Fokozottság

Fokozottság is a linguistic phenomenon that expresses the degree or intensity of a property or characteristic. In Hungarian, fokozottság covers both the grammatical degrees of adjectives and adverbs and the use of intensifying words to modify them. It helps convey how strongly something is present, compared, or emphasized.

In Hungarian, there are three basic degrees: alapfok (positive), összehasonlító fok (comparative), and felsőfok (superlative). The positive marks the base quality, as in nagy or jó. The comparative expresses a higher degree relative to another term, for example nagyobb or jobb. The superlative indicates the highest degree, as in legnagyobb or legjobb. Some adjectives show irregular forms, such as jó → jobb → legjobb, and others use regular suffixation or stem changes, like kis → kisebb, hosszú → hosszabb.

Morphology and usage are central to fokozottság. Most adjectives form the comparative with suffixes -abb/-ebb and create the superlative with leg- plus the appropriate stem, for example nagy → nagyobb → legnagyobb. Beyond inflection, fokozottság can be intensified by adverbs such as nagyon, egészen, eléggé, igazán, which heighten the degree without changing the base form.

Fokozottság also intersects with stylistics and semantics: it enables precise comparison, emphasis, or nuance in description, argumentation, and everyday communication. While the three grammatical degrees are core, periphrastic constructions and intensifiers provide additional versatility in expressing degree and intensity across contexts.