This was requested, so Alex and I have done our best to provide a clear explanation! It’s difficult to explain the exact difference, but we hope that providing the example sentences make it easier to understand.

If anyone has any particular thing they want to learn that hasn’t already been covered here (or if you need clarification on any of the topics), feel free to comment, e-mail, or fill out a feedback form!

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Nélkül

nélkül is a postposition that can be used with any noun (or noun-verb, which is discussed below), and it just means “without” something.

Miért eljöttél a kutyaparkba a kutyád nélkül? (Why did you come to the dog park without your dog?)

A kishúgom nélkül szeretnék menni moziba (I would like to go to the movies without my little sister)

Basszus, kesztyű nélkül mentem ki a házból (Darn it, I left the house without gloves)

Nem vezethet autót jogosítvány nélkül (You can’t drive a car without a license)

Véletlenül kikapcsoltam a számítógépet a dokumentum mentése¹ nélkül (I accidentally turned off the computer without saving the document)

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Noun-Verbs

¹nélkül can only be used with nouns. If the related word happens to be a verb, then you will use the noun form of that verb.

In this case, the verb ment = to save. The noun form is mentés. The “e” on the end is a 3rd person possessive suffix. When you change a verb into a noun, then any direct object will be in the nominative (dictionary form), and the noun-verb will take a 3rd person possessive suffix to match the direct object (because with this structure, the direct object is technically possessing the noun-verb, and the direct object is considered ‘3rd-person’). It basically changes from “without saving the document” to “without the saving of the document” (or “without the document‘s saving”).

You’ll actually see this structure a lot in video games (though not every time), when you choose an action.

Example

VIDEOGAME ACTION: Search the room
In English the action is phrased kind of like an imperative command, which if translated directly to Hungarian would be “kutasd át/kutassa át a szobát“. But in Hungarian, we could use the noun-verb option with the possessive suffix instead. So it could also be phrased “szoba átkutatása“, which translates to “the searching of the room” or “the room’s searching”.

Why do we do this? I have absolutely no clue. I think it’s a bit cleaner, honestly. You don’t have to worry about adding the right accusative suffix or any of that. All you have to do is to put the 3rd person possessive suffix after the noun-verb.

Alex notes: it’s also a bit more indirect and impersonal, and doesn’t feel like the game is talking to you. Though in some cases where the character is also supposed to see the UI, the direct “kutasd át a szobát” can feel appropriate. This is more of a game design thought though, and less of a linguistic one.

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Mentes

mentes also means “without”, but it is an adjective that is typically used to describe something that is free of something else.

Comparison

Kávét iszom cukor nélkül (I drink coffee without sugar)

Cukormentes kávét iszom (I drink sugar–free coffee)

In English, you’ll see phrases like “sugar-free“, “gluten-free“, “no GMOs”, etc on various foods. In Hungarian, these are instances where we would use mentes (instead of nélkül).

Examples

Ez az étel gluténmentes? (Is this food gluten–free?)

Mindig koffeinmentes kólát iszom (I always drink caffeine–free cola)

Egészségre káros anyagoktól¹ mentes (Free of/from harmful substances to one’s health)

¹With single words like “cukor” or “glutén”, you can just combine it with mentes to make one word. In longer phrases, however, mentes will be separate, and the noun (that the thing is “free of”) will take the suffix -tól/-től (which basically means “from/away from”)

While you’ll see mentes a lot with food, it can also be used with non-food related stuff as well.

Befejeztem a kitakarítást! A padlás most pókmentes (I finished cleaning! The attic is now spider–free)

Hogyhogy a kerted mindig gyommentes? (How is it that your garden is always weed–free?)

Megtöröltem az asztalt! Az üveg most macska mancsnyomtól mentes. (I cleaned the table! The glass is now free of cat paw prints)

When mentes is used with non-food related items, it’s kind of a funny way to say it. It’s basically how we use the -free suffix in English sometimes on things that don’t necessarily need it because they can be said another way. i.e. “My mom’s watching my two sons, so I’m kid-free for the day” (when you could just say “my mom is watching my kids today”). The funny part comes from the fact that it doesn’t need to be said like that, but it’s slightly more “to-the-point” than necessary.

mentes puts more of an emphasis on the “free” part, like “there is absolutely none of this thing” or “there is a significance to its absence”. In the first example, “pókmentes (spider-free)” brings specific attention to the fact that 1) spiders were in the attic, and 2) they have now been successfully eliminated. The same goes for the weeds and cat paw prints.

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In Summary

nélkül
-a more general word used with nouns and noun-verbs
-used with nouns, it just means “without” (i.e. something is not there, you did not bring it with you)
-used with noun-verbs, it means “without doing (x)”

mentes
-used in common food descriptions like “cukormentes”, “gluténmentes”, etc
–if it is a phrase and not just 1 word (i.e. “egészségre káros anyagoktól mentes”), then the related noun will take the suffix -tól/-től
-when not food-related, it puts an emphasis on the “free” part – the absence of the thing (in a sort of funny way)