Legközelebbi

Legközelebbi is a Hungarian adjective in the superlative degree meaning “the closest” or “nearest.” It is used to indicate the noun’s proximity relative to other objects or people in a given context, and it commonly appears when comparing several items by how near they are.

Form and usage: The word is formed from the base közel (near) with the superlative prefix leg-, yielding legközelebbi. It functions as an adjective that precedes a noun and agrees with it in number and definiteness (for example, a legközelebbi bolt = the nearest store; a legközelebbi rokon = the closest relative). The adverbial counterpart is legközelebb, used without a noun to express the idea of being the nearest in a general sense (for example, a legközelebb van = it is the closest).

Common contexts: In everyday language, legközelebbi describes physical proximity, such as locations or objects: legközelebbi megálló, legközelebbi épület. It can also be used metaphorically to indicate closeness in non-physical terms, such as relationships or relevance.

Technical and specialized usage: In mathematics and computer science, legközelebbi appears in phrases like legközelebbi pont (nearest point) or legközelebbi szomszéd (nearest neighbor), where it denotes the closest element according to a chosen metric or distance function. This usage mirrors its general sense of proximity and is common in descriptions of algorithms and data structures.

See also choices related to proximity in Hungarian, such as közel, közeli, legközelebb, and közelítés, which are often contrasted with legközelebbi in discussing distance and closeness.