mennyi

Mennyi is a Hungarian interrogative word used to ask about quantity or extent. It translates to "how much" or "how many" in English and is one of the basic question words in Hungarian. It plays a central role in inquiries about objects, amounts, time, and other measurable quantities.

As a determiner, Mennyi precedes the noun and appears in questions such as "Mennyi tojás van a kosárban?" (How many eggs are in the basket?), "Mennyi pénzre van szükség?" (How much money is needed?), and "Mennyi időbe telik a feladat?" (How long does the task take?). It can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns, often in everyday speech and formal contexts.

Mennyi is an invariable word; it does not change with number or case. The noun that follows it carries any necessary agreement or inflection. For example, in "Mennyi idő van?" the phrase is built with the noun in its usual form, while other words in the sentence may reflect tense, possessiveness, or case as required by Hungarian grammar.

Etymologically, Mennyi is related to the Hungarian root associated with quantity, and it is linked to the noun "mennyiség" (quantity). It forms part of a family of measurement-related question words in Hungarian, alongside others that inquire about kind, price, duration, and amount.