Birtokoseset

Birtokoseset, or possessive case, is a grammatical feature of Hungarian used to express possession. It attaches to the possessed noun and encodes who owns it, rather than marking the possessor as a separate noun. The possessive is realized through a set of suffixes that attach to the noun stem.

The basic suffixes attach to the possessed noun to show the possessor’s person and number. Common forms include:

- megn: 1st person singular (my) – examples: házam (my house), autóm (my car)

- ed: 2nd person singular (your) – házad, autód

- a/e or ja/je: 3rd person singular (his/her/its) – háza, autója

- nk: 1st person plural (our) – házunk, autónk

- tok: 2nd person plural (your, plural) – házatok, autótok

- uk/ük: 3rd person plural (their) – házuk, autójuk

Note that the exact appearance of the suffix can involve vowel harmony and phonological adjustments, and some stems fuse the suffix in ways that reflect common language use. For example, ház + a gives háza (his/her house), and autó +ja gives autója (his/her car). The suffixes always attach to the possessed noun rather than to a possessive pronoun, though possessive pronouns can also be used separately (az én házam, az övé, etc.) for emphasis or clarity.

Birtokoseset is contrasted with the periphrastic possessive construction (using possessive pronouns and a noun phrase) and with the clitic-style pronouns that indicate ownership in more explicit forms. It is widely used in everyday Hungarian, including kinship terms, measurements, and time expressions, where possession is a central relation.

See also: Hungarian grammar, possessive pronouns, genitive constructions.