déli

Déli is a Hungarian adjective meaning southern. It describes location or direction relative to a reference point and is typically placed before the noun it qualifies, as in déli rész (the southern part) or déli irány (the southern direction). In Hungarian, déli agrees with the noun in number and case, functioning as an attributive descriptor.

The word is formed from dél, meaning south, with the suffix -i to form an adjective. This small transformation is common in Hungarian to generate non-naminal descriptors that can modify a wide range of nouns, such as regions, parts of a city, or geographic features.

Déli is widely used in everyday language and in place names. It appears in toponyms and institutional names to indicate southern parts of places or southern-oriented facilities. A prominent example is Déli pályaudvar, the Southern Railway Station in Budapest, which reflects the word’s role in signaling location within a city’s transit network. Beyond formal names, the term can describe neighborhoods, districts, or sections of towns in reference to their relative position.

In culture and geography, déli commonly contrasts with északi (northern) and középső (central), helping to convey spatial relationships across Hungarian speech and writing. The term should not be confused with similarly spelled words in other languages; the accent and the meaning in Hungarian are distinct from words such as deli in English. See also dél, the noun meaning “south.”