kettő (Hungarian)
Where does "kettő" come from?
The Hungarian word 'kettő' serves as the number two, originating from the earlier form 'két'. It is uniquely notable for retaining a *-k suffix that traces all the way back to Proto-Uralic, making it a rare linguistic artifact.
Full etymology tree
- kettő (Hungarian), 'two (mostly used in place of a whole noun phrase or as a predicate, but not usually as a counter before nouns)'
- derived két (Hungarian), 'two (only as counter before nouns)'
- inherited *käktä (Proto-Uralic), 'alternative form of *kakta'
- affix -tő (Hungarian)
- inherited *-k (Proto-Uralic)
- derived két (Hungarian), 'two (only as counter before nouns)'
Descendants and derived words
- harminckettő (Hungarian)
- hatvankettő (Hungarian)
- hetvenkettő (Hungarian)
- huszonkettő (Hungarian)
- kétszerkettő (Hungarian)
- kettes (Hungarian)
- kettes (Hungarian)
- kettőn áll a vásár (Hungarian)
- kettős (Hungarian)
- kettős (Hungarian)
- kilencvenkettő (Hungarian)
- mindkettő (Hungarian)
Updated July 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris