honnan

Honnan is a Hungarian interrogative adverb meaning “from where.” It is used to ask about origin, source, or starting point of a person, object, or piece of information. In continuous speech or written questions, it marks the question about location of origin rather than destination or movement.

In grammar, honn an functions as a question word that introduces indirect or direct questions. It often appears at the beginning of the clause, but word order in Hungarian can be flexible for emphasis or style. It typically accompanies verbs of coming, origin, finding out, or knowledge about sources, such as származik, jön, tud, vagy kapható.

Common usages include inquiries about physical origin, background, or source of information. Honnan jössz? asks about where someone is coming from. Honnan származik ez a könyv? asks for the origin of the book. Honnan tudod ezt? asks how the speaker knows the information.

Notes and nuances: honn an is distinct from interrogatives asking about destination (hova) or manner (hogyan). It can appear in both formal and informal contexts, and may occur in indirect questions introduced by verbs of inquiry or reporting. Its English equivalent is the phrase “from where,” used to inquire about origin or source.