Nélkül

Nélkül is a native Hungarian postposition that means "without" or "devoid of." It is used to express the absence or lack of something, attaching to a noun or noun phrase to indicate that the described item is not present or available. In practice, nékül denotes deprivation and functions similarly to prepositional phrases in other languages.

Grammatical use and examples

Nélkül follows the noun it modifies and generally does not change form. It can form adverbial phrases that modify verbs or clauses, and it appears in a wide range of contexts from everyday speech to formal writing. Examples include: pénz nélkül (without money), nyom nélkül (without a trace), and idő nélkül (without time). The construction is versatile and can emphasize scarcity or necessity.

Adjective form

A related form, often written as possession-style phrases with the suffix nélküli, creates adjectives meaning "without X." For example, íz nélküli étel means "tasteless food" or "food without taste." Such usage allows a noun to be described by what it lacks, similar to other Hungarian adjective constructions.

Usage notes

Nélkül is a common, neutral element in Hungarian, suitable for analytical, descriptive, and literary prose. It typically appears with concrete nouns (pénz, idő, nyom) but can also pair with abstract terms. It does not require a special case marking or noun agreement beyond normal sentence structure.

See also

Related concepts include nélkülözés (privation or lack) and nélkülöző (lacking, deprived). These terms share the semantic field of absence and deprivation and are frequently encountered in Hungarian discourse.