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150+ Advanced Hungarian Words

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Have you read our articles on beginner and intermediate words already? If so, you should be well equipped with the essential words for your daily interactions in Hungary… But what if you don’t want to stop there? 

As promised, here is our article on advanced Hungarian words

Our aim is to familiarize you with the most common advanced Hungarian words in different categories. You’ll learn words and technical terms related to the academic and business worlds, the medical field, and the legal system. In addition, we have included a section dedicated to teaching you more sophisticated alternatives to common Hungarian words. 

As always, we would love to hear from you! Feel free to let us know in the comments if you think any important words are missing or if you have any questions about what we’re about to cover. You can also create a Premium PLUS account to access our MyTeacher service, which will connect you with your own personal Hungarian language tutor. 

If you’re ready to get started with the last installment of this miniseries, let’s jump right into it!

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Log in to Download Your Free Cheat Sheet - Beginner Vocabulary in Hungarian Table of Contents
  1. Advanced Academic Words
  2. Advanced Business Words
  3. Advanced Medical Words
  4. Advanced Legal Words
  5. Additional Words for Acing a Hungarian Language Exam
  6. How HungarianPod101.com Helps You Reach Your Hungarian Learning Goals

1. Advanced Academic Words

You will most definitely need a good number of academic words if, say, you want to study at a Hungarian university. What an adventure that would be! The following list of advanced Hungarian words will help you immensely not only when writing essays or taking tests, but also when composing your thesis at the end of your studies.

However, even if you don’t plan to pursue higher education in Hungary, knowing a few academic words will still come in handy. For example, it’s likely that you’ll bump into one or two of these advanced Hungarian words at your workplace in Hungary or in the local newspaper. 

What if you’re just learning Hungarian for fun as a hobby? Picking up the most common academic words will help you broaden your vocabulary, improve your overall language skills, and allow you to have more engaging conversations with native speakers. 

Let’s take a look! 

“Assessment” – Értékelés
Noun
“Overall” – Összességében
Adverb
“Required” – Szükséges
Adjective
“Debate” – Vita
Noun
“To demonstrate” – Demonstrálni 
Verb
“Controversy” – Viszály
Noun
“Considerable” – Jelentős 
Adjective
“Ambiguous” – Bizonytalan
Adjective

Example sentence:
“We’ve received a considerable number of complaints in connection with the assignment.”
Jelentős számú panaszt kaptunk a feladattal kapcsolatban.

“Academic” – Akadémiai
Adjective
“To eliminate” – Kiiktat
Verb
“Hereby” – Ezennel  
Adverb
“Finite” – Véges / Befejezett
Adjective
“Thus” – Tehát
Adverb
“To coincide” – Egybeesni / Egybevágni
Verb

Example sentence:
“Thus, we must improve our teaching methods.”
Tehát muszáj javítanunk a tanítási módunkon. 

“Preliminary” – Előkészítő
Adjective
“To attain” – Megszerezni
Verb
“Forthcoming” – Közeledő 
Adjective
“To denote” – Jelölni
Verb
“Sphere” – Szféra
Noun
“Whereby” – Miáltal
Adverb
“To undergo” – Keresztülmenni
Verb
“Inhibition” – Gátlás / Akadályozás
Noun
“So-called” – Úgynevezett 
Adjective
“To hinder” – Meggátolni / Akadályozni
Verb

Example sentence:
“Excessive partying hinders high performance in school.”
A mértéktelen bulizás akadályozza a magas iskolai teljesítményt. 

“Albeit” – Habár
Conjunction
Virtually” – Tulajdonképpen
Adverb
“Structure” – Struktúra
Noun
“Structure” – Struktúra
Noun
“Hypothesis” – Feltételezés / Feltevés
Noun
“Principle” – Alapelv
Noun

Want to learn even more essential vocabulary? Then visit our Vocab Builder for Academia!

A Girl in a Hoodie in Front of Her Laptop Taking Notes in Her Notebook

2. Advanced Business Words

No list of advanced Hungarian vocabulary words could be complete without some business words. Studying economics in Hungary? Great! You’ll love this list and will find your studies much easier once you have these business- and economics-related words down. Not to mention how your teachers will appreciate that you know such nuanced Hungarian words as a foreigner.

Not studying in Hungary but want to impress your Hungarian boss? No problem! These advanced Hungarian words and phrases will come in handy not only when writing emails, but also in meetings and conferences with clients. You’ll be able to seal the deal on that long-desired promotion before you know it! 

“Strategy building” – Stratégiaépítés
Noun
“Fiscal year” – Költségvetési év
Noun

Example sentence:
“We have to get this done before the end of the current fiscal year.”
Ezt még a mostani költségvetési év vége előtt be kell fejeznünk. 

“Counteroffer” – Ellenajánlat
Noun
“Sum” – Összeg
Noun
“Conference” – Értekezlet
Noun
“License” – Engedély / Felhatalmazás
Noun
“Margin” – Árrés 
Noun
Stakeholder” – Részvényes
Noun

Example sentence:
“Let’s make sure that our stakeholders are satisfied with the project.”
Menjünk biztosra, hogy a részvényeseink elégedettek a projekttel. 

“Retainer” – Foglaló
Noun
“Feedback” – Visszacsatolás
Noun
“Expansion” – Terjeszkedés
Noun
“Expansion” – Terjeszkedés
Noun
“Merge” – Egyesülés
Noun
“Merge” – Egyesülés
Noun
“Entity” – Entitás
Noun
“Entity” – Entitás
Noun phrase
“Sustainable” – Fenntartható 
Adjective
“To monitor” – Figyelemmel kísérni
Verb

Example sentence:
“The sales department is supposed to monitor the revenue.”
Az értékesítési osztálynak kellene figyelemmel kísérnie a bevételt. 

“Pay raise” – Fizetésemelés
Noun
“Incorporated” – Egyesített
Adjective
“Incentive” – Ösztönző
Noun
“To access” – Elérni
Verb
“Revenue” – Árbevétel
Noun
“To modify” – Módosítani / Változtatni
Verb
“Commission” – Jutalék 
Noun
“Commission” – Jutalék 
Noun
“To assign” – Kiosztani
Verb
“Hierarchical” – Hierarchikus
Adjective

Visit our lesson Talking to a Supplier in Hungarian to listen to a sample business-related conversation.

A Man in a Black Suit Behind a Desk Smiling and Shaking Hands with a Woman

3. Advanced Medical Words

There are a couple of scenarios where you would definitely want to know some advanced Hungarian words related to medicine:

God forbid, but if anything were to happen to you, your travel buddy, or just a random pedestrian while you’re in Hungary, you’ll need to know some medical words. This will allow you to call an ambulance and explain the problem to them, and to know what the injured person’s condition is.

The other scenario is if you want to pursue medical studies. In this case, you would surely need to be familiar with the advanced Hungarian vocabulary list below in order to understand what they’re teaching in lectures and to write your academic essays.

“Acute” – Akut / Heven
Adjective
“Blood donor” – Véradó
Noun
Chickenpox” – Bárányhimlő
Noun
“Dementia” – Demencia / Elmebaj
Noun
“Deaf” – Süket / Siket
Adjective
“Immune system” – Immunrendszer
Noun
“Dehydration” – Kiszáradás 
Noun
“Operation” – Operáció / Műtét
Noun
“Fever” – Láz
Noun
“To eliminate” – Kiiktat
Verb
“Surgery” – Műtét
Noun
“Prescription” – Recept
Noun
“Mental health” – Mentálhigiénia
Noun
“Vein” – Ér
Noun

Example sentence:
“Mental health is just as important as physical health.”
A mentálhigiénia ugyanolyan fontos, mint a fizikai egészség. 

“Complication” – Szövődmény
Noun
“Numb” – Zsibbadt / Érzéstelen
Adjective
“Symptom” – Tünet
Noun
“Injury” – Sérülés
Noun
“X-ray” – Röntgen 
Noun
“Wound” – Seb
Noun

Example sentence:
“Let’s take an X-ray to see if there is a fracture.”
Csináltassunk röntgent, hogy lássuk, van-e törés. 

“Life-threatening” – Életveszélyes
Adjective
“Infection” – Fertőzés
Noun
“Fatal” – Halálos
Adjective
“Illness” – Betegség
Noun
“Cancer” – Rák
Noun
“Fracture” – Zúzódás
Noun
“Procedure” – Beavatkozás
Noun
“Lasting” – Maradandó
Adjective

Example sentence:
“Due to the accident, she has suffered lasting injuries.”
A baleset miatt maradandó sérüléseket szenvedett.

A Doctor Explaining Something to His Patient, Who Is a Blond Woman That Is Smiling and Sitting in a Chair

4. Advanced Legal Words

Again, we hope this never happens, but if you get in trouble with the law while in Hungary—for example, if the police have to get involved—it can be life-saving to know one or two advanced Hungarian words related to the legal system. Of course, these words will also be extremely helpful should you wake up one day and decide to take up the challenge of entering law school. 

But make sure to give yourself a pat on the back, even if you’re just learning these words for fun!

“Convict” – Fegyenc
Noun
“Homicide” – Emberölés
Noun

Example sentence:
“They reported a homicide in our neighborhood.”
Emberölést jelentettek a környékünkön. 

“Judge” – Bíró 
Noun
“Murder” – Gyilkosság
Noun
“Jury” – Esküdtszék
Noun
“Shoplifting” – Bolti lopás
Noun
“Prison” – Börtön
Noun
“To sentence” – Elítél
Verb
“Attorney” – Jogász
Noun
“To sentence” – Elítél
Verb

Example sentence:
“The judge sentenced the accused to five years in prison.”
A bíró 5 év börtönre ítélte a vádlottat. 

“Defendant” – Vádlott
Noun
“Trial” – Kihallgatás
Noun
“To plead” – Kérelmezni
Verb
“Courtroom” – Bírósági tárgyalóterem
Noun phrase
“Verdict” – Ítélet
Noun
“To charge” – Vádolni
Verb
“Justice” – Igazságszolgáltatás
Noun
“To arrest” – Letartóztatni
Verb
“Prejudice” – Befolyásolás
Noun
“Allegation” – Vádaskodás
Noun
“Law” – Törvény
Noun
“Illegal” – Illegális / Törvényellenes
Adjective
“Contract” – Szerződés
Noun
“Plea” – Védőbeszéd
Noun
“Evidence” – Bizonyíték
Noun
“Warrant” – Parancs / Végzés
Noun

Example sentence:
“Based on the evidence in their possession, she is guilty.”
A birtokukban lévő bizonyíték alapján bűnös. 

“Consent” – Hozzájárulás / Beleegyezés
Noun
“Bias” – Elfogultság
Noun

A Judge’s Hands and Papers Are Seen with a Gavel in the Picture

5. Additional Words for Acing a Hungarian Language Exam

Do you ever wonder how many words it takes to be considered advanced in Hungarian? Well, according to experts, that number is anywhere from 4,000 to 10,000. Not quite there yet? Don’t worry! 

The following list of advanced Hungarian words will be a big help to you when taking a Hungarian language exam or attending university in Hungary. 

“Approach” – Megközelítés 
Noun
“Estate” – Állam
Noun

Example sentence:
“This is an interesting approach regarding teaching.”
Ez egy érdekes megközelítés a tanítást illetően. 

“Significant” – Jelentős / Lényeges 
Adjective
“To clarify” – Tisztázni
Verb
“Concept” – Koncepció / Elképzelés
Verb
“Duration” – Időtartam
Noun
“To affect” – Hatással lenni
Verb
“Duration” – Időtartam
Noun

Example sentence:
“The duration of the exam is precisely three hours.”
A vizsga időtartama pontosan 3 óra. 

“In summary” – Összefoglalásképp
Adverb
“Economic” – Gazdasági
Adjective
“Obvious” – Nyilvánvaló
Adjective
“Unified” – Egyesített
Adjective
“Arbitrary” – Önkényes / Önhatalmú 
Adjective
“Exhibition” – Kiállítás
Noun
“Subordinate” – Alárendelt 
Adjective
“Contradiction” – Ellentmondás
Noun
“Restraint” – Korlát
Noun
“Crucial” – Életbevágó / Fontos
Adjective
“Inherent” – Velejáró
Adjective
“Incident” – Eset / Történés
Noun
“To cease” – Abbamaradni / Megszűnni
Verb
“Coincidence” – Véletlen
Noun
“Factor” – Tényező
Noun
“Conclusion” – Összefoglalás
Noun
“To ensure” – Biztosítani valamiről
Verb
“Instance” – Példa / Eset
Noun
“Sufficient” – Elegendő
Adjective
“Benefit” – Előny / Haszon
Noun

Example sentence:
“You have read a sufficient amount of books for the exam. Relax.”
Elegendő mennyiségű könyvet olvastál el a vizsgára. Nyugi. 

“Emphasis” – Hangsúly / Nyomaték
Noun
“Presumption” – Feltételezés / Sejtés
Noun
“Estimate” – Becslés / Becsült érték
Noun
“Consistency” – Következetesség
Noun
“Thorough” – Alapos
Adjective
“Established” – Bevezetett
Adjective
“To exceed” – Túllép / Túlszárnyal
Verb
“Source” – Forrás
Noun
“Discretion” – Diszkréció
Noun
“Particular” – Konkrét / Bizonyos
Adjective
“To imply” – Utalni valamire
Verb
“Labor” – Munkaerő
Noun

Students Behind Desks Taking an Exam

6. How HungarianPod101.com Helps You Reach Your Hungarian Learning Goals

We are so happy that you came along with us on this journey of learning vocabulary words fit for every level of Hungarian, and we hope you’ll stick around. In this article, we introduced you to a variety of advanced Hungarian vocabulary words related to academia, business, medicine, and the legal system. 

    → Want to learn even more and strengthen your skills? Then check out our advanced Hungarian course or any of the other advanced Hungarian learning materials on our website.

We hope you enjoyed this miniseries because we have another one coming. So make sure to check back often. 😉 

Create your free lifetime account on HungarianPod101.com today and continue building your language skills. We provide a number of study materials, including vocabulary lists, video and audio lessons for every level, and several curated lesson pathways. 

Before you go: Which word did you find the most difficult? Did you know any of these already?

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Hungarian Negation: Learn How to Say No!

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Learning how to negate is an essential part of studying a language. How else would you tell your friend that no, you’re not going to do their homework for them? Or tell your grandma that you don’t want any more soup after the third round? 

It’s through negation that we’re able to fully express our emotions, give our honest opinions, and set healthy boundaries. 

In this article, you’ll learn…

  • …how to make negative sentences in Hungarian.
  • …how to give negative responses to questions.
  • …how the double negative in Hungarian works.
  • …some useful words of negation you can start using right away. 

Don’t worry—it’s easy as pie! (That said, you might want to read our article on Hungarian word order before you dig in…)

Asian Woman in Glasses and a Yellow Tee Thinking
Log in to Download Your Free Cheat Sheet - Beginner Vocabulary in Hungarian Table of Contents
  1. Negating Statements, Questions, and Commands
  2. Giving a Negative Response to a Question
  3. Double Negatives
  4. Other Negating Words and Phrases
  5. How HungarianPod101.com Can Help You Achieve Your Goals

1. Negating Statements, Questions, and Commands

First, let’s cover the basic Hungarian negation rules and introduce you to the two most important words of negation in Hungarian: ne and nem

A- Statements

To get a better idea of how to make a negative sentence in Hungarian, check out the example below: 

  • Ma este moziba megyek. / “I’m going to the movies tonight.”
  • Ma este nem megyek moziba. / “I’m not going to the movies tonight.”

In Hungarian, the word nem means both “not” and “no.” 

