Toldalékszó

Toldalékszó, or suffix in Hungarian linguistics, is a bound morpheme that attaches to a word stem to modify its meaning or grammatical category. Unlike free words, a toldalékszó cannot stand alone and its function is determined by its position relative to the stem. It is a core element of Hungarian word formation and inflection, used to derive new words and to mark grammatical relations such as number, case, tense, mood, or voice.

Hungarian morphology distinguishes mainly derivational suffixes, which create new lexical items or shift word class (for example -ás/-és to form nouns from verbs, as írás from ír), from inflectional suffixes, which adjust a word’s form without creating a new core meaning (such as -ban/-ben for locative, or -hoz/-hez/-höz for directional alignment). Suffixes typically follow vowel harmony rules, so their vowels harmonize with the stem’s vowels (for instance házban, házhoz).

Toldalékszók are productive in everyday Hungarian; many affixes can be attached in sequence to stems to form complex words and various grammatical forms. They can interact with phonology, causing assimilation or allomorphy, and their interpretation depends on context, since the same suffix can have multiple grammatical or lexical functions.

In linguistic analysis, toldalékszó is treated as part of the word’s morphology rather than as an independent lexical unit. Its study involves morphology, phonology, and syntax, helping explain how Hungarian constructs meaning and grammatical relations through affixation.