éves

év (“year”) +‎ -es (adjective-forming suffix)

• IPA^(key): [ˈeːvɛʃ]

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• Hyphenation: éves
• Rhymes: -ɛʃ

éves (not comparable)

1. annual, yearly

   éves bérlet ― annual pass, yearly ticket

2. year(s) old

   Synonym: (less common) esztendős

   Coordinate terms: napos, hetes, hónapos

   kétéves ― two years old; two years of age

   tizenöt éves ― fifteen years old; fifteen years of age

   Hány éves vagy? ― How old are you?

3. -year (lasting for a given number of years)

   Synonym: (less common) esztendős

   ötéves terv ― five-year plan

Compound adjectives with a numeral and the name of a unit (as in “a one-hour walk” or “a three-storey building”) are written as solid if both constituents are single words, e.g. egyórás séta (“a one-hour walk”), from egy and órás). By contrast, if either element is a compound word (or both of them are), their compound will be written as separate words, e.g. tizenegy órás út (“a trip/flight of eleven hours”)), from tizen+egy + órás or egy hónapos utazás (“a journey of one month”), from egy + hó+napos. (See also the analogous rule for material designations.) In practice, this rule is sometimes disregarded, especially in casual texts and in case of less common compounds.

The -van/-ven (“-ty”) in round tens are suffixes, so e.g. negyvennapos (“forty‑day”) is written as solid. On the other hand, compounds with a number always written separately, e.g. 6 éves. Also, adjectives (and nouns) for the denomination of coins, banknotes, and revenue stamps are written as solid, e.g. kétezerforintos bankjegy (“a 2000‑forint bill”), despite kétezerforintos having the compound kétezer (“2000”).

éves (plural évesek)

1. (in compounds, usually in the plural, construed with a cardinal number) a person of a certain age

   a huszonévesek ― the twentysomethings

   az ötvenévesek ― the fifty-year-olds

2. (in compounds, usually in the plural, construed with an ordinal number without -ik) a student of a certain year

   az elsőévesek ― the first-year students

   a harmadévesek ― the third-year students

Since the numerals between 10 and 19 and those between 20 and 29 start with tizen- and huszon- in Hungarian (as opposed to tíz and húsz), their compounds above refer to people of an age within the entire range. However, numerals expressing tens from 30 on are formed without ‑on/​‑an/​‑en/​‑ön, so the compounds above express people of a specific age. (As an exception, harminconévesek (“thirtysomethings”) might still be possible.) To refer to the decade, either terms like harmincasok/​negyvenesek/​ötvenesek/​hatvanasok/​hetvenesek/​nyolcvanasok/​kilencvenesek, or phrases like a harmincas/​negyvenes/​ötvenes/​hatvanas/​hetvenes/​nyolcvanas/​kilencvenes éveikben lévők/​járók (“those in their thirties/​forties/​fifties/​sixties/​seventies/​eighties/​nineties”) may be used.

• évi

• éves in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (‘The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
• éves in Ittzés, Nóra (ed.). A magyar nyelv nagyszótára (‘A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published A–ez as of 2024)