As you probably noticed, making a sentence negative in Hungarian is as simple as adding the word nem before the verb or adjective you wish to negate. Would you have thought Hungarian negation was this easy?

B- Questions

Now, how would you form a negative question or give a negative answer? 

Here’s an example: 

  • Mész ma este moziba? / “Are you going to the movies tonight?”
  • Nem mész ma este moziba? / “Are you not going to the movies tonight?”
  • Nem, nem megyek (ma este moziba). / “No, I’m not going (to the movies tonight).”

As you can see, you simply put the negative word nem at the beginning of a question to make it negative. And to give a negative answer, you use the Hungarian equivalent of “no, I’m not” (nem, nem).

Here are some more examples, this time using the verb félni (to be afraid):

  • Félek az egerektől. / “I’m afraid of mice.”
  • Nem félek az egerektől. / “I’m not afraid of mice.”
  • Félsz az egerektől? / “Are you afraid of mice?”
  • Nem félsz az egerektől? / “Are you not afraid of mice?”
  • Nem, nem félek az egerektől. / “No, I’m not afraid (of mice).”

C- Commands

Now that you know how to form negative statements and questions in Hungarian, let’s talk about how to give negative commands. Here are some examples:

  • Ne érj az állathoz! / “Do not touch the animal.”
  • Ne üljetek oda, gyerekek! / “Do not sit there, children.”
  • Ne mondd ezt! / “Do not say that.”

There are two things you probably noticed:

1) Hungarian commands always end in an exclamation mark (rather than a full stop, like in English).
2) The Hungarian equivalent of “do not” is ne + the conjugated imperative verb.

D- Practice! 

Based on what you’ve learned so far, try to translate and then negate the following sentences in Hungarian:

    ❖ “We are going out to have lunch.” 
    ❖ “Did you write a book?” 
    ❖ “Be afraid of a new language!” 

Write your answers below in the comments section.

Girl in Yellow T-shirt Thinking, Pink Background

2. Giving a Negative Response to a Question

We touched on this briefly in the previous section, but we’ll cover it in greater detail here. This is an important topic, so we want to make sure you really get the hang of it

Here are a few examples for you: 

  • Mérges vagy? / “Are you angry?”
  • Nem, nem vagyok (mérges). / “No, I’m not(angry).”

  • Hoztál esernyőt? / “Did you bring an umbrella?”
  • Nem, nem hoztam (esernyőt). / “No, I did not (bring an umbrella).”

  • Fogsz tanulni holnap? / “Will you study tomorrow?”
  • Nem, nem fogok (tanulni holnap). / “No, I will not (study tomorrow).”

A Ballot with No Marked

3. Double Negatives

Double negatives in Hungarian are not only not ungrammatical—haha—but they’re actually necessary in many negative sentences. This type of sentence is usually formed with a negative word (see them in greater depth in the next section) and nem.

Let’s see a few examples of sentences using double negation in Hungarian:

  • Soha többet nem iszom. / I’ll never drink again.

    This sentence implies that the thing we’re swearing not to do again has just been done. Without többet (“more”) this sentence would be more like a general statement, not a resolution or promise. See:

    Soha nem iszom.
    “I never drink.”

  • Nem parancsol nekem senki. / Nobody gives me orders.

    The two negatives here are nem and senki (“nobody”).

  • Sehol nem maradok sokáig. / I don’t stay anywhere for long.

    Here, the two negative words are nem and sehol (“nowhere”).

    If you were to carry the double negative over into English, this would be like saying: “I don’t stay nowhere for long.” (But, of course, that would be ungrammatical.)

  • Semmit nem ettem még ma. / I haven’t eaten anything today.

    Semmit literally means “nothing.”

  • Soha többet nem leszek alkalmazott. / “I’ll never be an employee again.”
Someone Hand-signaling No to Someone Offering Them a Beer

I never drink.

4. Other Negating Words and Phrases

As you saw in the previous section, double negatives in Hungarian are extremely common (and even necessary in some cases). There are several different negating words and phrases that are used in conjunction with nem to make a sentence negative. 

Here are the most common Hungarian negating words and phrases, along with example sentences. Keep in mind that nem is required for every sentence, except for the first one. 

alig 
barely
Alig ismerlek.
I barely know you.
szinte soha
hardly ever
Szinte soha nem találkozunk.
We hardly ever meet.
soha
never
Soha nem találkozunk.
We never meet.
soha többé
no more
Soha többé nem fogom ezt eltűrni.
I will endure this no more. 
senki
nobody
Senki nem marad délután 5 után.
Nobody stays after 5 o’clock p.m.
sehol
nowhere
Sehol nem találom a szemüvegemet.
My glasses are nowhere to be found.
semelyik…sem
neither…nor
Semelyik nem tetszik, sőt, rám sem jönnek.
Neither of these are to my taste nor do they fit me.
semmikor
never
Neked soha nem jó.
It is never good for you.
semmiért
for nothing
Nem fogok a semmiért dolgozni.
I won’t work for nothing.
senkiért
for nobody
Senkiért nem fogom megégetni magam.
I will do overtime for nobody. 

A Confused Man Scratching His Head

5. How HungarianPod101.com Can Help You Achieve Your Goals

Now that you’ve learned all about Hungarian negation, you should be able to tell your gran “no” when she wants you to eat that fifth slice of cake after a full three-course meal.

But if there’s anything we neglected to cover, or if you still have questions about something we did cover, let us know in the comments below. We’ll be glad to help and offer additional explanations.

By the way: If you see a fellow Hungarian student struggling with something and think you can help, feel free to offer an explanation yourself. After all, we’re an encouraging family of Hungarian learners striving to help each other thrive! 

Don’t forget to comment your translation and negation of these sentences down below!

    ❖ “We are going out to have lunch.”
    ❖ “Did you write a book?”
    ❖ “Be afraid of a new language.”

Happy language learning!

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How Long Does it Take to Learn Hungarian?

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What’s one of the first things you consider when determining whether to learn something new? If you’re like most people, you probably look at how long it will take to learn, how difficult it is, and whether it’s worth the investment.  

If you’re reading this, odds are you want to start learning Hungarian but have not yet committed. You might be asking the all-too-common question: How long does it take to learn Hungarian? 

While there’s no solid timeline for how long this process takes, there are estimates for each level (beginner, intermediate, and advanced) based on data from the Foreign Service Institute (FSI). In this article, we’ll take a look at these rough estimates and give you some useful tips on how to learn Hungarian faster! 

Still, you must remember that there are no super-shortcuts that enable you to learn a whole language in just a few weeks. If you’re determined to learn a language, you must put in the time and effort. If you’re motivated and willing to learn consistently, great results are guaranteed.

If you’re ready to take on the world and study Hungarian, what are you waiting for? The magic recipe for how to learn Hungarian fast is only a few scrolls away.

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Log in to Download Your Free Cheat Sheet - Beginner Vocabulary in Hungarian Table of Contents
  1. Factors That Will Affect Your Learning Progress
  2. How Long Does it Take to Achieve Beginner Level?
  3. How Long Does it Take to Achieve Intermediate Level?
  4. How Long Does it Take to Achieve Advanced Level?
  5. How HungarianPod101.com Can Help You Achieve Your Goals

Factors That Will Affect Your Learning Progress 

The FSI groups languages into four categories, based on how difficult they are for a native English speaker to learn. Level I languages are the easiest, while Level IV languages are the most difficult. 

Can you guess which category Hungarian belongs to?

Well, we have to break it to you: Hungarian is considered a Category III language, which makes it a rather difficult one to learn. But this doesn’t make it impossible! It will just take you a bit more time and effort to learn than it would take for you to learn French, for example. 

The actual speed of your Hungarian learning will depend on a variety of factors, such as:

  • How much time you put into your studies
  • Your study methods 
  • Your environment
  • Your motivation and goals

Now, let’s dive a little deeper!

How Long Does it Take to Achieve Beginner Level?

The average English speaker would need to spend 1 hour studying each day for approximately 12 weeks in order to reach the beginner level. 

However, we must emphasize that this number—and the others mentioned in this article—is merely an approximate to give you a basic idea of what to expect. 

With that in mind, how much time do you think it would take you to achieve the beginner level of Hungarian?

If your answer is “longer than I would like,” remember that HungarianPod101.com has plenty of fun and practical resources for learning Hungarian. Check out the following pages to speed up your progress and stay motivated: 

And here are some additional steps you can take to make the most of your study time

  • Prepare flashcards to make those words stick and carry them with you everywhere.
  • Learn the basic Hungarian sentence structure (hint: it’s usually S-V-O).
  • Watch short videos at a slow speed.

Finally, here are some skills and knowledge you’ll have by the time you reach this level: 

  • You’ll have memorized the Hungarian alphabet. 
  • You’ll know the pronunciation of each letter. 
  • You’ll know some key vocabulary and phrases for everyday interactions.
A Man with a Beard Is Reading and Holding a Pencil to His Temple

How Long Does it Take to Achieve Intermediate Level?

If you continue to study for 1 hour each day, you should be able to reach the intermediate level in approximately 28 weeks.

At the intermediate level, you will…

  • …be able to read short and simple texts, and understand the main points. 
  • …have a larger vocabulary than you did at the beginner stage. 
  • …be able to hold basic conversations at a slow speed on topics that are familiar to you. 

Of course, your exact skillset at this level may vary depending on the speed of your progress. This is just a rough outline of what’s expected of intermediate-level learners. 

There are several things you can do at this point to make the most of your study time. To give you some inspiration, here’s how to learn Hungarian quickly using a variety of tools:

  • Broaden your vocabulary, especially on niche topics that fascinate you or relate to your daily life. 
  • Read Hungarian newspapers or blogs; this will further expand your vocabulary and give you insight into Hungarian culture and society. 
  • Watch Hungarian YouTube channels or Netflix shows with English subtitles.
  • Listen to Hungarian podcasts on your topics of interest. 
  • Go through HungarianPod101’s Level 2 Hungarian and Level 3 Hungarian pathways. 

At this point, we can’t stress enough how important it is to listen a lot, practice your pronunciation often, and keep a dictionary with you any time you read. The journey from beginner to intermediate level will involve expanding your vocabulary and gaining a better understanding of how Hungarians speak and converse with each other. By actively immersing yourself in different forms of Hungarian media, you can speed up your progress and develop these new skills faster. 

As mentioned in our bullet list, you should read plenty of Hungarian blogs, magazines, and newspapers. Keep a dictionary handy, so you can look up any unfamiliar words and note them down in a journal to study later. Having a written record of which words you’re struggling with is a great way to plan your next steps forward.

Newspapers, in particular, are a great reading source if you want to develop a more versatile vocabulary. You can read up on all kinds of modern, trending topics such as politics, coronavirus, and the labor market. You can also read newspapers or blogs specific to Budapest, the capital city of Hungary; this is a great idea if you plan on visiting the city in the near future!

A Girl in a Hoodie Is Taking Notes in a Library with Her Book and Laptop Open

How Long Does it Take to Achieve Advanced Level?

Reaching the advanced level means that you’re finally fluent in Hungarian. According to the FSI, reaching this level of fluency will take you about 44 weeks (or 1100 hours) if you study for an hour every day.

This is a huge time commitment, but if you’re persistent, you can become fluent in Hungarian! 

The most common mistake language learners make is giving up. When you reach a plateau or feel like it’s taking you longer than it should to reach the next level, it’s easy to get discouraged. But! Just because you missed a few days of learning because you had other, more important things to do (let’s say, job-related), don’t beat yourself up. Just get back on track as soon as possible, and forget the setback even happened.

You’re studying for yourself, by yourself, so it takes a large amount of willpower and motivation to be persistent with your lessons. Just remember that it’s okay to fall off the wagon sometimes—as long as you always get back on! 

Here are a few tips on how to learn the Hungarian language as you journey from intermediate to advanced: 

  • Study field-specific words, such as business terms or medical expressions, to keep your vocabulary varied. 
  • Watch Hungarian shows in different genres: crime shows, sitcoms, reality shows, etc. 
  • Start reading books in Hungarian; start small, and gradually work your way up to larger books.
  • Download Hungarian language learning apps and visit forums so you can chat with fellow language learners.
  • Go through HungarianPod101’s Level 4 Hungarian and Level 5 Hungarian pathways.

A Girl with a Fringe with Headphones Is Looking Away, Sitting in Front of Her Laptop

How HungarianPod101.com Can Help You Achieve Your Goals

There you go: a few tips for learning Hungarian fast and easy. We hope we managed to cover everything you want to know about how long it will take to learn Hungarian, but don’t hesitate to reach out if we missed something—we’ll be glad to help. 

Remember that there are no studying barriers you cannot overcome! With HungarianPod101, you have a supportive group to back you up every step of the way. We provide you with pre-assembled study materials that have been tried and tested, as well as forums where you can ask questions and chat with other HungarianPod101 members.

We’ll be back soon with another useful, practical article—stay tuned and good luck with your studies!

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The Top 30 Most Common Hungarian Proverbs and Idioms

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Have you ever found yourself in a situation where the perfect proverb could have hit hard like a meteor and left everybody speechless? We’ve all been there. But at HungarianPod101.com, we know that the words don’t always roll off the tongue so easily—especially when you’re trying to speak a foreign language!

In this article, we’re going to cover thirty of the most common Hungarian proverbs and idioms. We’ve divided them into three categories, so you’ll find proverbs and idioms on life, love, and even money. These are phrases you’ll hear often while in Hungary, so memorizing them and learning how to use them will really help your language skills shine in any situation.

And remember: As you learn these Hungarian sayings, you’re never alone! You can always reach out to us or your fellow Hungarian language learners for help or motivation. We’re all in this together. 

Now, let’s get started.

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Log in to Download Your Free Cheat Sheet - Beginner Vocabulary in Hungarian Table of Contents
  1. Hungarian Proverbs About Life
  2. Hungarian Proverbs About Love
  3. Hungarian Proverbs About Money
  4. How HungarianPod101.com Helps You Achieve Your Language Goals

1. Hungarian Proverbs About Life

A Woman Whose Nose Has Grown Longer After Telling a Lie

Hungarian proverbs about life convey wisdom about how to live well. Learning these proverbs can help you gain a better understanding of how Hungarians view life in general, and provide you with more insight into the Hungarian culture.  

Below, you’ll find ten Hungarian proverbs about life. For each one, we’ve included an English translation and information about what it means and how to use it. 

1. A nagy hal megeszi a kishalat.

  • Literal Translation: Big fish eat the small fish. 
  • English Equivalent: Men are like fish; great ones devour the small. 

Meaning:
Small organizations and insignificant people tend to be swallowed up or destroyed by those that are greater and more powerful.

Usage:
This proverb would be perfect if you wanted to warn someone that, if they’re not strong enough (figuratively speaking), they’ll be trodden over by others. You know… “Eat or be eaten.”

2. A hazug embert hamarabb utolérik, mint a sánta kutyát.

  • Literal Translation: They catch the man who lies sooner than the limping dog. 
  • English Equivalent: A lie has short legs. 

Meaning:
Your lies will come to light sooner than you think.

Usage:
You might use this proverb, for example, in a shady situation where you suspect that the other party is lying. It would put a bit of pressure on them.


3. Az idő minden sebet begyógyít.

  • Literal Translation: Time heals all wounds.

Meaning:
You just have to be patient, and all sorrow and sadness will go away in time.

Usage:
You could use this sentence, for instance, if one of your friends was trying to get over a breakup.

4. Ki mint vet, úgy arat.

  • Literal Translation: He who sows reaps.
  • English Equivalent: As you sow, so shall you reap. 

Meaning:
The way you behave in life will determine the treatment you receive from others.

Usage:
Imagine one of your friends did somebody wrong, and then something bad happened to them as well. You could then mention this proverb to them as a sort of life lesson. Because as we all know…what goes around, comes around.

