ritkábbá

Ritkábbá is a Hungarian adverbial participle form derived from the comparative adjective ritkább, meaning "more rare" or "rarer." It denotes a change of state toward greater rarity and is typically used with verbs of becoming (such as válik, “to become”) or making (such as tesz, “to make”). In everyday language, people more often use ritkábban to describe that an action happens less frequently, while ritkábbá is reserved for expressions of becoming rarer or making something rarer, usually in more formal or literary contexts.

Etymology and form: The word combines ritka (rare) with the comparative suffix -bb to form ritkább, and the suffix -á attaches to create ritkábbá, a participial/adverbial form used with verbs of change. This construction conveys a transition into a state of greater rarity.

Usage notes: Ritkábbá typically appears with verbs of transformation, most commonly with válik/ válik (to become) or with causative verbs that imply making something rarer. For describing frequency in a general sense, however, ritkábban is more common; ritkábbá focuses on the resulting state rather than the act of comparison itself.

Examples:

- A találkozók ritkábbá váltak az utóbbi években. (Meetings have become rarer in recent years.)

- A jelenség ritkábbá válik a környezeti tényezők hatására. (The phenomenon becomes rarer due to environmental factors.)

Related terms include ritka, ritkább, ritkábban.