Capitalization Rules in Hungarian for English Speakers

Understanding Capitalization in Hungarian

Capitalization in Hungarian differs in several ways from English. While some rules are similar, others reflect unique aspects of Hungarian grammar and style. This article will guide English speakers through the main capitalization rules to help improve your Hungarian writing skills.

Capitalizing the First Word of a Sentence

Just like in English, the first word of every sentence in Hungarian is capitalized. This is a universal rule that applies regardless of the sentence type or content.

Capitalization of Proper Nouns

Proper nouns, such as names of people, places, and organizations, are capitalized in Hungarian. This includes personal names, geographical names, and brand names.

• Budapest (capital city)
• Magyarország (Hungary)
• János (a common Hungarian male name)
• MÁV (Hungarian State Railways)

Days of the Week and Months

Unlike English, Hungarian does not capitalize the names of days of the week or months of the year. These words are always written in lowercase.

Languages and Nationalities

In Hungarian, names of languages and nationalities are not capitalized unless they are at the beginning of a sentence. This contrasts with English, where these are always capitalized.

Titles and Headings

In Hungarian, only the first word and any proper nouns in titles and headings are capitalized. This is different from English title case, where most words are capitalized.

For example, a book title might be written as Az ember tragédiája (The Tragedy of Man), with only the first word capitalized.

Abbreviations and Acronyms

Abbreviations and acronyms are usually written in uppercase letters in Hungarian, similar to English.

Summary of Key Differences

1. Days of the week and months are lowercase in Hungarian.
2. Languages and nationalities are lowercase unless at the start of a sentence.
3. Only the first word and proper nouns are capitalized in titles and headings.
4. Proper nouns and sentence beginnings are capitalized as in English.