5. Aki mer, az nyer.

  • Literal Translation: He who dares, wins. 

Meaning:
If you do not try—or dare—you’ll never succeed, because you did not give yourself the chance to do so in the first place.

Usage:
You could use this proverb to encourage somebody who needs that little extra push to take a leap that might result in something great.

6. Aki nem dolgozik, ne is egyék!

  • Literal Translation: Those who do not work should not eat. 
  • English Equivalent: He who does not work, shall not eat either. 

Meaning:
You have to work for the prize. If you didn’t do anything to earn it, you don’t deserve it.

Usage:
This one is very simple. It’s quite popular among Hungarian mothers, who say this to their children when they haven’t done their chores—or anything at all, to be fair—but still come down to have lunch as though they “deserve it.” But it’s only said as a joke, of course.

7. Ha nincs ló, jó a szamár is.

  • Literal Translation: If there is no horse, a donkey will do as well. 

Meaning:
This proverb refers to a situation where you know that something better exists, but you decide to settle for what you have even if it’s not as good. 

Usage:
This might be a good Hungarian proverb to insert in a light, teasing friend-to-friend conversation when your pal goes to prom with someone they don’t fancy that much because their real crush did not invite them. 

8. Ki tudja, mit hoz a holnap.

  • Literal Translation: Who knows what tomorrow will bring? 

Meaning:
You never know what opportunities you’ll have in the future, so you must always keep hoping for a better day. You cannot give up.

Usage:
Here’s another encouraging Hungarian proverb. You could use this phrase to give somebody a pinch of hope when they’re ready to give up on something, just because things haven’t worked out so far. 

9. A cél szentesíti az eszközt.

  • Literal Translation: The purpose consecrates the means. 
  • English Equivalent: The ends justify the means. 

Meaning:
If your purpose is something noble or important, you’re allowed to reach it in any way, using any means.

Usage:
Imagine you’re about to do something morally questionable, like telling your sibling that the new ice-cream doesn’t taste that good, just so you have more left for you. Repeating this Hungarian proverb in your head like a mantra might give you a little bit more courage…and ice-cream. It would be a way of telling yourself that ice-cream is very important, so telling lies is “okay” in that situation. 

10. Ne igyál előre a medve bőrére!

  • Literal Translation: Don’t drink on the bear’s skin in advance. 
  • English Equivalent: Don’t count your chickens before they hatch. 

Meaning:
Don’t celebrate something good too soon, because it might not turn out the way you think it will. 

Usage:
The night before your state exam, you meet up with your friends and they raise their glasses to you, the “newly-grad genius.” You must tell them not to drink on the bear’s skin in advance, because you haven’t graduated yet and nothing is for sure.

A Woman is Thinking and There Are Bubbles Above Her Head

2. Hungarian Proverbs About Love

Hungarian proverbs about love are just as abundant and necessary as those about life. Using the right proverb at the right time can get you some bonus points in your relationship or help you better express your love. Below are the most common proverbs in Hungarian about love, each one relatable and full of wisdom. 

Remember that you can find even more love-related words and phrases on our list of Hungarian Quotes About Love and in our lesson on Three Ways to Say “I Love You” in Hungarian

11. A szerelem vak.

  • Literal Translation: Love is blind. 

Meaning:
You cannot think clearly and rationally when you’re in love.

Usage:
This is a great phrase you can use to console a friend while they’re going through a hard time in their relationship. 

12. Az ellentétek vonzzák egymást.

  • Literal Translation: Opposites attract each other. 

Meaning:
This one is straightforward. People who are utterly different in character often complete each other, like Yin and Yang. Differences give a relationship extra life and spice. If you always agree on everything, chances are you’ll become bored with the relationship over time.

Usage:
You may hear this proverb used when someone is trying to understand how two completely different people could be in a relationship with each other. 

13. Soha szerelem sóhajtás nélkül édes nem lehet.

  • Literal Translation: Love without sighs can never be sweet. 

Meaning:
Love that is without hardships cannot last, as it would be rather boring that way. Also, going through hardships together is the test of true love; if you can weather the storms, your love is likely to last. 

Usage:
If your friend is having their usual rant about their significant other, you can comfort them with this easy Hungarian proverb. Help them remember that a little rain is needed to see the rainbow.

14. A szerelemben több a keserű, mint az édes.

  • Literal Translation: In love, there’s more bitterness than sweetness. 

Meaning:
This one basically means that you have to work for someone’s love to make a relationship last. It doesn’t come easy, and it’s not always pleasant. 

Usage:
Searching for the perfect Hungarian proverb to cheer up a friend who’s just had an argument with their love? This is the one. Just tell them it’s normal and that it will get better.

15. Hideg kéz, meleg szív.

  • Literal Translation: Cold hand, warm heart. 

Meaning:
If someone is strict with you, it usually means they just want the best for you.

Usage:
The funny thing is, this proverb is mostly used in a way unrelated to its real meaning. Hungarians say this when a person’s hand is literally, physically cold. So, if you touch someone’s hand and it’s like an icicle, saying this phrase is a nice way to warm their heart.

16. Nincsen rózsa tövis nélkül.

  • Literal Translation: There is no rose without thorns. 

Meaning:
Nothing and nobody is perfect.

Usage:
If you’re having a tough conversation with a friend or significant other, just recall this Hungarian proverb.

17. A szerelem a bölcset is vakká teszi.

  • Literal Translation: Love makes even the wise blind. 

Meaning:
Love can fool anyone (even the smartest of people), making them irrational.

Usage:
You can use this proverb if one of your friends—who you thought was the wisest and smartest person you knew—fell in love hard and blind.

18. Kenyér és bor nélkül meghűl a szerelem.

  • Literal Translation: Without bread and wine, love gets cold. 

Meaning:
Love needs to be cherished and the fire kept alive, otherwise two people will fall out of love.

Usage:
If you know a couple that’s been together for a looong time, this might be a great, eye-opening piece of advice for them.


19. A harag és a szerelem a legrosszabb tanácsadók.

  • Literal Translation: Anger and love are the worst advisors.

Meaning:
When you’re angry or in love, you cannot think straight. It’s better to act only once you’ve calmed yourself down and cleared your thoughts.

Usage:
If a friend is trying to make a major decision while they’re either angry or blindly in love, you may want to use this Hungarian proverb to open their eyes and encourage caution. 

20. Álomban és szerelemben nincs lehetetlenség.

  • Literal Translation: In a dream and love, nothing is impossible. 

Meaning:
Love can defeat anything and makes everything possible.

Usage:
You can encourage anybody with this saying. If they have a big dream they want to make reality or have a relationship issue that needs to be resolved, you can empower them by emphasizing that nothing is impossible if they set their mind to it.

A Couple Is Seen, Leaning on a Wooden Wall and Holding Hands

3. Hungarian Proverbs About Money

Because Hungarians value and cherish their money quite a lot, there are plenty of Hungarian proverbs about money for you to learn. Below, we’ve listed the ten most common ones.  


21. Sok kicsi sokra megy.

  • Literal Translation: Lots of ‘small’ adds up to one ‘big.’ 

Meaning:
Here’s a prime example of that money-cherishing trait we mentioned. This proverb teaches that we should not be greedy; if we’re patient, great things will come to us eventually. It’s just a matter of enough small things accumulating to become something better. 

Usage:
Imagine your child or nephew/niece finds a few coins inside the couch. You could help them value that little bit of money by saying this proverb to them, convincing them that if they cherish the small amount they gained it will be rewarding in the future. 

22. Az idő pénz.

  • Literal Translation: Time is money. 

Meaning:
Time is the only thing that we cannot get more of; it only lessens, so we must not waste it.

Usage:
If somebody is wasting your time, this proverb is a great (though maybe a bit harsh) way to let them know.

23. Pénz beszél, kutya ugat.

  • Literal Translation: Money talks, dog barks. 

Meaning:
With money, everything is possible.

Usage:
We hope you’ll never use this Hungarian proverb in such a context, but it’s a perfect way to introduce a bribe and let someone know you’re about to pay them off.

24. Ki korán kel, aranyat lel.

  • Literal Translation: The early bird catches the worm. 

Meaning:
Those who are vigilant and ready to jump at opportunities are the ones who succeed.

Usage:
If you struggle to wake up early in the morning, going to bed with this thought in mind might help you wake up easier the next morning.

25. Nem mind arany, ami fénylik.

  • Literal Translation: Not all that glitters is gold. 

Meaning:
You shouldn’t be fooled by superficial things, because they might not be as good as they appear to be.

Usage:
If someone you know is about to jump at an opportunity that seems too good to be true, you can offer them friendly advice using this proverb. It will encourage them to think twice before taking that thing at face value. 

26. Ismerik, mint a rossz pénzt.

  • Literal Translation: He is well-known like bad money. 

Meaning:
This phrase is used to describe someone who is so infamous that their true character is common knowledge. 

Usage:
If someone close to you is starting to become associated with someone you know is not a good person, you can use this phrase to let them know. 

27. A pénz nem a fán nő.

  • Literal Translation: Money doesn’t grow on trees. 

Meaning:
You shouldn’t spend your money recklessly. 

Usage:
Hungarian children often hear this phrase after begging their parents for something at the toy store! 

28. Az becsüli a pénzt, kinek körme kopik utána.

  • Literal Translation: Those who appreciate money broke their nails for it. 

Meaning:
You can only truly appreciate money if you worked hard for every penny.

Usage:
Next time you encounter an arrogant person who won’t get off their high horse because of their easily-come money, you could use this Hungarian proverb to put them back in their place. 

29. Annyi pénze van, mint békán a szőr.

  • Literal Translation: He has as much money as a frog has hair. 

Meaning:
Somebody is broke.

Usage:
If you want to joke about your financial state (because what’s healthier than a little self-deprecation?), you could say this Hungarian proverb to describe your situation to your friends. 

30. Kinek nincsen pénze, ne menjen piacra!

  • Literal Translation: He who hasn’t money, shouldn’t go to the market.

Meaning:
Those who are not qualified to do something, shouldn’t do it.

Usage:
In addition to its obvious correlation with actual money and markets, this proverb can also refer to any situation where someone is unqualified to do something. For example, you could use this phrase at work when somebody tries to perform a task they weren’t trained for and messed it up.

A Blond Woman in a White Shirt Is Laughing, with Money Falling from the Sky

4. How HungarianPod101.com Helps You Achieve Your Language Goals

Now that you know quite a few old Hungarian proverbs and idioms, you’re well-equipped to handle a variety of situations—and impress native speakers at the same time! Which of these Hungarian sayings is your favorite, and why? 

We hope you enjoyed this article, and that you’ll continue to explore the HungarianPod101.com website for more great content. Here, you’ll find so many fun and effective learning materials to help you reach your goals. To give you just a sample: 

You can also visit the HungarianPod101 YouTube channel to watch educational videos by our fun and energetic hosts. We regularly post new videos, so there’s always something to watch! 

Know that you’re never alone on your language learning journey. You can always reach out to us or your fellow language learners for assistance or encouragement.

Happy learning!

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An Overview of Hungarian Grammar

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We’re so glad that you’re browsing this page because it means that you’re considering learning Hungarian—or have already started! 

Now, we must say that although it is a beautiful language, Hungarian is also a bit challenging at times. That’s why it is so important for you to become familiar with the Hungarian grammar basics from the beginning. 

This page is the perfect place to acquaint yourself with the ins and outs of Hungarian. From the word order to verb conjugation, and everything in-between, we’ll provide you with all the information you need to get a head start in your language learning journey. 

But do remember that we’ll only be covering the basics of Hungarian grammar here. If you wish to study any of these topics further, HungarianPod101.com has tons of resources and lessons, some of which we’ve linked to throughout this lesson. In addition, you can find insightful articles on our blog page

Are you ready to explore the world of Hungarian grammar with us? Let’s begin.

Log in to Download Your Free Cheat Sheet - Beginner Vocabulary in Hungarian Table of Contents
  1. General Rules
  2. Word Order
  3. Verb Conjugation
  4. Grammar Cases
  5. Bonus: Extra Hungarian Grammar Rules for the Road
  6. How HungarianPod101.com Can Help You Master Hungarian

1. General Rules

First things first, we’ll quickly go over the most basic Hungarian grammar rules. Once you have a good understanding of these, you should have a much easier time learning the more complex concepts! To make things simpler for you, we’ll be using English as a benchmark and drawing comparisons between the two languages. 

Once you feel comfortable with these rules, you can see our more-detailed explanations further down this page.

Ready? 

Gender

Let’s start with some good news: Just like English, Hungarian does not have grammatical gender. Phew! 

Sentence Structure

Normally, English sentences are constructed using the Subject-Verb-Object pattern, making it an SVO language. Well, this is not the case in Hungarian. 

Although there are instances where Hungarian uses the SVO word order too, Hungarian sentence structures are flexible and pragmatic. This means that words are ordered based on which word you want to give the most emphasis, and which the least. This gives speakers the freedom to better express themselves and make their points clear.

For this reason, super-long sentences can be structured any number of ways. You don’t have to worry much about making mistakes regarding the word order, because pretty much anything you say will be grammatically correct. The only thing that matters when forming sentences is that you put the right word—the one you want to emphasize—at the beginning.

Tenses and Conjugation

In English, there are twelve major verb tenses. That’s quite a lot, huh? 

Well, you won’t have to struggle with Hungarian that much, as it only has three verb tenses: past, present, and future. Pretty straightforward, right? 

Also, once you learn the conjugation of regular verbs (and that of a few irregular verbs), forming correct sentences will be easy as pie.

Cases

Both English and Hungarian use cases. This means that, depending on what role a pronoun plays in a sentence (subject or object), there are slight changes to the word.

Take this sentence for example: 

  • “He loves him.”

This sentence has two masculine pronouns, but “he” (the subject) is in the nominative case and “him” (the object) is in the accusative case. 

In English, the case system is fairly simple. But in Hungarian grammar, cases are a bit more challenging and require the memorization of quite a few suffixes.

Papers, a Pencil and a Blue ABC

2. Word Order 

As we mentioned earlier, Hungarian normally uses the SVO word order in sentences, but there’s not a set word order that one must follow. The speaker decides how they want to structure their sentences. But for this reason, they also have to remember that their word placement will impact the overall meaning of the sentence in terms of emphasis.

In Hungarian grammar, word order is based on the following rules:

1. Priority of Word

The most important words—the ones you want to emphasize—go at the beginning of the sentence. In speech, you might also emphasize them vocally by putting stress on them.

For example, each of the following variations means, “The girl sews in the house.” But each one places emphasis on a different part of the sentence.

  • A lány a házban varr. – The girl is sewing in the house and nowhere else.
  • A házban a lány varr. – It is the girl that is sewing in the house, and not just anybody.
  • A lány varr a házban. – The girl is sewing in the house, and not doing something else; that’s why she’s in the house.

2. Priority of Negation

Words of negation are always at the beginning of a Hungarian sentence.

For example:

  • Nem fogod elhinni. / “You are not going to believe it.”
  • Ne mondd el! / “Do not tell it.”

3. Focus of the Sentence

The focus of the sentence is usually the word before the verb.

Let’s take a look at a couple of the sentences from above and see how this applies to them.

  • A lány a házban varr. / “The girl sews in the house.” 

Házban means “in the house,” and it’s the focus of this sentence, indicating that she sews in the house and nowhere else. Following the “focus word” is varr, the Hungarian verb for “(she) sews.”

  • Ne mondd el! / “Do not tell it.”

The focus here is on the negating word ne, which is the most important part of the sentence. Following it is the verb mondd.

Got It?

