Kérdnévmások

Kérdnévmások, or interrogative pronouns in Hungarian, are words used to ask questions about unknown persons, things, or quantities. They stand in place of the noun that would answer the question. The most common kérdnévmások include ki (who), mi (what), and hány (how many).

Ki is used when asking about a person or people. For example, "Ki ez?" translates to "Who is this?". Mi is used when asking about things or abstract concepts. An example would be "Mi az?" meaning "What is that?". Három is used to inquire about a quantity or number of things. A common usage is "Hány óra van?", which means "What time is it?" (literally, "How many hours are there?").

These interrogative pronouns can be inflected, meaning they change their form to agree with grammatical cases, much like other Hungarian words. For instance, the accusative case of ki is kit, and the dative case of mi is minek. The form of the kérdnévmások can also be affected by possession, as in "kinek a könyve?" (whose book?).

Understanding kérdnévmások is fundamental to forming questions in Hungarian. They are essential for gathering information and engaging in dialogue. Mastering their usage and inflections is a key step in becoming proficient in the language.