alapszókép

The term alapszókép is a Hungarian linguistic concept referring to the basic or root word from which other words are derived through various morphological processes. It is the fundamental building block in word formation, carrying the core meaning. For example, in the word "ház" (house), "ház" itself is the alapszókép. From this, words like "háza" (his/her/its house), "házak" (houses), "házi" (domestic, home-related), and "házas" (married) can be formed.

The alapszókép can be a noun, verb, adjective, or adverb. The process of deriving new words from an alapszókép involves suffixes, prefixes, and sometimes compounding. Hungarian, being an agglutinative language, extensively utilizes suffixes to modify the meaning and grammatical function of the alapszókép. Understanding the alapszókép is crucial for comprehending Hungarian vocabulary and its structure, as it allows learners to deduce the meaning of many related words by identifying their common root. The concept is central to lexicology and morphology within Hungarian linguistics.