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The Question Particle '-e'

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Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds

The '-e' particle turns a statement into a yes/no question by attaching to the verb.

  • Attach '-e' directly to the verb: 'Tudod-e?' (Do you know?)
  • If the verb has a prefix, the prefix moves: 'Meg-e tudod?' (Can you finish it?)
  • It is used only for yes/no questions, not 'who', 'what', or 'where' questions.
Verb + -e? (e.g., 'Érted' -> 'Érted-e?')

Meanings

The particle '-e' is a clitic used to transform a declarative sentence into a polar (yes/no) question.

1

Polar Question

Used to ask for confirmation or a yes/no answer.

“Jössz-e velünk?”

“Szereted-e a kávét?”

Formation of '-e' Questions

Statement Question Meaning
Érted Érted-e? Do you understand?
Jön Jön-e? Is he coming?
Van Van-e? Is there?
Tudod Tudod-e? Do you know?
Szereted Szereted-e? Do you like it?
Megérted Megérted-e? Do you understand it?

Reference Table

Reference table for The Question Particle '-e'
Form Structure Example
Affirmative Verb Jön.
Question Verb + -e Jön-e?
Negative Nem + Verb Nem jön.
Negative Question Nem + Verb + -e Nem jön-e?
Indirect Clause + -e Tudom, jön-e.
Short Answer Verb Jön.

Formalitätsspektrum

Formell
Jön-e?

Jön-e? (Invitation)

Neutral
Jössz?

Jössz? (Invitation)

Informell
Jössz?

Jössz? (Invitation)

Umgangssprache
Jössz?

Jössz? (Invitation)

The '-e' Particle Map

-e

Function

  • Yes/No Polarity

Placement

  • Verb Attached to verb
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Examples by Level

1

Éhes-e vagy?

Are you hungry?

2

Tudod-e?

Do you know?

3

Jössz-e?

Are you coming?

4

Ez-e a ház?

Is this the house?

1

Szereted-e a magyar zenét?

Do you like Hungarian music?

2

Megértetted-e a leckét?

Did you understand the lesson?

3

Van-e nálad pénz?

Do you have money with you?

4

Akarsz-e inni valamit?

Do you want to drink something?

1

Nem tudom, jön-e a busz.

I don't know if the bus is coming.

2

Kérdezd meg, akar-e jönni.

Ask him if he wants to come.

3

Nem biztos, hogy tudja-e a választ.

It's not sure if he knows the answer.

4

Megnézem, nyitva van-e a bolt.

I'll check if the shop is open.

1

Kíváncsi vagyok, elolvasta-e a levelet.

I am curious if he read the letter.

2

Nem döntöttük el, indulunk-e.

We haven't decided if we are leaving.

3

Fontos, hogy tudja-e a szabályokat.

It is important whether he knows the rules.

4

Megkérdeztem, hogy tetszik-e neki.

I asked if he likes it.

1

Kétséges, hogy megérkezik-e időben.

It is doubtful whether he will arrive on time.

2

Nem világos, hogy elfogadják-e a javaslatot.

It is unclear whether they will accept the proposal.

3

Érdeklődött, hogy részt veszünk-e a konferencián.

He inquired whether we are participating in the conference.

4

Nem tudni, hogy valaha is megtudjuk-e az igazat.

It is unknown if we will ever know the truth.

1

Nem mérlegelhető, hogy szükséges-e a beavatkozás.

It is not debatable whether the intervention is necessary.

2

Kérdéses, hogy a döntés meghozható-e egyoldalúan.

It is questionable whether the decision can be made unilaterally.

3

Nem tisztázott, hogy a feltételek teljesültek-e.

It is not clarified whether the conditions have been met.

4

Azt vizsgáljuk, hogy a hatás érvényesül-e.

We are examining whether the effect prevails.

Easily Confused

The Question Particle '-e' vs. Question words

Learners try to add -e to 'hol', 'ki', 'mi'.

The Question Particle '-e' vs. Intonation

Learners think they must use -e for all questions.

The Question Particle '-e' vs. Prefixes

Learners don't know where to put -e with prefixes.

Häufige Fehler

✗

Hol-e vagy?

✓

Hol vagy?

Do not use -e with question words.
✗

Tudod e?

✓

Tudod-e?

Always use a hyphen.
✗

E tudod?

✓

Tudod-e?

The particle is a suffix, not a prefix.
✗

Szereted-e a kávét-e?

✓

Szereted-e a kávét?

Only one -e per verb.
✗

Meg-e tudod csinálni?

✓

Meg tudod-e csinálni?

The particle attaches to the main verb.
✗

Jön-e ő?

✓

Jön-e?

The pronoun is often redundant.
✗

Van-e nekem?

✓

Van-e?

Keep it simple.
✗

Tudom, hogy jön-e?

✓

Tudom, hogy jön-e.

Indirect questions don't need a question mark.
✗

Kérdezte, jön-e-e?

✓

Kérdezte, jön-e.

Only one -e.
✗

Nem tudom, hogy-e jön.

✓

Nem tudom, hogy jön-e.

Placement of -e.
✗

Kérdéses, hogy meg-e valósul.

✓

Kérdéses, hogy megvalósul-e.

Prefixes must be attached to the verb.
✗

Nem eldönthető, hogy-e a válasz.

✓

Nem eldönthető, hogy az-e a válasz.

Need the verb.
✗

Azt vizsgáljuk, hogy érvényesül-e-e.

✓

Azt vizsgáljuk, hogy érvényesül-e.

Redundant particle.
✗

Nem tudjuk, hogy-e a döntés helyes.

✓

Nem tudjuk, hogy helyes-e a döntés.