As you can see, the Hungarian sentence structure is rather flexible. To make sure you have a good grasp of this concept, let’s look at a final example.

  • Szeretem őt. / “I love her.”

Here, the speaker wants to let us know that he loves the girl in question, which is why the Hungarian word szeretem (“I love”) is at the beginning.

But what if we switched the word order?

  • Őt szeretem. / “It is her I love.” OR “She is the one I love.” 

This structure indicates that the speaker loves her (őt) specifically, and is not fond of anybody else. Here, the girl who is being loved is important, not the fact that the speaker loves her.

    → Do you need more information and examples on this topic? Then head over to our Hungarian Word Order blog post!
An Incomplete English Sentence Is on a Blackboard, a Band Is Shown Holding Chalk

3. Verb Conjugation

Now that you know about the Hungarian word order, let’s fill in another piece of the puzzle: verb conjugation.

Conjugation refers to the way that a verb changes according to factors such as voice, mood, tense, number, and person.

In Hungarian grammar, verbs can be:

    ❖ In first, second, or third person

    ❖ Singular or plural

    ❖ Undetermined or determined 

    Realis mood, conditional mood, or imperative mood

    ❖ Present tense, past tense, or future tense

Because Hungarian is an agglutinative language, conjugation is done by attaching suffixes to the end of verbs. These suffixes indicate if the verb is in first, second, or third person. For this reason, Hungarians don’t use personal pronouns unless they want to emphasize the subject.

  • (Ők) Főznek. / “They’re cooking.” 

The suffixes also give away whether we’re talking about one person or multiple people (in other words, whether the subject is singular or plural).

  • Várok. / “I’m waiting.” 
  • Vezetünk. / “We drive.” 

Below, you can see all of the possible verb endings regarding person and number. Here, the definite conjugation endings are in bold, whereas the indefinite conjugation suffixes are in italics.

Definite Conjugation EndingsIndefinite Conjugation Endings
I (Én)-m-k
You (Te)-d-sz, -l 
He / She / It (Ő / Az)-ja, -i
We (Mi)-juk, -jük-unk, -ünk
You (Ti)-játok, -itek-tok, -tek, -tök
They (Ők)-ják, -ik-nak, -nek

Let’s look at the topic of definite versus indefinite conjugation in more depth.

Indefinite Conjugation

When to use indefinite conjugation:

  • If there is no article
    • Babát várnak. / “They are expecting a baby.”
  • In the case of undetermined pronouns
    • Bármit mondasz, nem érdekel. / “Anything you say I do not care about.”
  • In the case of an unknown noun that is in plural form
    • Gyümölcsöket veszek. / “I’m buying fruits.”

Definite Conjugation

When to use definite conjugation:

  • When using demonstrative pronouns
    • Meghívtam a srácot. / “I invited the guy.”
  • When using actual names (known people)
    • Megtréfáltuk Samet. / “We tricked Sam.”

-Ik Verbs

It’s crucial that you learn this aspect of Hungarian grammar properly, so that you’ll know whether to use a definite or indefinite Hungarian verb conjugation ending. This is important because a person might appear uneducated if they neglect to use the -m ending for the first person singular present form of -ik verbs.

  • Alszom. (Alszok.) / “I’m sleeping.”

Hungarian “-ik verbs” are the spoken forms of a word, also known as the citation forms for when a verb stands alone. For example, -ik verbs are what you would find in Hungarian dictionaries. They’re called -ik verbs because their last syllable is -ik.

  • Eszik. / “She is eating.”

It Is a Drawing of the English Pronouns with Colorful Bits

4. Grammar Cases

Another crucial part of Hungarian grammar is the cases, of which there are five types:

1. Nominative

2. Attributive / Possessive

3. Genitive

4. Dative

5. Accusative

Please note that the first three are also called “subjective cases” because they can stand as subjectives as well.

Hungarian nouns have eighteen cases, which are formed by adding suffixes to the stem. The nominative case, for example, has no suffix. The accusative case, on the contrary, is marked with the suffix -t. For example:

Nominativea könyv 
“the book” 
Accusative(Értékelem) az könyvet.
“(I appreciate) the book.” 

Most of the cases are a combination of the source-location-target and surface-inside-proximity ternary distinctions (three times three cases). There is also a separate case ending, -ból/-ből, which means “from inside of.” For example, “from the school” would be iskolából.

Let’s take a moment to focus specifically on the attributive (possessive) case, as this trips up many new Hungarian learners.

Attributive Case

The attributive case has two suffixes, which are -nak (for flat-sounding words), and -nek (for sharp-sounding words). This case can also be called the “possessive case” as it expresses possession of something. This case stands in an adjectival relation to the thing that is being possessed, and therefore also serves as an attribute of the thing being possessed. Here’s an example:

  • Péternek a könyve / “Peter’s book” OR “the book of Peter” 

(Péter is a flat-sounding word.)

Here, Peter is the possessor, and the book is the thing he possesses. Peter is also an attribute of the book (the book is defined as being owned by him).

  • Anyának a könyve / “Mom’s book” OR “the book of Mom”

(Anya is a sharp-sounding word.)

Also, possession in Hungarian grammar is expressed by a possessive suffix on the possessed object (just like above). This is opposite to how this is expressed in English, where the possessor takes the suffix. Take a look:

  • “Peter’s book” becomes Péter könyve, meaning “Peter book-his.”

Another difference between Hungarian and English is that Hungarian does not have a verb meaning “to have.” Rather, Hungarians express possession by using the attributive case with the verb van (“to be”). For example:

  • Anyának van egy könyve. / “Mom has a book.” 
    • Literal meaning: “There is a book of mom.”

Do you need a little more help with the attributive case and showing possession? Don’t worry! HungarianPod101.com has you covered with the following lessons:

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5. Bonus: Extra Hungarian Grammar Rules for the Road

In this last section, we’re going to introduce you to a few more practical Hungarian grammar rules. They might seem expendable at first glance, but they’re just as important as the topics we covered in the previous sections.

Gradation

One of the matters we’d like to talk about is gradation in Hungarian. 

Unlike English, Hungarian does not express gradation through stand-alone words. Instead, the language expresses it with prefixes and suffixes. More specifically, with the prefix leg- (“the most” or “-est” in English) and with the suffix -bb (“more” or “-er” in English). 

Here are some examples to give you a better idea of what we mean:

  • Te vagy a leggyönyörűbb. / “You are the most beautiful.”
  • Ő a legokosabb. / “She is the smartest.”
  • Légy pontosabb! / “Be more specific.” 
  • Ez szélesebb. / “It is wider.”

Particles

The next thing you should know about Hungarian grammar is that it has particles. Actually, it’s very rare that a Hungarian verb does not have a particle attached to it. Anytime there’s a Hungarian verb, it will almost certainly have a particle.

This is important to know because, sometimes, Hungarians answer questions with the particle alone, omitting the verb. 

Take a look at what we mean by this:

  • Elment a boltba? / “Did he go to the store?” 
    • El. / “He did.” 
  • Megvársz, ugye? / “Wait up, will you?” 
    • Meg. / “I will.” 

Politeness

Now, this might be the most important (or should we say legfontosabb?) rule. Hungarians greatly appreciate a little politeness. 

In Hungarian grammar, you can form sentences in one of two ways depending on the politeness level you wish to convey. In this sense, Hungarian is more like French (where ‘tutoyer’ and ‘vouvoyer’ exist) than like English. 

In Hungarian, you can hit a friendly note with a friend, family member, or acquaintance. But you should opt to use Ön and a more polite tone with people you don’t know. Also, if the other person is older than you or deserving of your respect (like a teacher, for example), you should be more polite.

Now, as you know, Hungarian grammar tends to drop pronouns since the verb conjugation reflects the pronoun already. When using Ön, you should use the third person singular form of verbs. 

Let’s see a few examples of informal vs. formal Hungarian:

Friendly / InformalPolite / Formal
“How are you?”Hogy vagy?Hogy van?
“Do you know what time it is?”Tudod, mennyi az idő?Tudja, mennyi az idő?
“You don’t have to wait.”Neked nem kell várnod.Önnek nem kell várnia.

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6. How HungarianPod101.com Can Help You Master Hungarian

In summary, we covered a variety of practical Hungarian grammar concepts that you should learn as a beginner. From word order to conjugation and special rules, you should now have a much better understanding of basic grammar points. 

And now that you’re somewhat familiar with the most common Hungarian grammar rules, you can dive deeper. 

All you have to do is join the HungarianPod101 family.

If we’ve inspired you to continue in your Hungarian studies, create your free lifetime account today and start speaking real Hungarian from your first lesson. You’ll find tons of vocabulary lists, blog posts, video and audio lessons, and much more when you sign up. And don’t forget that should you encounter any troubles during your language studies, we’re always here to help!

With us, language learning has never been easier.

Before you go, let us know in the comments which Hungarian grammar concepts you find easiest and the most difficult. We look forward to hearing from you!

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Is Hungarian Hard to Learn?

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This is an article for those who are interested in learning Hungarian, but still have questions they want answered before taking the plunge. Can you guess the first question potential learners tend to ask? Yep: “Is Hungarian hard to learn?”

Many people have the impression that Hungarian is difficult and that learning it is out of their grasp.

Below, we’ll answer some of the most commonly asked questions from absolute beginners. We wish to encourage them—and you—to overcome the obstacles and learn Hungarian. Here at HungarianPod101, we strive to help every learner achieve success, especially those who have reached a plateau during their language-learning journey. We guarantee that we’ll be there for you every step of the way. 

In this article, we’ll shed some light on what things make Hungarian hard to learn, how to overcome them, and which aspects of the language are actually super-simple! And, if you’re already in the mood to learn Hungarian by the time you reach the end—which you probably will be, because it’s a unique and awesome language—we’ll give you some advice for starting out. Finally, we’ll list all the benefits of HungarianPod101 and our services, and why we’re the best choice for Hungarian language-learning.

Are you ready to embark on a new, exciting, and challenging journey? Read on—you won’t regret it!

Log in to Download Your Free Cheat Sheet - Learning Hungarian Table of Contents
  1. Is it Hard to Learn Hungarian?
  2. What are the Hardest and Easiest Parts of Learning Hungarian?
  3. I Want to Learn Hungarian. Where Should I Start?
  4. Advice for a New Hungarian-Learner
  5. Why is HungarianPod101 Great for Learning Hungarian?
  6. Conclusion: HungarianPod101.com Brings Out the Best in You

1. Is it Hard to Learn Hungarian?

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Before you start learning Hungarian, you must be aware of the challenges you’re going to face. In this section, we’ll shed light on the question every native Hungarian gets asked by a foreigner at least once in their life: “Is Hungarian a hard language to learn?” Well, there are obviously a few hard parts, just like in any language, but really, Hungarian isn’t that difficult to master once you get the basics down.

That said, every learner is different and everybody has their own strengths and weaknesses when it comes to language-learning. As such, it takes each and every person a different amount of time to master Hungarian. But one thing is guaranteed: If you’re dedicated enough to learn, and if you’re genuinely interested in the language and culture, the process will be easy as pie. You’ll find that the language is quite logically structured. 

Another factor to take into consideration is the level at which you wish to speak the language. If you’re aiming for a basic speech level to make your way around Hungary and converse with natives, then your journey will be child’s play compared to someone seeking an advanced level.

However, whatever your goal is, you can count on HungarianPod101 to be your constant companion.

To give you an example of the difference between a basic speech level and an advanced one, we’ve listed two sentences below. One is very simple, and the other is more complex. 

  • “The weather is nice.”
    Szép az idő.
  • “The weather is so nice, it makes me want to be outside all day.” 
    Olyan szép idő van, hogy legszívesebben egész nap kint lennék.

As you can see, the latter sentence contains more information than the former, and you can already see changes in conjugation!

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2. What are the Hardest and Easiest Parts of Learning Hungarian?

To effectively map out your study strategy, you have to know what the hardest and easiest aspects of the language are. We’ll start by looking at the more difficult aspects.

1- Why is Hungarian Hard to Learn?

1. Cases

Hungarian has thirty-five different cases. Many of these cases apply solely to prepositions, which are then attached to the words themselves.

For example:

  • “I brought you a cake.”
    Hoztam neked egy tortát.

The sentence above is in the accusative case. Here, “I brought” is hoztam, “you” (actually meaning “to you”) is neked, and “a cake” is egy tortát. The -t at the end of tortát indicates the accusative case.

2. Vowels

Hungarian has fourteen vowels. However, the only difference between most of them is their accents: a-á, e-é, o-ó-ö-ő, etc. Nevertheless, these ‘slight’ differences carry great value both in writing and in speech. If you misspell or mispronounce a vowel, the word could be nonsensical or mean something completely different than the word you intended to use. You can easily overcome this hardship by practicing the pronunciation of each vowel.

  • “Eating” (Evés)
  • “Yearly” (Éves)
  • “Five” (Öt)
  • “(I want) him/her” (Őt [akarom])

3. Pronunciation

The hardest part of learning Hungarian for beginners is probably the pronunciation. Words that appear to be identical can mean completely different things. This happens when an accent—which is indicated by one or two little dots or lines above a vowel—causes a slight change in sound.

There are also digraphs to worry about. You’ll need to memorize these and learn which words are written with them. But remember: There’s nothing that can’t be mastered with a little practice.

In addition, there are a few sounds that learners tend to struggle with. Here are some things you’ll have to remember:

  • The letter combination ‘sz’ represents the English [s] sound.
  • ‘S’ alone represents the English [ʃ] sound. 
  • The ‘cs’ sound in Hungarian is [tʃ] in English, just like in “champion.”
  • The Hungarian ‘zs’ sounds like [ʒ], or the ‘s’ in “pleasure.”

There are other digraphs (and thus, diphthongs) and one trigraph that English does not have. These include gy, ly, ny, ty, dz, and dzs, although many of these have similar sounds that occasionally appear in English. 

Here’s a sentence with digraphs that, in speech, form diphthongs:

In this example, there are three different digraphs.

Other sound differences include:

  • The ‘c’ sound in Hungarian is [ts] in English, just like at the end of “cats.”
  • The letter ‘j’ is pronounced as the ‘y’ in “voyage.”
  • The letter ‘r’ is rolled like in Spanish.

Once you get the hang of Hungarian pronunciation, it will actually become an “easy” part of the language, as Hungarian is rather phonetic. This means that if you familiarize yourself with the diphthongs, digraphs, and other sounds and letters that English doesn’t have, you’ll be able to easily write down a word you hear and vice-versa. In Hungarian, every letter has its own sound (except for ‘j’ and ‘ly’ which have the exact same sound: [j]) and every sound belongs to a letter (except for the above-mentioned [j] sound). This makes the pronunciation and spelling simpler than in languages like French or English.

2- Why is it Easy?

Now, let’s see what exactly makes learning Hungarian super-easy! 

1. Vocabulary

Hungarian might be from a different language family than English, but as it’s located in Europe, it took on many loanwords from its neighbors. So there are some words you’ll definitely recognize when you see or hear them.

Keeping in mind that the spelling has changed to match the rules of Hungarian phonetics, you’ll certainly recognize these words: 

  • Alkohol
  • Analízis
  • Bank
  • Busz
  • Kategória
  • Kombináció
  • Dizájn
  • Dráma
  • Elefánt
  • Magazin
  • Misszió
  • Neutrális
  • Opera
  • Park
  • Probléma
  • Sport
  • Stratégia
  • Stressz
  • Taxi
  • Toalett
  • Turista

There are at least 500 of such “borrowed” words in Hungarian.

2. Verb tenses

Present tense:

  • “I (am) read(ing).”
    Olvasok.

Hungarian does not differentiate between the simple present and the present continuous tenses.

