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The Top 30 Common Business Phrases in Hungarian

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Let’s talk business. 

If you’re planning to start your own business in Hungary, want to find a job here, or need to talk with Hungarian clients or partners, you need to know how to speak the language. Knowing even a few basic phrases can give you a huge advantage in the business world—and that’s exactly what you’re going to learn today.

Of course, in addition to knowing Hungarian business phrases, it’s important that you have a solid understanding of other Hungarian basics. To help you with this, HungarianPod101.com has created an Absolute Beginner Pathway to get you started in the right direction. 

But if you’re already confident in your everyday Hungarian skills and feel like you can get onboard with business Hungarian, you’re in the right place.

In this article, we’re going to provide you with business phrases in Hungarian for common business situations, from nailing a job interview to interacting with your new coworkers. We’ll also teach you how to handle business phone calls and emails, as well as the must-know Hungarian words and phrases for your business trip.

Ready to be the best Hungarian businessman or businesswoman who ever existed? Let’s get started.

Log in to Download Your Free Cheat Sheet - Business Words and Phrases in Hungarian Table of Contents
  1. Nailing a Job Interview
  2. Interacting with Coworkers
  3. Sounding Smart in a Meeting
  4. Handling Business Phone Calls and Emails
  5. Going on a Business Trip
  6. HungarianPod101.com Can Boost Your Career

1. Nailing a Job Interview

Job Interview

Even though you’re a foreigner applying for a job in Hungary, it will leave a good first impression on your interviewer if you know some business phrases in Hungarian. It will show your potential employer how dedicated and eager you are to learn and work with them. While there are lots of business terms in Hungarian you could use, you can usually get by knowing just one or two.

    → If you want to learn more vocabulary related to work, see our vocabulary list of terms for the Workplace.

1- Hi. My name is ___ [name]. I’m from ___ [country / city].

In Hungarian: Jó napot kívánok! A nevem ___ [name]. ___ [country / city]-ból származom.

This is the perfect way to hit it off instantly with your interviewers. Do you remember that first impression we talked about earlier, and the importance of making an effort? This introduction is the best way to start your interview.

2- I’ve been working in this field for three years. I have a lot of experience.

In Hungarian: Három éve dolgozom ezen a területen. Sok tapasztalatom van.

During any job interview, you’ll likely be asked about your previous experience. But if the question doesn’t come up, it’s always good to mention it so that your interviewers see that you’re competent for the position you’re applying for.

Vocabulary Breakdown:

  • “for three years” – három éve
  • “in this field” – ezen a területen
  • “a lot of experience” – sok tapasztalat

Concerning the last phrase, note that in the example, tapasztalatom has the linking vowel o and the suffix -m. This causes the word to mean “my experience.”

3- I have great communication skills and math is a strength of mine.

In Hungarian: Nagyszerűek a kommunikációs készségeim, és a matek az egyik erősségem.

The interviewer will also want to know what your strengths are when deciding whether they want to hire you or someone else.

Vocabulary Breakdown:

  • “communication skill” – kommunikációs készség* 
  • “great” – nagyszerű** 
  • “strength of mine” – erősségem
  • “mathematics,” “maths,” or “math” – matematika vagy matek

* Készségeim means “my skills.” E is a linking vowel, i is an indication of the plural form, and -m is a suffix that refers to the first person singular.

** In the original sentence, nagyszerű is in the plural form with a k at the end and an e linking vowel. This word is in the plural because it refers to “my skills,” which is also plural.

4- Sorry, could you please repeat this sentence? I didn’t understand you well.

In Hungarian: Elnézést, volna szíves megismételni ezt a mondatot? Nem értettem Önt jól.

This is one of the best Hungarian business phrases you could learn, because you never know when it will come in handy. In this case, you can use it to ask your interviewer to repeat what they said if you didn’t quite hear or understand. In Hungarian, make sure that you say this phrase using formal language (like the French ‘vouvoyer’), and not using informal language.

Vocabulary Breakdown:

  • “Could you please ___?” – Volna szíves___?
  • “to repeat” – megismételni
  • “this sentence” – ez a mondat* 

* In the sentence above, “this sentence” is the object. In Hungarian, the object takes a suffix, in this case -t. This is how it becomes ezt a mondatot.

5- May I ask when I can expect a response about the job?

