van (I cannot/don’t have the option of chatting right now, because I have lots (of things) to do) – you are otherwise capable of chatting, but you don’t have the time/are unable to at that specific moment

Macskákat nem hozhatsz be a kutyaparkba (You are unable to/not allowed to bring cats into the dog park) – nothing is technically stopping you from bringing a cat, but it would probably be an unwise decision

Vacsorázunk most, ezért nem nézhetek tévét  (We are eating dinner right now, so I am unable to/not allowed to watch TV)

Nem mehetünk ki, mert most esik az eső (We cannot/are unable to go out, because it is raining right now) – nothing is directly preventing you from going out, but the rain discourages you from doing so

Most nem játszhatok videojátékokat, mert házi feladatom van (I cannot/am unable to/am not allowed to play video games right now, because I have homework) – you could play video games, but either you want to focus on the homework first, or maybe you’ll get in trouble otherwise

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In Summary

Remember – whether you use ‘tud‘ or ‘–hat/-het‘ depends on the reason you’re able/unable to do something.

tud
-skill/ability/capability (or lack of)
–physical or otherwise tangible obstacle/barrier (locked door/blocked path, medical condition, etc)

-hat/-het
-permission (being allowed or not allowed to do the thing)
–possibility (something ‘may’ or ‘may not’ happen)
–non-physical/intangible barrier (social rules, laws, lack of time, etc – may not physically be preventing you, but there will likely be some kind of consequences if you do the thing)