Past tense:

  • “I (was) read(ing).”
    Olvastam.

Neither does it differentiate between the simple past or past continuous.

Future tense:

  • “I will (be) read(ing).”
    Olvasni fogok.

The way Hungarians usually form the future tense is with an infinitive verb and the conjugated form of fog.

This structure is gradually falling out of use as Hungarians tend to express the future tense with the help of the present tense. When doing so, the present tense verb is typically preceded by a time adverb. For instance, “later” or “tomorrow.”

Future tense:

  • “I will read.”
    Majd / Később olvasok.

Majd and később both have a similar meaning to “later.”

  • “I will read tomorrow.”
    Holnap olvasok.

3. Genders

Hungarian does not have grammatical gender. Because of this, you don’t have to worry about which form/gender of “the” to use, as you would in French or German, for example. In Hungarian, you can use your brain cells for more important things.

4. Plurals

Hungarian has a very straightforward way of forming plural nouns. It’s as easy as doing so in English, but the letter used in Hungarian is different. While English uses ‘s’ (e.g. “cats“), Hungarian uses ‘k’ (macskák).

If the stem word ends in a vowel, then the vowel gets an accent:

  • “Cat”
    Macska
  • “Cats”
    Macskák

If it’s a possessive noun, Hungarians use an ‘i’ before the possessive letter at the end (instead of a ‘k’). That’s about it.

  • “My cat”
    Macskám
  • “My cats”
    Macskáim

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3. I Want to Learn Hungarian. Where Should I Start?

If you’ve managed to get over the “How hard is Hungarian to learn?” question, and if you’re eager to start learning it now despite the challenges it might pose, you’re in the right place. Here, we’ll give you some advice on where to start your language-learning journey. 

1 – Create a study schedule and set goals.

Setting goals gives you motivation and something to strive for. It’s even better if you put them down on paper, so if you ever feel unmotivated, you just have to look at them and remind yourself of why you’re learning Hungarian.

2 – Expand your vocabulary.

Use word lists to build up a solid vocabulary. Luckily, we have all the word lists you need, with a range of topics, from Food to Love! Choose whichever topic you want to study and go! Don’t forget that you can get pretty far in a conversation if you know just enough words. Start with nouns and work your way through verbs and adjectives.

3 – Make it fun.

Once you learn how to make your study time fun, you’ll look forward to studying a whole lot more. Great ways of making language-learning enjoyable include listening to Hungarian music and checking the lyrics of songs, or watching Hungarian series. There are many options online on RTL Most.

4 – Find a study partner.

Another way of making studying fun is to do it with a friend. Learning Hungarian with one of your friends does more than give you two bonding time—it also makes you twice as efficient because you push each other toward your goals. That said, your study partner doesn’t have to be someone you know already. You can find someone online who shares your Hungarian-learning interests and ambitions. If possible, though, studying with a native speaker is the best way to really pick up the language! 

Are there any language-learning strategies that have helped you in the past? Let us know in the comments!

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4. Advice for a New Hungarian-Learner

Learning a new language can be a lot of fun, especially if that language is as awesome as Hungarian. Of course, knowing the language is a must if you plan to live in Hungary, but even if you just learn Hungarian as a hobby, you’ll have a cool “fun fact” to tell about yourself when meeting new people.

If you really want to learn Hungarian, the first thing you must do is never become discouraged or afraid. You should understand that Hungarian might take quite some time to master—depending on your goals, as we told you above—but it will be so rewarding once you’ve gotten there! 

1 – Listen to words and lines over and over again.

If you listen to Hungarian content often and really pay attention, you’ll easily start to notice the tones people use (i.e. when they raise or lower their voices) and the rhythm of their speech. Paying attention to these aspects and repeating the things you hear will help you sound more like a local.

2 – Perfect your pronunciation.

As we said above, Hungarian pronunciation is considered a difficult aspect of learning the language, but it’s not Mission Impossible. Just record your voice when trying to pronounce words and then listen to that word said out loud by a native speaker. Compare their pronunciation to yours, and if you’re not quite there yet, keep repeating the process. Your accent will soon vanish.

3 – Use applications.

We strongly suggest that you download applications onto your phone so you can study on the go, even if your notes and books aren’t with you. Fortunately, HungarianPod101 has an application that has everything in one place. That said, your phone can be of great use even if you only use its camera. Just take pictures of your notes, and you’ll never have to carry notebooks or heavy study books with you again! 

4 – Be open.

You’ll soon notice that Hungarian is like no other language. You must be open to the Hungarian language, as well as the culture, if you want to succeed. Try to speak to natives frequently (we recommend the online application Tandem). If you’re exposed to the language you’re learning on a daily basis, it will be much easier for words and expressions to stick in your mind. In addition, if you’re speaking with somebody interesting and having a fascinating conversation, you’re studying almost effortlessly.

Here are a few icebreakers for these conversations:

  • “Do you play any sports?”
    Sportolsz valamit?
  • “Yes, I play volleyball.”
    Igen, röplabdázom.
  • “And what do you think of basketball?”
    És mit gondolsz a kosárlabdáról?
  • “I love it. I always watch the NBL. And you?”
    Imádom. Mindig nézem az NBL-t. És te?

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5. Why is HungarianPod101 Great for Learning Hungarian?

With HungarianPod101, you’ll learn Hungarian with fun, interesting, and relevant lessons. We have over 900 audio and video lessons designed for easy listening, and numerous dialogues on a wide range of topics. Just repeat what you hear and you’ll learn Hungarian quickly and in an interesting way that doesn’t feel like studying at all. Each lesson comes with transcripts of the dialogues and lesson notes explaining what you heard during the lesson. There’s also a vocabulary list with each audio lesson that covers the most important words and phrases.

Our tutors are just as knowledgeable and energetic as our lessons are. If you have any questions after listening to a lesson, you can ask our tutors in the comment section and they’ll get back to you as soon as possible with helpful information.

Many of our services are free and don’t require an account: 

  • Vocabulary lists
  • A Hungarian dictionary
  • A list of the 100 most common words
  • Some Hungarian key phrases
  • A Word of the Day feature

However, if you want to get the full HungarianPod101 experience and maximize your language-learning success, we suggest that you sign up for an account. One of the many useful features that comes with an account is spaced-repetition flashcards—you can easily test your memory, and you don’t have to bother writing the words down yourself. These flashcards also contain example sentences and audio files of the word’s pronunciation!  

Once you sign up, you can use all the features of our website for seven days.  

If you would like to learn with your own personal teacher, all you have to do is subscribe to Premium PLUS, which comes with several other benefits as well:

  • Assessment tests
  • Custom word lists
  • Interactive quizzes
  • Pronunciation reviews
  • HD videos

Join the hundreds of thousands of people already learning Hungarian through the power of our mobile apps, desktop software, and website (which has free Hungarian lessons released every week, by the way)!

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6. Conclusion: HungarianPod101.com Brings Out the Best in You

We hope that we’ve encouraged you to embark on the new and exciting journey of learning Hungarian. Now you know that Hungarian is not a hard language to learn, and you also know how to overcome the more difficult aspects and where to begin learning.

We also listed the advantages of studying Hungarian with us specifically. Remember, if you sign up, not only do you get everything mentioned above, but also the perks of having a supportive group to help you along the way. We guarantee that if you decide to be part of our family, you’ll never have unanswered questions or lack support.

If you would like to get full access to all the good stuff we have to offer, join the HungarianPod101 family today.

By the way, is Hungarian the first new language you’re learning, or do you know more? What strategies have helped you learn languages, and what do you normally learn first? Let us know in the comments!

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The 10 Most Common Mistakes in Learning Hungarian

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Today, you’ll learn about the ten most common Hungarian mistakes that learners of the language make and how to avoid them. From incorrect pronunciation to improper grammar usage, we’ll outline the most common Hungarian mistakes you should watch out for.

We won’t lie to you, these are pretty hard to overcome. Hungarian has many sounds not found in other languages, and its word order confuses many English-speaking learners. However, once you’re aware of these issues and have spent enough time practicing, you’ll be able to fine-tune your accent and communicate like a native! We’ll also show you an example of each mistake so that you’re fully prepared for your visit to Hungary.

And at the end of this article, we’ll reveal the biggest Hungarian mistake of them all!

Are you ready to learn about the most common Hungarian mistakes? Let’s get started.

Log in to Download Your Free Cheat Sheet - Beginner Vocabulary in Hungarian Table of Contents
  1. Pronunciation Mistakes
  2. Vocabulary Word Mistakes
  3. Word Order Mistakes
  4. Spelling and Grammar Mistakes
  5. Formal vs. Informal Speech
  6. The Biggest Mistake in Hungarian
  7. Conclusion: HungarianPod101.com Helps You Reach Your Full Potential

1. Pronunciation Mistakes

The most important aspect of effective communication in every major language is the pronunciation. In some languages, mispronouncing a word can change its meaning entirely; in others, incorrect pronunciation can simply make your speech difficult to understand. It might even get you into trouble, and that’s the last thing you want to do in a foreign country!

That’s why we’ve included common Hungarian pronunciation mistakes first on our list. 

1 – [A] vs. [Á]

Hungarian accent mistakes are very common, especially where these two sounds are concerned. We’ve already mentioned that Hungarian has many sounds that no other (or very few) languages have, and [á] falls into this category. Let’s see an example:

  • Micsoda?
    “What’s that?” / “Pardon?” / “Sorry?”

Learners often pronounce this word as [mit͡ʃodá] instead of [mit͡ʃodɑ]. The mispronunciation of the sounds [a] and [á] is quite common as the sound [á] does not exist in English.

2 – Diphthongs

The hardest things for native English-speakers to pronounce in Hungarian are dipthongs. In particular, foreigners struggle to pronounce [ɲ]. For example, they often pronounce the word above as [bárán] instead of [báráɲ].


2. Vocabulary Word Mistakes

Vocabulary mistakes are easy to make because Hungarian has many words that can mean different things depending on the context. For example, a given word may serve as a verb in one context but as a noun in another. The Hungarian language is tricky, but if you pay attention and familiarize yourself with the homonyms, then you should be fine.


 Fal

In Hungarian, the word fal can have two different meanings: 

  • “Wall” [noun]
  • “He/she engorges” [third person singular verb]

 Levél

The word levél can also have two meanings: 

  • “Letter” [noun]
  • “Leaf” [noun]

As you can see, it’s a noun in both cases. Also, while the meanings are different, the two nouns are correlated!  


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3. Word Order Mistakes

Hungarian word order is a bit tricky. Although Hungarian has no strict or specific rules about how to order words in a sentence, it’s still possible to make mistakes here.  

Hungarian typically uses the S-V-O word order, but again, this can vary. The Hungarian sentence structure is based on these three basic rules:

1. Priority of word. The important words, the ones you want to emphasize, should be at the beginning of the sentence. In speech, these words might be stressed as well.

2. Priority of negation. Negating words, if any, are always at the beginning of a Hungarian sentence.

3. Focus of the sentence. The focus of the sentence is usually the word before the verb.

Now that you know these rules, let’s see some of the common Hungarian mistakes regarding word order.

“You are beautiful.”

  • Te vagy gyönyörű. X
  • Te gyönyörű vagy. O

Keep in mind that Hungarian generally drops the pronoun in a sentence like this, but we’re using the full expression to better explain how the word order works. 

Now, don’t let the English auxiliary verb “to be” fool you. While it comes after the pronoun in English, doing this in Hungarian is a big mistake.

“They are here.”

This sentence only makes sense when you mean that it is them who are here. But if you want your emphasis to be on ‘here,’ you would need to use a different word order:

‘Here they are.’ – ‘Itt vannak.’

In this case, the emphasis is on ‘here,’ so ‘itt’ is at the beginning of the Hungarian sentence.

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4. Spelling and Grammar Mistakes

Before we start, there’s some good news: Hungarian does not use genders for the third person singular! 

However, there are still some common Hungarian spelling and grammar mistakes that learners make every now and then. These include misspelling and conjugation problems. 

Spelling Mistakes

We’ll begin with a very common Hungarian spelling mistake:

“Stork”

  • Gója X
  • Gólya O

Even native speakers struggle with knowing when to use j vs. ly, as they sound identical to each other. It’s only by tradition that either of them is used in Hungarian words. 

However, there’s one rule that’s easy to remember:

All words starting with the sound [j] are written with the letter j, except in lyuk meaning “hole” and its derivatives.

Conjugation Mistakes

Now, onto conjugation errors! 

“I am too old.”

  • Én lenni túl öreg.
  • Én túl öreg vagyok. O

The conjugation of the Hungarian auxiliary verb “to be” is of great importance. This is because it’s spelled completely differently for each of the three tenses in Hungarian (past, present, future). 

Above was an example of a sentence with incorrect word order that also used the infinitive instead of the conjugated, proper form of the Hungarian verb “to be” (which is vagyok in present tense). Below are examples of how to write this sentence correctly in the past and future tenses.

  • “I was too old.”
    Én túl öreg voltam.

The Hungarian verb “to be” in the past tense is voltam.

  • “I will be too old.”
    Én túl öreg leszek.

The Hungarian verb “to be” in the future tense is leszek.

5. Formal vs. Informal Speech

This is more of a cultural mistake, rather than one concerning grammar or pronunciation. But, here it is: 

If you want locals to respect you, learn to respect them yourself. This applies mostly to elderly people or other adults you don’t know very well. Of course, you can use a less formal tone with people you don’t know as long as they’re around your age; this also applies to kids, friends, and family.

Our point is: Watch how you speak. Use a different tone and conjugation depending on how well you know the person you’re speaking with. However, even when you want to be polite, one of the common mistakes in spoken Hungarian is saying maga instead of ön.

Here’s an example of a simple sentence you could use with an elderly person:

  • Ön sorban áll?
    “Are you waiting in line?”

If you pay attention, you can see that ön (and maga, for that matter) works as the third person singular when conjugating verbs. However, the conjugation changes when you address the same person in a different context (like if they’re your friend); in this case, you would use a different tone and conjugation. 

Bear with us… Here’s the impolite version of the polite version:

  • Maga sorban áll?
    “Are you waiting in line?”

Now, let’s see the friendly/informal version:

  • Te sorban állsz?
    “Are you waiting in line?”

In this case, you asked the same question from the same person, but used a different tone. And see how the conjugation changed?

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6. The Biggest Mistake in Hungarian

It’s nice and all that we covered all of these Hungarian mistakes, and we hope we’ve given you the tools necessary to speak Hungarian with confidence. However, there’s still one mistake we haven’t talked about yet: 

The biggest mistake you could ever make is being afraid to make mistakes.

When you’re in Hungary and around locals, they appreciate nothing more than seeing that you’re making an effort to learn such a difficult language. Don’t be afraid to embarrass yourself with a mistake. Hungarians are going to be nice to you and correct you, especially if you ask them to. They won’t hold a grudge against you. We promise. 

Go out there and dare to speak!

Blond Woman Raising Her Hand in Class and a Teacher Pointing at Her

7. Conclusion: HungarianPod101.com Helps You Reach Your Full Potential

Now that you know the ten most common Hungarian mistakes that language-learners make, you can buy your tickets online and travel to Hungary straight away. We’ve talked about typical Hungarian mistakes ranging from mispronunciation to incorrect word order and beyond, so we do believe you’re ready to hit the road! 

Although we said at the beginning that it won’t be easy, you’ve made it through to the end of this article. We hope that, if you don’t remember anything else, you’ll never forget the very last and most important mistake we mentioned. Never be afraid of speaking and/or making a mistake. Get out there, give it your all, and see that people will appreciate your effort.

If you would like to read more articles like this one, join the HungarianPod101 family. We’ll help you through any hardships you encounter on your language-learning journey.