In Hungarian: Megkérdezhetem, hogy mikorra várhatom a visszajelzést a munkával kapcsolatban?

This is another one of the most important Hungarian business phrases, because you’ll probably want to know when to expect a response.

Vocabulary Breakdown:

  • “May I ask ___?” – Megkérdezhetem ___?
  • “can expect” – várhat
  • “response” – visszajelzés
  • “about the job” – a munkával kapcsolatban

6- Thank you for reaching out to me and for this opportunity.

In Hungarian: Köszönöm a megkeresést és a lehetőséget!

In Hungarian business culture, it’s very polite to thank your interviewers for the opportunity. 

Vocabulary Breakdown:

  • “thank you” – köszönöm
  • “opportunity” – lehetőség
Two Black Man in Blue and White Shirts Are Doing an Interview Facing Each Other at a Desk

2. Interacting with Coworkers

Jobs

Interacting with coworkers is an important aspect of work life, no matter what your job is or where you work. It’s crucial to your work performance to be able to discuss the outcome of a project with your partner, or chit-chat with a fellow worker during coffee breaks to preserve your sanity. 

In this section, you’ll learn about Hungarian business phrases that you can use to connect with coworkers. Keep in mind that we’ve also created a vocabulary list of Phrases for Doing Business Successfully that you can check out to broaden your workplace vocabulary.

1- Hi all. I’d like to introduce myself. I’m going to be working with you from now on as well.

In Hungarian: Sziasztok! Szeretnék bemutatkozni. Mostantól én is veletek fogok dolgozni.

You might want to start your self-introduction with this phrase after you’ve joined a new company. Even though you have the job now, it’s important that you leave a good impression on your coworkers.

Vocabulary Breakdown:

  • “to introduce oneself” – bemutatkozni
  • “to be working” – dolgozni
  • “from now on” – mostantól
  • “as well” – is

2- Could you help me with this task, please?

In Hungarian: Tudnál segíteni nekem ebben a feladatban, kérlek?

Vocabulary Breakdown:

  • “Could you ___?” – Tudnál ___?
  • “to help” – segíteni
  • “task” – feladat

3- I apologize for having submitted the report late.

In Hungarian: Elnézést kérek, hogy későn adtam le a jelentést.

Vocabulary Breakdown:

  • “I apologize” – elnézést kérek
  • “to submit late” – későn ad le
  • “report” – jelentés

4- Thank you for the persistent hard work.

In Hungarian: Köszönöm a kitartó, kemény munkát!

Vocabulary Breakdown:

  • “persistent” – kitartó
  • “hard work” – kemény munka

5- Unfortunately, I’m not satisfied with your work. You submit the reports too late too often. 

In Hungarian: Sajnos nem vagyok megelégedve a munkájával. Túl gyakran adja le túl későn a jelentéseket.

You have to be honest with each other in the workplace, even if it means criticizing the other party. But don’t forget that there is a difference between constructive criticism and being arrogant and disrespectful.

Vocabulary Breakdown:

  • “unfortunately” – sajnos
  • “satisfied” – elégedett
  • “too late” – túl későn
  • “too often” – túl gyakran

6- Are you free today after work? How about going out together? 

In Hungarian: Szabadok vagytok ma munka után? Mit szólnátok, ha mind elmennénk szórakozni?

In addition to talking business with your coworkers, it’s important to really hit it off with them and form a good relationship. Try inviting them out for a drink sometime.

Vocabulary Breakdown:

  • “free” – szabad
  • “after work” – munka után
  • “How about ___?” – Mit szólnátok ___?
  • “going out” – szórakozni
Four Colleagues, 3 Men and 1 Woman, Are Standing and Chatting with Each Other

3. Sounding Smart in a Meeting

Business Phrases

If you’re anxious about your first business meeting in your new company, you’re going to love this section. You can use any of the following Hungarian phrases for business meetings to impress your boss and coworkers. 

1- In my opinion, this presentation would be more expressive if you used graphs.

In Hungarian: Szerintem szemléletesebb lenne ez a prezentáció, ha grafikonokat használnál.

When doing business in Hungary, giving constructive criticism in the workplace is always welcome. Everybody wants to do a nice job and better themselves, so if you have a good idea or advice about what the person could have done better, feel free to let them know. Remember that sharing is caring.

