kettő

From két. The suffix may reflect Proto-Uralic *-k, being the only trace thereof in Hungarian.

• IPA^(key): [ˈkɛtːøː]

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ket‧tő
• Rhymes: -tøː

kettő

1. two (mostly used in place of a whole noun phrase or as a predicate, but not usually as a counter before nouns)

   kettő meg egy az három ― two plus one equals three

The numeral két (“two”) and the adjective kis (“small, little”) can only stand adjectively, before a noun (e.g. két alma (“two apples”) and kis alma (“a small apple”)). If they were to occur on their own (possibly also inflected), predicatively, or in reference to a whole noun phrase, the terms kettő (“two”) and kicsi (“small”) must be used instead: Csak kettő van (“There are only two”), Csak kicsi van (“There is a small one only.”) The same applies to compound numerals like tizenkét and tizenkettő (“twelve”). In terms of distribution, két and kis are like English sick (sick people ~ két/kis alma) while kettő and kicsi resemble ill (they are ill ~ csak kettő/kicsi van). The longer forms are definitely broader in use as they may also occur adjectively, whether for emphasis or as a form of colloquialism. As a rule of thumb, the short variants (két, kis) never stand on their own.

• kettő 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