What was the most surprising Hungarian mistake we covered? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

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10 Basic Hungarian Questions and Answers You Must Know

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Questions are the cornerstone of every introduction, and they provide a gateway to learning more about someone. 

In this article, you’ll learn about the ten most basic Hungarian questions and answers that you should know before visiting the country. Asking the following questions will be a great way to get to know someone you’ve just met. Because these are basic conversation questions in Hungarian, they’re perfect for small talk. 

But before we go too much further, there are a few things you should know about asking questions in Hungarian, which we’ll outline below.

Log in to Download Your Free Cheat Sheet - Beginner Vocabulary in Hungarian Table of Contents
  1. An Overview of Hungarian Questions
  2. Our List of the Top Hungarian Questions
  3. Reach Your Full Potential with HungarianPod101

1. An Overview of Hungarian Questions

First things first: What is “question” in Hungarian? Take a look:

  • “Question” (Kérdés)

Now, how do Hungarians actually form questions? 

Well, it’s pretty simple. Hungarians don’t use a reversed word order or anything crazy like that. They simply indicate that a sentence is a question by raising their voice at the end of the sentence.

What about in writing? Are there question marks in Hungarian?

Yes! Like English, Hungarian uses question marks to indicate questions in writing. 

As you can see, asking questions in Hungarian is pretty straightforward. As you go through this article, you’ll also learn the WH- question words in Hungarian and pick up the best phrases for when you want to practice speaking in Hungary! 

We’ve done our best to structure the questions and answers logically so that you won’t get lost in all of the grammar and vocabulary. But remember that there’s no shame if it takes you some time to memorize the structures or the words. Practice makes perfect, and we’re here to assist you along the way. Just reach out to us if you’re uncertain about something.

Ready? Let’s get started!

2. Our List of the Top Hungarian Questions

First Encounter

1 – What’s your name?

One of the key questions to ask a Hungarian person, or any person for that matter, is what their name is. It’s a good ice-breaker, and you’ll know how to address that person for the rest of the conversation. In addition, knowing a person’s first name will give your conversation and relationship a more friendly feel, rather than the stiff politeness of first meetings. 

So, without further ado, let’s see how Hungarians ask for a person’s name:

“What’s your name?” – Mi a neved?

Let’s break it down:

  • “what” (mi)
  • “your name” (neved)

You may have noticed that “is” isn’t in the sentence. This is because, as we mentioned earlier, Hungarians don’t use a reversed word order when asking questions. 

Now a note about neved: this word’s stem is név, meaning “name.” But with the second person singular suffix, it changes to neved. The accent from the é is removed for easier pronunciation.

Now, how would someone answer?

“My name is Peter.” – (A nevem) Péter.

This is a complete sentence, and is considered more formal and polite to use. However, many Hungarians will simply answer with just one word: their name. In most situations, it’s a bit weird to say the full sentence.

You can ask this very same question in a different way, as well:

“How do they call you?” – Hogy hívnak?

This version isn’t really used in common speech, but we decided to include it anyway. Here’s a breakdown:

  • “how” (hogy or hogyan)
  • “they call you” (hívnak)

You may have noticed that “they call you” is condensed into one word: hívnak. This is because the auxiliary word “do” isn’t used in the Hungarian question, and suffixes and conjugation allow for this one word to express the entire phrase. 

Here’s another common way to answer these questions:

“They call me Peter.” – Péternek hívnak.

This one is more common than the sentence A nevem…

2 – Where are you from?

The following question is one that you’re very likely to hear during your Hungarian conversations as a foreigner in Hungary. You probably won’t have a good opportunity to ask this question yourself, but we’ll show you a modified version that you can ask Hungarian locals. 

“Where are you from?” – Honnan származol?

  • “from where” (honnan)

Here, származol is a verb for “originating.”

When someone asks this question, they’re usually referring to one’s home country or continent. However, there’s a more subtle way to ask this question, which can be applied to cities as well. This modified version isn’t as odd to ask locals

 “Where are you from?” – Hová valósi vagy?

Here, “where” is hová

Someone who’s asked this question may answer with their country, but more commonly, they’ll answer with the name of a city or village.

Now, here are two possible answers:

“I’m from Italy.” – Olaszországból (származom).

Usually, the answer to this question will just be the name of the country you’re from, though you can use the full phrase if you want to. Not so hard, after all, right? 

“I’m from Budapest.” – Budapestre.

This is an example of an answer you might receive to the second version of the question. Beware that, because of this, “Budapest” gets a suffix.

A Woman in a Black Shirt Thinking with Question Marks above Her Head

3 – Do you speak Hungarian?

The next “must” question in Hungarian is how to ask if someone speaks a specific language. This is a good question to ask a Hungarian if you want to get to know them better. For this question, we’ll show you the general patterns you can use, and then we’ll introduce you to more specific examples. 

General Patterns

  • “Do you speak ___?” 
    Beszélsz ___-ul/-ül?

In this case, every language (as a stem) gets a suffix, either -ul or -ül

Here are the basic answer patterns:

  • “Yes, I do (speak ___).”
    Igen, beszélek (___-ul/-ül).
  • “No, I don’t (speak __).”
    Nem, nem beszélek (___-ul/-ül).

Specific Examples

  • “Do you speak Hungarian?”
    Beszélsz magyarul?

This is one of the top Hungarian questions you need to know because you’re very likely to be asked this when you’re in Hungary. Locals like to know if a foreigner who’s visiting has acquired any—even if just a few words—of their language. And if not, they’re more than happy to change that.

Here’s how you could answer: 

  • “Yes, I speak Hungarian.”
    Igen, beszélek magyarul.

Let’s try another language.

  • “Do you speak Greek?”
    Beszélsz görögül?

Now, this is a question that you can ask a Hungarian. Hungarians usually like to interact with foreigners and are willing to learn—or at least try to—a few words in your language.

  • “No, I don’t speak Greek.”
    Nem, nem beszélek görögül.

Also, bear in mind that languages (as well as nationalities) are written with lower-case letters in Hungarian.

Two Girls Smiling and Looking Away

4 – How long have you been studying Hungarian?

A great way to continue the conversation is to ask how long they’ve been speaking or learning the language.

“For how long have you been studying Hungarian?” – Mióta tanulsz magyarul?

Mióta is one of the most important Hungarian question words, and it means “for how long.” The present perfect continuous tense is expressed in Hungarian using the present tense. Thus, “have you been studying” is tanulsz.

The Hungarian answer to this is pretty simple. You can answer with a full sentence, but giving only the amount of time is sufficient.”

(I have been studying Hungarian) for five years.” – Öt éve (tanulok magyarul).

Introducing Yourself

5 – Have you been to Hungary?

Imagine you’re out at a party, getting to know people, and you come across someone who appears to be Hungarian. You decide to strike up a conversation with that person in their native language, and it gets them curious. 

You should definitely expect to hear questions in Hungarian like this one. We also recommend that you memorize it so you can ask others. 

Many people love traveling, so speaking about where you’ve been not only helps you connect with people, but it also makes you the life of the party—especially if you’ve been to exotic or interesting places.

Basic Pattern

  • “Have you been to ___?”
    Jártál már ___-on/-en/-ön/-ban/-ben?

The country names in Hungarian take on suffixes depending on the group of vowels in the name. Also keep in mind that this Hungarian question can also refer to cities.

More Specific

  • “Have you been to Hungary?”
    Jártál már Magyarországon?

As you may know, Hungarian only has three tenses (past, present, future), so Hungarians express the present perfect using the past tense. For this reason, “have you been to” is jártál már. Keep in mind that the countries or other destinations get suffixes.

What would your answer be to this Hungarian question?

  • “Yes, I have been to Hungary.”
    Igen, jártam már Magyarországon.
  • “No, I haven’t been to Hungary, but I would like to travel there.”
    Nem, még nem jártam Magyarországon, de szeretnék elutazni oda.

“I would like to” is szeretnék, “travel” is elutazni, and “there” is oda.

Thus, the Hungarian answer patterns are:

  • “Yes, I have been to ___.”
    Igen, jártam már ___-on/-en/-ön/-ban/-ben.
  • “No, I haven’t been to ___, but I would like to travel there.”
    Nem, még nem jártam ___-on/-en/-ön/-ban/-ben, de szeretnék elutazni oda.

Although you might get bombarded with this question a lot, you can ask the person you’re talking to about the places they’ve visited, too.

  • “Have you been to Germany?”
    Jártál már Németországban?
  • “Have you been to Budapest?”
    Jártál már Budapesten?
A Group of Friends Talking and Laughing Around a Table

6 – How is ___?

This next question in Hungarian is going to be a lifesaver for you. If you want to know the word or phrase for something in Hungarian, you can simply ask a local this. In addition, this is a great question for asking about the status of something or someone. 

Here are two basic patterns you can use to ask how to say something.

  • “How is ___?”
    Hogy van az, hogy ___?
  • “How do they say ___?”
    Hogy mondják azt, hogy ___?

A specific example of this Hungarian question could be:

  • “How is ‘baby’?”
    Hogy van az, hogy ‘baby’?

This might sound odd in English, but it’s simply a way of asking how to say the word “baby” in Hungarian.

If your interlocutor doesn’t understand the word you’re referring to, you can always play Activity and try to act it out for them.

Now, how can you ask about someone’s well-being? 

  • “How is your grandma?”
    Hogy van a nagymamád?

“How is” is hogy van and “your grandma” is nagymamád.

  • “How is your sibling?”
    Hogy van a testvéred?

Here, “your sibling” is testvéred.

A Guy Wearing Glasses with Letters Coming from His Mouth

7 – Do you like Hungarian food?

You’ll surely hear this one a lot. Hungarians take pride in their cuisine, so don’t be surprised if you get this question a lot during your stay.

Here are the most common patterns you can expect to hear:

  • “Do you like ___ food?” – Szereted a(z) ___ ételeket?
  • “Do you like Hungarian food?” – Szereted a magyar ételeket?
  • “Do you like Hungarian food?” – Ízlenek a magyar ételek?
  • “Do you like Hungarian cuisine?” – Szereted a magyar konyhát?

This question is rather easy, because nationalities don’t get any suffixes. All you have to do is replace “Hungarian” with the name of any nationality. 

Possible Answers

Here are two answers you can give when asked this question. The parts that make the answers specific are in parentheses:

  • “Yes, I do (like Hungarian food).” – Igen, ízlenek (a magyar ételek).
  • “No, I don’t (like Hungarian food).” – Nem, nem ízlenek (a magyar ételek).

Learn how to talk about your favorite Hungarian foods with this handy vocabulary list! 

More Examples

Here are a couple of examples using other nationalities.

  • “Do you like Turkish food?” – Szereted a török ételeket?
  • “Have you tried Swedish food?” – Kóstoltál már svéd ételeket?

8 – What are you doing?

This is a very common question in Hungarian, and we tend to ask this very frequently in our daily lives. Therefore, it’s really important for you to learn this one!

  • “What are you doing?”
    Mit csinálsz?

Possible answers to this Hungarian question may be:

  • “Nothing. Why, what does it look like?”
    Semmit. Miért, minek néz ki?
  • “I’m just reading. And you?”
    Csak olvasok. És te?

This question also works if you want to ask someone out:

  • “What are you doing on Friday night?”
    Mit csinálsz péntek este?
  • “Nothing, I’m free.”
    Semmit, szabad vagyok.
A Man and an Asian Woman Talking and Laughing at a Party

9 – What’s wrong?

This question is essential in every language, and it’s useful for a variety of situations. For example, when you get into a fight with someone or when you see that someone looks sad or hurt. 

  • “What’s wrong?”
    Mi a baj?

Instead of baj, which translates to “trouble,” you can use gond. It has the same meaning, though it can also mean “problem.”

Here are some possible answers:

  • “Nothing. Everything is fine.”
    Semmi. Minden rendben (van).
  • “I’m angry with you.”
    Haragszom rád.
  • “I hit my elbow.”
    Beütöttem a könyökömet.

Here, “my elbow” is könyököm. It got the object suffix as well as a vowel (-et).

Two Girls Talking and Laughing

10 – How much is it?

Last but not least, one of the most important Hungarian questions for foreigners is asking for prices when shopping.

Basic Question Patterns

  • “How much is it?”
    Mennyibe kerül?
  • “What’s the price of the ___?”
    Mi az ára a(z) ___-nak/-nek?

Here, “price” is ár, making ára “its price.”

Specific Question Patterns

  • “How much is the bread?”
    Mennyibe kerül a kenyér?
  • “What’s the price of the slippers?”
    Mi az ára a papucsnak?
  • “What’s the price of the shirt?”
    Mi az ára az ingnek?

Possible Answers

  • “It costs only 100 Forints.”
    Csak 100 Forintba kerül.
  • “It’s free.”
    Ingyen van.
A Woman Thinking with Question Marks Above Her Head

3. Reach Your Full Potential with HungarianPod101

Now that you’ve learned about asking questions in Hungarian, you must be ready to hit the road straight for Hungary. Well, you should be. You’ve learned the ten most basic Hungarian questions and answers that you’ll need to know to get around the country easily.

You’ve also become familiar with their basic structures so that you can make up your own Hungarian questions and answers as you learn more vocabulary. 

If you have any questions about what we covered today, don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments. Or maybe you’ve visited Hungary already, and heard some funny questions and answers in Hungarian that you’d like to share with us and your fellow Hungarian-learners! 

And don’t forget: Language-learning may not be all fun and games, but don’t become discouraged. Practice makes perfect. And HungarianPod101 is here to help!

Create your free lifetime account today to make the most of your study time, and take full advantage of our fun and effective audio and video lessons! And of course, we regularly update our blog with useful articles on language- and culture-related topics, and we’re always adding new themed vocab lists.

Stay safe out there, and happy learning!

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The 10 Most Useful Hungarian Sentence Patterns to Know

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Sentence patterns are important in any language because they allow you to easily express yourself, even with a limited vocabulary. This applies to Hungarian, too. No matter how complicated the language may be, even Hungarian can be easy with the right sentence patterns.

In this article, we’re introducing ten basic Hungarian sentence patterns that are used in everyday Hungarian conversations. If you memorize these simple Hungarian sentence patterns, you’ll be able to generate hundreds of natural sentences and phrases to converse with ease and confidence. Over time, you’ll be able to form any sentence in Hungarian, no matter how complicated.

We’re going to show you Hungarian sentence structures for things like linking two nouns, using adjectives to describe nouns, expressing your needs and desires, asking for permission, and more.

If, by the end of our list, you still have questions about how to make Hungarian sentences, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. At HungarianPod101.com, we aim to help you at all times and ensure that you live up to your own language-learning expectations. However, never forget to practice what you’ve learned after reading any of our articles—practice makes perfect.

Ready to start? Let’s kick it off by revealing how to say “sentence pattern” in Hungarian: mondat minta.

Now let’s get to the good stuff.

Log in to Download Your Free Cheat Sheet - Beginner Vocabulary in Hungarian Table of Contents
  1. Linking Two Nouns: A is B
  2. Using Adjectives to Describe Nouns: A is [Adjective]
  3. Expressing “Want”: I Want (to)…
  4. Expressing “Need”: I Need (to)… / I Have to …
  5. Expressing “Like”: I Like (to)…
  6. Politely Asking Someone to Do Something: Please…
  7. Asking for Permission: May I…? / Can I…?
  8. Asking for Information About Something: What is…?
  9. Asking About Time: When is…?
  10. Asking About Location or Position: Where is…?
  11. Conclusion: HungarianPod101.com Helps You Reach Your Full Potential

1. Linking Two Nouns: A is B

Sentence Patterns

The simplest sentence you’ll ever find in any language is the “something is something” structure, using two nouns and an auxiliary verb. However, “A is B” can be considered an imperfect sentence pattern in Hungarian. This is because, in assertive sentences that are in the present tense, there’s no visible auxiliary verb. 

