Phrase guide

Hungarian notation

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • US: /hʌŋˈɡɛɹi.ən noʊˈteɪʃən/

1

noun

Meaning 1

A naming convention in which the name of a variable indicates its data type and intended use by including abbreviations as prefixes.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Topics: computing, engineering, mathematics, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, programming, sciences

Examples

  • lpsz is Hungarian notation for a 32-bit pointer to a null-terminated string.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

The notation was invented by Charles Simonyi (born 1948), Hungarian-American computer programmer.

Across languages

Translations

15 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 匈牙利命名法 (Xiōngyálì mìngmíngfǎ) — Hungarian notation
  • Dutch: hongaarse notatie — Hungarian notation
  • Finnish: unkarilainen notaatio — Hungarian notation
  • French: notation hongroise — Hungarian notation
  • German: ungarische Notation — Hungarian notation
  • Hungarian: magyar jelölés — Hungarian notation
  • Italian: notazione ungara — Hungarian notation
  • Japanese: ハンガリアン記法 (hangarian kihō) — Hungarian notation
  • Japanese: ハンガリー記法 (hangarī-kihō) — Hungarian notation
  • Polish: notacja węgierska — Hungarian notation
  • Portuguese: notação húngara — Hungarian notation
  • Russian: венге́рская нота́ция (vengérskaja notácija) — Hungarian notation
  • Spanish: notación húngara — Hungarian notation
  • Swedish: ungersk notation — Hungarian notation
  • Ukrainian: уго́рська нота́ція (uhórsʹka notácija) — Hungarian notation