Verb placement.

Sentence Patterns

___-e a válasz?

Szereted-e a ___?

Nem tudom, hogy ___ -e.

Kérdéses, hogy ___ -e a döntés.

Real World Usage

Travel very common

Van-e szabad szoba?

Texting occasional

Jössz-e?

Job Interview common

Érdekli-e a pozíció?

Food Delivery common

Kér-e evőeszközt?

Academic constant

Vizsgálandó-e a hatás?

Social Media occasional

Láttad-e már?

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💡

Use the hyphen

Always use a hyphen before '-e'. It makes your writing look professional.
⚠️

No question words

Never use '-e' with 'ki', 'mi', 'hol'. It is redundant and incorrect.
🎯

Indirect questions

Use '-e' for 'if/whether' clauses. It is the perfect way to sound native.
💬

Casual speech

Don't worry if you hear natives skip '-e'. It's just a style choice.

Smart Tips

Move the prefix to the front.

Megérted-e? → Megérted-e? (Wait, the prefix is already there, just ensure it's correct.)

Don't use -e.

Hol-e van? → Hol van?

Always use -e.

Jön? → Jön-e?

Use -e to mean 'if'.

Nem tudom, jön. → Nem tudom, jön-e.

Aussprache

/ɛ/

Suffixation

The '-e' is pronounced as a short 'e' sound, like in 'bed'.

Rising

Jössz-e? ↗

Standard question intonation.

Memorize It

Mnemonic

Think of '-e' as an 'E-lectric' shock that turns a boring statement into an exciting question.

Visual Association

Imagine a tiny letter 'e' acting like a hook, grabbing the end of a verb and pulling it up into a question mark shape.

Rhyme

When you want to know if it's true, add an '-e' to the verb for you.

Story

A traveler in Budapest asks 'Van-e jegy?' (Is there a ticket?). The ticket seller smiles because the traveler used the correct '-e' particle. The traveler feels proud and continues their journey through the city.

Word Web

Tudod-eJön-eVan-eSzereted-eÉrted-eLáttad-e

Herausforderung

Write 5 questions using '-e' for things you see in your room right now.

Kulturelle Hinweise

Using '-e' can sound very formal or even slightly old-fashioned in casual settings. It is best used in writing or when you want to be very polite.

The '-e' particle is an ancient Finno-Ugric interrogative marker.

Conversation Starters

“

Szereted-e a magyar ételeket?

“

Tudod-e, hol van a múzeum?

“

Gondolod-e, hogy esni fog?

“

Kérdéses-e számodra a megoldás?

Journal Prompts

Write 3 questions you would ask a friend using '-e'.
Describe a situation where you need to ask a yes/no question in a formal setting.
Write a short dialogue where one person uses '-e' in an indirect question.
Reflect on why '-e' is important for clarity in Hungarian.
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Test Yourself

Add the correct particle.

Tudod___ a választ?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: -e
The particle is -e.
Which is correct? Multiple Choice

Select the correct question.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Hol vagy?
No -e with question words.
Fix the sentence. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Szereted-e a kávét-e?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Szereted-e a kávét?
Only one -e.
Turn into a question. Sentence Transformation

Jön a busz.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Jön-e a busz?
Attach to verb.
Is this true? True False Rule

Can you use -e with 'hol'?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: False
Never use -e with question words.
Complete the dialogue. Dialogue Completion

A: Éhes vagy? B: ___

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Igen, éhes vagyok.
Answer with a statement.
Build the sentence. Sentence Building

tudod / választ / -e / a

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Tudod-e a választ?
Correct word order.
Sort the sentences. Grammar Sorting

Which use -e correctly?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Jön-e?, Van-e?
Only yes/no questions.

Score: /8

Ubungsaufgaben

8 exercises
Add the correct particle.

Tudod___ a választ?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: -e
The particle is -e.
Which is correct? Multiple Choice

Select the correct question.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Hol vagy?
No -e with question words.
Fix the sentence. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Szereted-e a kávét-e?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Szereted-e a kávét?
Only one -e.
Turn into a question. Sentence Transformation

Jön a busz.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Jön-e a busz?
Attach to verb.
Is this true? True False Rule

Can you use -e with 'hol'?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: False
Never use -e with question words.
Complete the dialogue. Dialogue Completion

A: Éhes vagy? B: ___

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Igen, éhes vagyok.
Answer with a statement.
Build the sentence. Sentence Building

tudod / választ / -e / a

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Tudod-e a választ?
Correct word order.
Sort the sentences. Grammar Sorting

Which use -e correctly?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Jön-e?, Van-e?
Only yes/no questions.

Score: /8

FAQ (8)

No, you can use rising intonation, but -e is more formal and clear.

No, never use -e with question words like 'mi', 'ki', 'hol'.

Always between the verb and the -e.

The prefix moves to the front, and -e attaches to the verb root.

Yes, it is very common in indirect questions.

No, it is always -e.

It is standard, but can sound formal compared to just using intonation.

Yes, e.g., 'Nem jössz-e?'

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In Other Languages

Spanish partial

si

Hungarian '-e' is a suffix, 'si' is a word.

French moderate

est-ce que

Hungarian is synthetic, French is analytic.

German partial

ob

German 'ob' is a conjunction, Hungarian '-e' is a clitic.

Japanese high

ka

Japanese 'ka' is a free particle, Hungarian '-e' is a clitic.

Arabic moderate

hal

Positioning is the main difference.

Chinese high

ma

Chinese 'ma' is a particle, Hungarian '-e' is a clitic.

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Polite Particles (Légy szíves, Kérem)
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Yes and No (Igen, Nem)

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