You probably already knew that Hungarian tends to leave out words and refer to them with suffixes, so you shouldn’t struggle too much with this. You’ll understand even better after reading some of the examples below. 

1- John a bátyám.

English: “John is my brother.”

  • “my brother” = bátyám

Here, the auxiliary “is” does not have a Hungarian equivalent. In Hungarian, it’s more like saying “John my brother.” 

2- A bátyám egy taxisofőr.

English: “My brother is a taxi driver.”

Like in the previous example, there’s no Hungarian auxiliary for “is.” “My brother” is bátyám still and “taxi” is written the same way in both languages. 

Now, about “driver.” Normally, this is vezető in Hungarian, but in this context, sofőr sounds more natural. If you know a little bit of French or use the English word “chauffeur” instead of “driver,” they are indeed the same word. Even their pronunciation is similar.

3- Ez a karóra ajándék volt a feleségemtől.

English: “This watch is a present from my wife.”

Now this one has something new. It’s in the past tense, which means that an auxiliary comes into the picture. In this case, it’s the word volt (“to be”) in the past tense. You might have noticed that the English tense here is present. However, in Hungarian, you have to use the past tense to make it clear that you didn’t just get this watch from your wife, but that this happened sometime in the past. 

Now let’s look at a language breakdown:

  • “this” = ez
  • “watch” = karóra
  • “is” (past tense) = volt
  • “present” = ajándék
  • “my wife” = feleségem
  • “from” = -től (suffix)

By the way, if you would like to learn even more relevant vocabulary, you can study our vocabulary lists about Gift Words for the Holiday Season and Hungarian Terms for Family Members

4- A tanárom nagyszerű előadó.

English: “My teacher is a great lecturer.”

  • “my teacher” = tanárom
  • “great” = nagyszerű
  • “lecturer” = előadó

5- A fiam egy kis ördög.

English: “My son is a little devil.”

  • “my son” = fiam
  • “a” = egy
  • “little” = kis
  • “devil” = ördög

Pretty straightforward, huh? Now you already know one of the most basic sentence patterns in Hungarian. Only nine more to go…

Bearded Man Thinking while Holding a Pencil to His Head and Reading a Book

2. Using Adjectives to Describe Nouns: A is [Adjective]

Another easy Hungarian sentence pattern is “something is [adjective].” For this, all you need is a basic understanding of how to form sentences in Hungarian (like the one above), and some vocabulary. We recommend our vocabulary list on the 50 Most Common Hungarian Adjectives to get started! 

Now, there’s not much difference between the English and Hungarian gradation of adjectives. “Very” is nagyon in Hungarian; you simply put this word before an adjective to give it more weight. Let’s see some examples of this basic Hungarian sentence structure.

1- Gyönyörű vagy.

English: “You are beautiful.”

  • “you are” = vagy
  • “beautiful” = gyönyörű

2- Nagyon gyönyörű vagy.

English: “You are very beautiful.”

This is the exact same sentence, but “very” is added to the phrase for emphasis. 

3- Ez finom.

English: “This is delicious.”

  • “this” = ez
  • “delicious” = finom

4- Ez nagyon finom.

English: “This is very delicious.”

Now let’s see how to form a question in Hungarian:

5- Vicces lány. / Vicces lány?

English: “She is a funny girl.” / “Is she a funny girl?”

6- Nagyon vicces lány. / Nagyon vicces lány?

English: “She is a very funny girl.” / “Is she a very funny girl?”

As you can see, there’s no inverted sentence pattern in Hungarian. Questions are only indicated by intonation and, in writing, a question mark.

Now, let’s see a more challenging Hungarian sentence using this pattern:

7- A szituáció, amibe tegnap este kevertem magam az exemmel, nagyon kínos volt.

English: “The situation I got myself in yesterday night with my ex was very awkward.”

  • “situation” = szituáció
  • “yesterday” = tegnap
  • “night” = este 
  • with my ex” = exemmel (here, we indicated which suffix refers to what; the e after ex is a linking letter and sound)
  • “very” = nagyon
  • “awkward” = kínos 

8- A film, amit tegnap este néztünk, ijesztő volt.

English: “The movie we watched last night was scary.”

  • “movie” = film
  • we watched” = néztünk (like above, we indicated which suffix refers to what)
  • “yesterday night” = tegnap este
  • “scary” = ijesztő
  • “was” = volt (the past tense of “to be,” or lenni)
Blond Woman Studying with a Notebook and an Exercise Book

3. Expressing “Want”: I Want (to)…

Now we’re getting to the real deal: expressing emotions, and more specifically, desires—and strong ones, at that. This is because the pattern we’re about to introduce is not the polite “I would like to…” This is “I want.” 

It’s important to point out that this polite-impolite contrast also exists in Hungary. If you would like to be more polite, use “I would like (to)…” which is Szeretnék… 

We’ll show you some examples for this one at the end of the section, but first, let’s look at “I want (to)…”

1- Ezt akarom.

English: “I want this.”

  • I want” = akarom (the o is a linking letter and sound for easier pronunciation)
  • “this” = ez (the t is attached as a suffix for objects)

2- Akarok kérdezni valamit.

English: “I want to ask a question.”

Hungarians do not “ask a question.” They just “ask,” because for them, asking for something (such as a favor), is a completely different word. Therefore, the word “question” isn’t even in the sentence. They just say “I want to ask something.” Even the “something” could be left off.

  • “to ask” = kérdezni
  • “something” = valamit (here, the t is, again, a suffix for objects; valami is the word for “something” as a subject)

3- Hozzád akarok menni.

English: “I want to marry you.”

4- Jó ember akarok lenni.

 English: “I want to be a good man.”

5- Veled akarok menni a bálba.

English: “I want to go to the ball with you.”

In this sentence, let’s say that the emphasis is on “you.” Therefore, I want to go to the ball with you and nobody else. This is important in regard to Hungarian word order.

  • I want” = akarok (o is a linking letter and sound)
  • “to go” = menni
  • “to the ball” = a bálba
  • “with you” = veled

And now, a few examples of more polite Hungarian phrases:

6- Szeretnék rendelni egy salátát.

English: “I would like to order a salad.”

  • “I would like to” = szeretnék
  • “to order” = rendelni
  • “a salad” = egy salátát

Want to learn how to order food in Hungarian? We have you covered! 

7- Szeretnék újra találkozni veled.

English: “I would like to meet you again.”

  • “I would like to” = szeretnék
  • “to meet” = találkozni
  • “again” = újra
  • “you” = veled (translates to “with you” in English; Hungarians do not meet people, they meet with people)
Words Written on Scattered White Cards against a White Background

4. Expressing “Need”: I Need (to)… / I Have to …

Expressing your needs is even more crucial than expressing your desires. Let’s see some simple Hungarian sentences for letting someone know what you need. 

1- Szükségem van egy tollra.

English: “I need a pen.”

  • “I need” = szükségem van (translates to “I have a need” in English)
  • “a pen” = egy toll (-ra is added as a suffix that’s required in an “I need something” phrase)

2- Gyakorolnom kell. 

English: “I need to practice.”

“I need to do something” is translated in Hungarian as “it is a must.” Therefore, “I need to practice” is roughly translated as “It is a must that I practice.” Long story short, “need to” is simply kell in Hungarian, and the actual verb gets all the suffixes that refer to, for instance, the number of persons.

3- Találnom kell valakit, akiben bízhatok.

English: “I need to find someone I can trust.”

  • I need to find” = találnom kell
  • “someone” = valakit (in the sentence, it has the suffix t because it’s an object; “someone” as a subject is valaki)

4- Most már mennem kell.

English: “I have to go now.”

5- Ki kell mennem a mosdóba.

English: “I have to use the restroom.”

In Hungarian, you do not have to “use” the restroom, you have to “go” there. Thus:

  • “I have to go out” = ki kell mennem
  • “to the restroom” = a mosdóba
Sentence Components

5. Expressing “Like”: I Like (to)…

By the end of this section, you’ll know the typical Hungarian sentence pattern for expressing yourself and the things you like. 

1- Kedvellek.

English: “I like you.”

As simple as that. You can say this to anybody you like or fancy. It’s just one word (in Hungarian, at least). 

2- Szeretem a kenyeret.

English: “I like bread.”

3- Szeretek főzni.

English: “I like to cook.”

  • “I like to do something” = szeretek …-ni

After szeretek (“I like to”), Hungarians use the infinitive form of a verb. In this case, főzni is the Hungarian infinitive of “to cook.”

4- Szeretek fényképezni.

English: “I like to take photos.”

Hungarian people do not “take photos,” they “photograph.” Yes, this is because they have a single word for expressing the act of “taking photos.” That is fényképezni, the infinitive form of the verb.

5- Szeretek könyveket olvasni a jövőről.

English: “I like to read books about the future.”

  • “about the future“= a jövőről

6- Szeretem a naplementét tengerpartról nézni.

English: “I like to watch the sunset on the beach.”

Students Taking Notes during a Lecture

6. Politely Asking Someone to Do Something: Please…

This is one of the most useful Hungarian sentence patterns we’ll cover in this article. If you know the right way to ask for someone to do something, it’s almost guaranteed that they’ll do it for you. In this section, we’ll show you how to ask this question politely! 

Before we start, let’s look at the word for “please” in Hungarian. When using this word with someone you know, it’s kérlek. If you’re asking a stranger or someone who’s older than you, it’s kérem. Also keep in mind that when addressing strangers or those who are older than you, verbs are to be conjugated in the third person singular form, as opposed to the second person singular.

1- Kérlek, ülj le!

English: “Please sit down.”

2- Kérlek, figyelj rám! / Kérem, figyeljen rám!

English: “Please listen to me.”

  • “listen” = figyelj! (informal) / figyeljen! (formal)
  • “to me” = rám

3- Kérlek, álljatok sorba! / Kérem, álljanak sorba!

English: “Please stand in line.”

  • “stand” (instructing two or more people) = álljatok! (informal) / álljanak! (formal)
  • in line” = sorba

4- Kérlek, add ide a sót! / Kérem, adja ide a sót!

English: “Please pass the salt.”

In Hungarian, “pass” works as “give.” In this scenario, you want the salt to be passed to you, so the phrase can be translated as “give it to me” in Hungarian.

  • “Pass (the salt)” or “Give (the salt) to me” = Add ide! [informal] / Adja ide (a sót)! [formal] 
  • “the salt” = a sót (“salt” as a subject is , but in this case, it bears the object suffix -t)

5- Kérlek, ne hazudj nekem! / Kérem, ne hazudjon nekem!

English: “Please don’t lie to me.”

  • “Lie to me.” = Hazudj nekem! (informal) / Hazudjon nekem! (formal)
  • “Don’t lie to me.” = Ne hazudj nekem! (informal) / Ne hazudjon nekem! (formal)

From these two examples, you can see that “don’t” is simply ne in Hungarian imperative sentences, so forming prohibitory sentences is easy as pie.

7. Asking for Permission: May I…? / Can I…?

Asking for permission politely is just as essential in any culture and language as asking for something. Let’s see some easy Hungarian sentences for doing this.

1- Bejöhetek?

English: “May I come in?”

2- Kérhetek tőled? / Öntől egy szívességet?

English: “May I ask you a favor?”

  • “a favor” = egy szívesség (in the -et at the end, e is a linking letter and sound for easier pronunciation, and the t is the object suffix)

Also, Hungarians ask a favor from you: tőled (informal) or öntől (formal).

3- Szabad (vagy) egy szóra?

English: “Can I have a word with you?”

In informal contexts, we can say Szabad vagy egy szóra? In this case:

  • “available” = szabad 
  • “you are” = vagy 
  • “for a word” = egy szóra

Therefore, the phrase “Can I have a word with you?” is essentially “Are you available for a word?” in Hungarian. 

When asking the above question in a formal context, you shouldn’t use the word vagy (“you are”), though. Instead, it’s just left out.

4- Kaphatok egy kis vizet?

English: “Can I get some water?”

5- Megkaphatom a telefonszámodat? / Megkaphatom a telefonszámát?

English: “Can I get your phone number?”

  • “phone number” = telefonszám
  • “your phone number” = telefonszámod (informal) / telefonszáma (formal)

In the example sentence, the letters -at are at the end of the word for “your phone number”; the a is a linking letter and sound, and the t is the suffix for objects. That’s the reason telefonszámod becomes telefonszámodat (informal) or telefonszámát (formal).

Asking for permission is indicated by the following suffixes in Hungarian: -hat/-het.

A Girl in a Blue Shirt Holding a Book Open with a Pen in Her Hand

8. Asking for Information About Something: What is…?

Asking for information is another must when learning a language, especially when you’re new to a country or are a tourist there.

1- Mi ez?

English: “What is this?”

2- Mi a neved?

English: “What is your name?”

  • “your name = neved 

“Name” as a stand-alone word is név in Hungarian, but in this case, the accent dropped for easier pronunciation. The e is a linking letter and sound.

3- Mi volt a meglepetés a születésnapodon?

English: “What was the surprise on your birthday?”

  • “what was…?” = mi volt…?
  • “the surprise” = a meglepetés
  • on your birthday” = születésnapodon

4- Mi a pálinka?

English: “What is pálinka?”

FYI, pálinka is a Hungarian fruit brandy.

5- Mi volt a kedvenc tárgyad középiskolában?

English: “What was your favorite subject in high school?”

  • “What was…?” = Mi volt…?
  • your favorite subject” = kedvenc tárgyad
  • in high school” = középiskolában
A Black-haired Asian Guy with Glasses Holding Colorful Folders

9. Asking About Time: When is…?

Now we’ll go over some basic Hungarian sentences for asking about the time.

1- Mikor van a születésnapod?

English: “When is your birthday?”

2- Mikor van a megbeszélés?

English: “When is the meeting?”

3- Mikor van a ballagási ünnepség?

English: “When is the graduation ceremony?”

There’s another way to say “ceremony” in Hungarian: ceremónia. It’s very similar to the English spelling, so it may be easier for you to remember.

  • “graduation ceremony” = ballagási ünnepség

4- Mikor érkezik a repülőnk?

English: “When is the arrival time for our flight?”

5- Mikor aludtál utoljára legalább nyolc órát?

English: “When was the last time you slept at least eight hours?”

10. Asking About Location or Position: Where is…?

Yet another crucial thing to know when visiting a country is how to ask for directions. Let’s see how it works in Hungarian.

1- Hol van a mosdó?

English: “Where is the restroom?”

  • “where is” = hol van
  • “restroom” = mosdó

2- Hol van a lift?

English: “Where is the elevator?”

  • “elevator” = lift

3- Hol van a szülővárosod?

English: “Where is your hometown?”

  • your hometown” = szülővárosod

4- Hol van a legközelebbi metróállomás?

English: “Where is the closest metro station?”

  • “closest” = legközelebbi
  • “metro station” = metróállomás (in Hungarian, it’s one word)

5- Hol van a helyes srác, akit egy perce még láttam?

English: “Where is the handsome guy I saw just a minute ago?”

  • “handsome” = helyes
  • “guy” = srác
  • “a minute ago” = egy perce
A Graduation Ceremony

11. Conclusion: HungarianPod101.com Helps You Reach Your Full Potential

Now that we’ve familiarized you with the basic Hungarian sentence structures, what do you think? They really are easy, right? You may have even noticed that Hungarian sentence structures aren’t too different from those in English. 

In addition, you’ve likely learned enough about sentence patterns to hold a basic Hungarian conversation. Patterns tend to recur, so after learning these Hungarian sentence patterns, you shouldn’t have much difficulty making yourself understood or asking for directions in a new city.

