There are numerous regular sound correspondences between Hungarian and the other Uralic languages. For example, Hungarian á corresponds to Khantyo in certain positions, and Hungarian h corresponds to Khanty x, while Hungarian final z corresponds to Khanty final t. These can be seen in Hungarian ház ("house") and Khanty xot ("house"), or Hungarian száz ("hundred") and Khanty sot ("hundred").
Hungarian and Khanty are closely connected, either genealogically or as part of a language area. The distance between Hungarian and the Finnic languages is greater, but the correspondences are also regular. The relationship is most apparent when comparing all Uralic languages together, for then individual idiosyncrasies are averaged out, but in this article Hungarian is only compared with Finnish and Estonian (two Finnic languages).
In the middle of words (note that due to the loss of the word final vocals in the Old Hungarian period these are now at the end of the words), Hungarian has also lenited original stops, but in a different fashion.
Hungarian /pk/ correspond to Finnish and Estonian geminate stops /ppkk/:
Proto-Uralic
Hungarian
Finnish
Estonian
meaning
*ëppe
após
appi
father-in-law
*säppä
epe
sappi
sapp
gall
*lappɜ
lapos
lappea
lapp
flat
*lükkä-
lök
lykätä : lykkää-
lükkama
to push
Hungarian /t/ corresponds to the Finnish and Estonian two-stop cluster /tk/:
Proto-Uralic
Hungarian
Finnish
Estonian
meaning
*kütke-.
köt
kytkeä
kütke
to bind, to join (Estonian: "halter", a derivative)
(No examples where a word with original *tt would have survived in both Hungarian and Finnic are known, but cases testifying for the development of *tt to /tt/ in Finnic and /t/ in Hungarian can be set up with the help of the other Uralic languages.)
Hungarian /d/ corresponds to Finnish and Estonian /nt/ (which may alternate with /nn/):
Proto-Uralic
Hungarian
Finnish
Estonian
meaning
*ëmta-
ad
antaa
andma
to give
*jänte
ideg
jänne : jäntee-
nerve (Hung.; a derivative), string, sinew (Fi.)
*omte
odú
ontelo
õõnes
hollow
*tumte-
tud
tuntea
tundma
to know
(Again, with the help of the other Uralic languages, the analogous developments *mp *ŋk → Hungarian /b g/, Finnic /mp ŋk/ could be supported.)
Hungarian /v/ corresponds to Finnish and Estonian /p/:
Proto-Uralic
Hungarian
Finnish
Estonian
meaning
*kepä
kevés
kepeä
kebja
few (Hung.), light (Finnic)
*čupa
sovány
hupe-ne-
huba
thin (Hung.)
Hungarian /z/ corresponds to Finnish and Estonian /t/ (which can alternate with /d/ or zero, and becomes /s/ before /i/):
Proto-Uralic
Hungarian
Finnish
Estonian
meaning
*kota
ház
kota
koda
house (Hung.), hut (Finnic)
*käte
kéz
käsi : käden : käte-
käsi : käe : käte-
hand, arm
*pata
fazék
pata
pada
pot
*mete
méz
mesi : meden : mete-
mesi: mee : mete-
honey
Hungarian zero, here always preceding a long vowel, corresponds to Finnish and Estonian /k/ by itself (which may alternate with zero or /h/) and as the first member of a consonant cluster:
Two different regular correspondences can be found in Hungarian for Finnish and Estonian /s/. The first is Hungarian /s/:
Proto-Uralic
Hungarian
Finnish
Estonian
meaning
*śata
száz
sata
sada
hundred
*śüδäme
szív
sydän
süda
heart
*śilmä
szem
silmä
silm
eye
*śuwe
száj
suu
suu
mouth
*pesä
fészek
pesä
pesa
nest
The second is Hungarian zero:
Proto-Uralic
Hungarian
Finnish
Estonian
meaning
*sewe-
eszik : ev-
syödä
sööma
to eat
*säppä
epe
sappi
sapp
gall
*sëne
ín
suoni
soon
sinew, (Finnic also) vein
*süle
öl
syli
süli
bosom
These two correspondences represent two different original consonants. /s/ : /s/ is reconstructed as originating in Proto-Uralic *ś, while ∅ : /s/ is reconstructed as Proto-Uralic *s. Both correspondences can be seen simultaneously in the word for "autumn" (see above under *-k-), from Proto-Uralic *sükśi.
Hungarian liquid consonants /lr/ correspond to Finnish and Estonian /lr/:
Proto-Uralic
Hungarian
Finnish
Estonian
meaning
*ora
ár
ora
ora
awl (Hung., Es.), thorn (Fi.)
*alla
alatt
alla
all
under
*elä-
él
elää
elama
to live
*kala-
hal
kuolla
koolema
to die
*läme
lé : lev-
liemi
leem
liquid (Hung.), broth (Finnic)
*ńale-
nyal
nuolla
noolima
to lick
*ńële
nyíl
nuoli
nool
arrow
*wolka
váll
olka
õlg
shoulder
Examples also include 'bit', 'to fear', 'cloud', 'fish', 'winter', 'flat', 'to push', 'bosom' listed above.
Hungarian nasal consonants /mnɲ/ correspond to Finnish and Estonian /mnn/:
Proto-Uralic
Hungarian
Finnish
Estonian
meaning
*mi
mi
mikä : mi-
mis
what
*mene-
megy : men-
mennä
minema
to go
*mińä
meny
miniä
minia
daughter-in-law
*muna
mony (dialectal)
muna
muna
egg, testicle
*neljä
négy
neljä
neli
four
*nime
név
nimi
nimi
name
Further examples include (/m/:) 'honey', 'liver', 'eye', (/n/:) 'to plait', 'to see', 'sinew', (/ɲ/:) 'tear', 'palate', 'arrow', 'to lick' listed above. Word-internally a correspondence Hungarian /v/ : Finnic /m/ is also found, as seen in 'broth', 'name', and 'heart'.
A correspondence can also be set up between Hungarian /g/ and Finnish and Estonian long vowels. With the help of the other Uralic languages, this can be reconstructed as *ŋ:
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