However, as we emphasized at the beginning, you have to practice—and keep practicing—as you continue your studies. Doing so will improve your communication for more fluent conversations.

Join the HungarianPod101 family so that you’re never alone in your studies. If you encounter an obstacle, you can come straight to us instead of looking through hard-to-read diagrams or articles elsewhere. HungarianPod101.com is a great way to be part of an actual family, as a common goal brings us all together. Language-learning is a hell of a fun thing to do, especially when done together with others.

Before you go, do you remember how to say “sentence pattern” in Hungarian?

Let us know the answer in the comments, and also let us know what you thought of this article. Don’t hesitate to ask any questions you might still have!

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100 of the Most Important Adverbs in Hungarian

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Do you want to learn about Hungarian adverbs and adverbial phrases, but you don’t even know how to say “adverb” in Hungarian? (It’s határozószó.) You’ve come to the right place, because we have the solution.

The HungarianPod101.com team has composed a list of adverbs in Hungarian for you to make sure that studying the basics is super-easy. Hungarian is a challenging language, but with a solid base, you’ll get the hang of using Hungarian adverbs in no time.

The purpose of this article is to introduce you to the basic Hungarian adverbs. These are the adverbs of time, place, manner, and frequency. Because we took the time to make this list in the first place, you might have guessed that adverbs play a crucial role in every language—and on a lower level, in every sentence that uses them. They’re essential in acquiring the details of a situation as they give a vivid description of certain actions and how they happened.

Hungarian often plays with different suffixes attached to the same stem, which emphasizes what the speaker actually means. For example, kertben and kertből (both technically meaning “garden”) carry different meanings, although only the suffix attached to the word changed. The suffix you find attached to a word can vary depending on the sounds of the word, while still carrying the same meaning. 

English, on the other hand, is much easier as it often uses separate words to indicate the circumstances of an action. For example, in the case of “in the garden” and “from the garden,” “the garden” did not change in either of the cases.

It might seem scary and complicated at first, but if you bear with us, you’ll be an expert of Hungarian adverbs by the end of this article. Let’s begin!

Log in to Download Your Free Cheat Sheet - Useful Verbs in Hungarian Table of Contents
  1. What is an Adverb?
  2. Hungarian Adverbs of Time
  3. Hungarian Adverbs of Frequency
  4. Hungarian Adverbs of Place
  5. Hungarian Adverbs of Manner
  6. Hungarian Adverbs of Degree
  7. Placement of Adverbs in a Sentence
  8. Conclusion: How HungarianPod101.com Helps You Master Your Hungarian

1. What is an Adverb?

Top Verbs

Adverbs are crucial when we want to give details about certain situations.

An adverb is a word that modifies, changes, or qualifies multiple kinds of words. These can include verbs, adjectives, clauses, other adverbs, or really, any other kind of word or phrase. The only real exceptions are adjectives and determiners that modify nouns.

By default, adverbs give details about how, when, where, in what manner, or to what extent, something happens.

In the case of Hungarian adverbs, there’s no one way or ending that’s specific to adverbs as a whole. This is because every type of adverb has different possible endings, which we’ll elaborate more on later in each section of this article.

Blue ABC Blocks, a Pencil, and Some Writing

2. Hungarian Adverbs of Time

Adverbs of time in Hungarian are numerous. There are also a lot of variants, so there’s no one way to form them.

However, one way to recognize them is by watching the suffixes of the words. Some words that end with one of the following suffixes have a great chance of being a Hungarian adverb of time, but beware. Many of the suffixes can be applied to adverbs of place as well.

  • -ban
  • -ben
  • -an
  • -en
  • -án
  • -ra
  • -re
  • -hoz
  • -hez
  • -höz
  • -tól
  • -től
  • -a
  • -ig

However, you have to pay close attention because there are words that appear to be adverbs, but actually belong to a different word class.

1- Today (Ma)

“I read an article today.”

Ma elolvastam egy cikket.

2- Yesterday (Tegnap)

“I went to school yesterday.”

Tegnap iskolába mentem.

3- The day before yesterday (Tegnapelőtt)

“She met the love of her life the day before yesterday.”

Tegnapelőtt találkozott élete szerelmével.

4 -Tomorrow (Holnap)

“I will be home tomorrow.”

Holnap otthon leszek.

5- The day after tomorrow (Holnapután)

6- Last year (Tavaly)

“She traveled to Mexico last year.”

Tavaly Mexikóba utazott.

7- The year before last year (Tavalyelőtt)

8- This year (Idén)

“He turns twenty this year.”

Idén húsz éves.

9- Next year (Jövőre)

“I will host the Christmas party next year.”

Jövőre én tartom a karácsonyi bulit.

10- Then (Akkor)

“He was very angry at them back then.”

Akkor nagyon mérges volt rájuk.

11- Soon (Hamarosan)

“They will arrive soon.”

Hamarosan megérkeznek.

12- Later (Később)

“We will talk later.”

Később beszélünk.

13- Late (Későn)

“You handed in your homework late.”

Későn adtad be a házi feladatodat.

14- Before (Előtt)

“He threw up before the party already.”

Már a buli előtt hányt.

15- After (Után)

“They kissed after their first date.”

Az első randijuk után csókolóztak.

16- Now (Most)

“She can’t talk now.”

Most nem tud beszélni.

17- Suddenly (Hirtelen)

“He hit the break suddenly.”

Hirtelen lefékezett.

18- During (Közben)

“There was silence during her speech.”

Csend volt a beszéde közben.

19- Right away (Tüstént)

“Clean that up right away!”

Tüstént takarítsd azt fel!

20- A long time ago (Régen)

“We met a long time ago.”

Régen találkoztunk.

21- Too soon (Túl hamar)

“You two woke up too soon.”

Ti ketten túl hamar keltetek fel.

22- In the afternoon (Délután)

“Let’s meet at the bus stop in the afternoon.”

Találkozzunk délután a buszmegállóban!

23- Before noon (Délelőtt)

“Breakfast is to be eaten before noon.”

Reggelizni délelőtt szokás.

24- Currently (Jelenleg)

“I am not currently in a relationship.”

Jelenleg nem vagyok párkapcsolatban.

25- Anytime (Bármikor)

“You can call me anytime, I’ll listen.”

Bármikor felhívhatsz, meghallgatlak.

Guy on Metro Sitting and Reading a Book

3. Hungarian Adverbs of Frequency

Adverbs of frequency are still considered time adverbs in Hungarian, but we thought it would be easier for you to learn the adverbs of time in Hungarian if they were logically separated.

1- Never (Soha)

“You never listen to me.”

Soha nem figyelsz rám.

2- Always (Mindig)

“You are always late.”

Mindig elkésel.

3- Rarely (Ritkán)

“They rarely meet.”

Ritkán találkoznak.

4- Seldom (Ritkán)

“He seldom thinks about us.”

Ritkán gondol ránk.

5- Often (Gyakran)

“She swims often.”

Gyakran úszik.

6- Usually (Általában)

“We usually go dancing on weekends.”

Általában táncolni megyünk a hétvégéken.

7- All the time (Állandóan)

“He talks all the time.”

Állandóan beszél.

8- Hardly ever (Szinte soha)

“We hardly ever speak.”

Szinte soha nem beszélünk.

9- From time to time (Időről időre)

“You could clean your room from time to time.”

Kitakaríthatnád a szobádat időről időre.

10- Every now and then (Időnként)

“I bake cookies every now and then.”

Időnként sütiket sütök.

4. Hungarian Adverbs of Place

Most adverbs of place in Hungarian end with one of the following suffixes:

  • -ból
  • -ből
  • -ról
  • -ről
  • -on
  • -en
  • -ön
  • -ban
  • -ben
  • -ba
  • -be
  • -ra
  • -re
  • -hoz
  • -hez
  • -höz
  • -ig

Adverbs of place are used when one wants to give details about where an action took place. Here are the most important of these adverbs in Hungarian.

1- Here (Itt)

“The animal shelter is here.”

Itt van az állatmenhely.

2- There (Ott)

“The park is there.”

Ott van a park.

3- From afar (Messziről)

“He caught her eye from afar.”

Messziről elkapta a tekintetét.

4- Far away (Távol)

“The lake is far away from the camp.”

A tábortól távol van a tó.

5- Opposite (Szemben)

“There is a cute shop opposite the school.”

Az iskolával szemben van egy aranyos bolt.

6- This way (Erre)

The restaurant is this way.”

Erre van az étterem.

7- That way (Arra)

“Go that way.”

Menj arra!

8- Around (Körül)

“Around houses, there are fences.”

A házak körül kerítés van.

9- Everywhere (Mindenhol)

“There are trees everywhere.”

Mindenhol fák vannak.

10- Nowhere (Sehol)

11- Somewhere (Néhol)

12- Inside (Bent)

“It is warm inside.”

Bent meleg van.

13- Outside (Kint)

“Why don’t you kids play outside?”

Miért nem kint játszotok, gyerekek?

14- Above (Fentebb)

“The reference can be found above.”

A hivatkozás fentebb található.

15- Down (Lentebb)

“One story below, the kids are being noisy.”

Egy emelettel lentebb hangoskodnak a gyerekek.

16- From above (Fentről)

“She is watching us from above.”

Fentről néz le ránk.

17- Upstairs (Fent)

“I left my glasses upstairs.”

Fent hagytam a szemüvegemet.

18- Downstairs (Lent)

19- Home (Itthon / Otthon)

“After six o’clock, we are at home.”

Hat óra után otthon vagyunk.

20- From here (Innen)

“He is from here, too.”

Ő is innen származik.

21- From there (Onnan)

“The storm is coming from there.”

A vihar onnan jön.

22- From the side (Oldalról)

“He approached the dog from the side.”

Oldalról közelítette meg a kutyát.

23- From nearby (Közelről)

24- To the front (Előre)

“Go to the front.”

Menj előre!

25- To the back (Hátra)

Is your language able to express place with adverbs consisting of just one word?

Guy in Checkered Shirt Smiling While Others Are Behind

5. Hungarian Adverbs of Manner

Adverbs of manner in Hungarian are usually formed using the endings: 

  • -an
  • -en
  • -n
  • -ul
  • -ül
  • -l

You can see these patterns in the following list.

1- Slowly (Lassan)

“She walks slowly.”

Lassan sétál.

2- Quickly (Gyorsan)

“We need to decide quickly.”

Gyorsan kell döntenünk.

3- Carefully (Óvatosan)

“Put the bag down carefully.”

Óvatosan tedd le a táskát!

4- Dangerously (Veszélyesen)

“She likes to live dangerously.”

Szeret veszélyesen élni.

5- Quietly (Halkan)

“The girls are talking quietly in the corridor.”

A lányok halkan beszélnek a folyosón.

6- Silently (Csendesen)

7- Loudly (Hangosan)

“The kids play loudly outside.”

Kint hangosan játszanak a gyerekek.

8- Happily (Boldogan)

“I would happily marry you.”

Boldogan hozzád mennék.

9- Sadly (Szomorúan)

“He was staring into the void sadly.”

Szomorúan bámult a semmibe.

10- Easily (Könnyen)

You learn easily.”

Könnyen tanulsz.

11- With difficulty (Nehezen)

“She managed to get an ‘A’ with difficulty.”

Nehezen sikerült ötöst szereznie.

12- Really (Igazán)

“You really could have told me this.”

Ezt igazán elmondhattad volna.

13- Freely (Szabadon)

“You can speak freely here.”

Itt szabadon beszélhetsz.

14- Simply (Egyszerűen)

15- Stupidly (Hülyén)

“You dressed stupidly.”

Hülyén öltöztél fel.

16- Falsely (Tévesen)

“She was falsely accused.”

Tévesen vádolták meg.

17- Wonderfully (Mesésen)

“He played the role wonderfully.”

Mesésen játszotta el a szerepet.

18- Practicably (Praktikusan)

19- Sleepily (Álmosan)

“She came out of her room sleepily.”

Álmosan jött ki a szobájából.

20- Gladly (Örömmel)

“I would gladly go with you to the prom.”

Örömmel mennék veled a bálra.

21- Cleverly (Ügyesen)

“We solved the problem cleverly.”

Ügyesen oldottuk meg a problémát.

22- Smartly (Okosan)

23- Angrily (Mérgesen)

“He threw away his book angrily.”

Mérgesen dobta el a könyvét.

24- Wrongly (Rosszul)

25- Well (Jól’)

6. Hungarian Adverbs of Degree

More Essential Verbs

Adverbs of degree in Hungarian express the strength, level, or quantity of something.

1- Very (Nagyon)

“The park is very nice.”

A park nagyon szép.

2- Rather (Inkább)

“She’d rather travel in summer.”

Inkább nyáron utazna.

3- Entirely (Egészen)

“The house was burnt entirely.”

A ház egészen leégett.

4- Enough (Elég / Eléggé)

“You are fast enough.”

Elég gyors vagy.

5- So – ([Oly]annyira)

“Your support is so important.”

A támogatásod annyira fontos.

6- [Way] too (Túl[ságosan])

“You are walking (way) too slowly.”

Túl(ságosan) lassan sétálsz.

7- Pretty (Kellően)

“This was pretty awkward.”

Ez kellően kínos volt.

8- Extremely (Rendkívül)

“The water was extremely cold.”

Rendkívül hideg volt a víz.

9- Barely (Alig)

“You barely looked at me.”

Alig néztél rám.

10- Just (Épp / Éppen / Épphogy)

“He was just leaving.”

Épp távozni készült.

11- Utterly (Teljesen)

“It is utterly impossible to get in that way.”

Arra teljesen lehetetlen bejutni.

12- Fully (Egészen)

“Close the door fully, please.”

Kérlek, egészen csukd be az ajtót!

13- Greatly (Nagymértékben)

“Our income has greatly decreased.”

Nagymértékben csökkent a bevételünk.

14- Awfully (Borzasztó[an])

This hotel is awfully expensive.”

Ez a hotel borzasztó(an) drága!

15- Almost (Majdnem)

“She has almost finished writing.”

Már majdnem befejezte az írást.

Blond Woman on Her Laptop with a Notebook in Front of Her

7. Placement of Adverbs in a Sentence

There’s not a set word order in Hungarian. The construction of sentences is based on these three rules:

1. Priority of word: The important words, the ones you want to emphasize, are at the beginning of a sentence.

For example:

  • “The trees are in the woods.” (A fák az erdőben vannak.) 

This means that the trees are in the forest and nowhere else.

  • “There are trees in the woods.” (Az erdőben fák vannak.) 

This means that there are trees in the forest, generally.

2. Priority of negation: Negating words are always at the beginning.

For example:

  • “I am not going to eat the apple.” (Nem eszem meg az almát.)
  • “Do not go away.” (Ne menj el!) 

3. Focus of the sentence: The focus of the sentence is usually the word before the verb.

You can see the final rule in action in the sections and example sentences above. Most of the time, the adverbs are before the verbs, which makes sense since the aim of adverbs is to give details about the actions that take place.

8. Conclusion: How HungarianPod101.com Helps You Master Your Hungarian

Now that you know the basic types of adverbs in Hungarian, you’re one step closer to composing a sentence with details about a certain situation. It’s important to keep practicing, as the great variety of suffixes might confuse a beginner. However, after just a few exercises and paying close attention to the sounds in a word, you’ll soon be able to attach the appropriate suffixes to Hungarian adverbs.

Joining the HungarianPod101 family is a great way to polish the knowledge you’ve just acquired today. Sign up now and be part of a group of hundreds of students who are thirsty for knowledge, just like you.

With us, language learning has never been easier.Now, do you know how to say “adverb” in Hungarian?

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