Vocabulary Breakdown:

  • “in my opinion” – szerintem
  • “presentation” – prezentáció
  • “expressive” – szemléletes
  • “graph” – grafikon

2- Maybe if you illustrated this data on a pie chart, the presentation would be easier to follow.

In Hungarian: Talán ha kördiagramon szemléltetnéd ezeket az adatokat, a prezentáció könnyebben követhető lenne.

Vocabulary Breakdown:

  • “to illustrate” – szemléltetni
  • “data” – adat
  • “pie chart” – kördiagram
  • “easy to follow” – könnyen követhető

3- I have to agree with you. Holding a conference would be the best publicity for our company.

In Hungarian: Egyet kell értenem Önnel. Egy konferencia megtartása lenne a legjobb reklám a cégünknek.

Expressing your feelings is crucial when working with other people. If you don’t speak up, nobody is going to know what you think.

Vocabulary Breakdown:

  • “to agree” – egyetérteni
  • “conference” – konferencia
  • “best” – legjobb
  • “publicity” – reklám
  • “our company” – cégünk

4- I don’t agree with you. Your argument is weak.

In Hungarian: Nem értek egyet Önnel. Gyenge az érvelése.

Vocabulary Breakdown:

  • “argument” – érvelés
  • “weak” – gyenge

5- I’d like these financial reports to be on my desk by Wednesday.

In Hungarian: Szeretném, ha ezek a pénzügyi jelentések az íróasztalomon lennének szerdára.

When you’re working with others, especially at a relatively big company, demands are almost impossible to avoid. It’s important to note that everyone working there probably depends on another person within the firm, so if somebody is late with a report, another person might get in trouble for it. Requests and demands are just a normal part of worklife, and they should be given politely. 

Vocabulary Breakdown:

  • “financial” – pénzügyi
  • “report” – jelentés
  • “desk” – íróasztal
  • “Wednesday” – szerda

6- Would you please ask the contract manager if they already sent out the invoice?

In Hungarian: Megkérdeznéd, kérlek, a szerződésmenedzsert, hogy kiküldték-e már a számlát?

Vocabulary Breakdown:

  • “Would you ask ___?” – Megkérdeznéd ___?
  • “contract” – szerződés
  • “manager” – menedzser
  • “already” – már
  • “invoice” – számla
3 Colleagues, 1 Old Man and 2 Young Women Are Having a Meeting

4. Handling Business Phone Calls and Emails

There are a few Hungarian business words you need to learn for handling business phone calls and emails. When you communicate this way, you don’t have direct contact with the person you’re talking to, so you can’t rely on non-verbal cues—all you have is words. This makes it extra-important to compose your Hungarian business phrases well. 

But don’t worry! We’ve listed some of the most common business phrases in Hungarian that you’re likely to encounter in these contexts.

1- Hello. This is ___ [name]’s office. You’re speaking to his / her assistant. 

In Hungarian: Halló! ___ [name] irodája. Az asszisztensével beszél.

This is how you would pick up the phone if you were an assistant in somebody’s office. Pretty easy, huh?

Vocabulary Breakdown:

  • “office” – iroda
  • “assistant” – asszisztens

2- She / He is not in the office at the moment. Can I take a message?

In Hungarian: Per pillanat nem tartózkodik az irodában. Átadhatok egy üzenetet?

Vocabulary Breakdown:

  • “at the moment” – per pillanat
  • “message” – üzenet

3- As soon as she / he is back in the office, I will deliver your urgent message to her / him.

In Hungarian: Amint visszaérkezik az irodába, átadom neki az Ön sürgős üzenetét.

Vocabulary Breakdown:

  • “as soon as” – amint
  • “to deliver” – átadni
  • “urgent” – sürgős

4- Thank you for your call. We’ll try to notify you about the news as soon as possible.

In Hungarian: Köszönjük a hívását! Igyekszünk minél hamarabb értesíteni Önt a fejleményekről.

This is a very polite way to end a call. The person on the other end of the phone will probably be very pleased to hear it. A little politeness never hurt anybody.

Vocabulary Breakdown:

  • “call” – hívás
  • “to notify” – értesíteni
  • “news” – fejlemény, hír
  • “as soon as possible” – minél hamarabb, amint lehet

5- Dear Sir / Madam,

In Hungarian: Kedves Hölgyem / Uram!

This is how you would address a Hungarian business email or a letter. However, if you know the person’s name, it’s always better and more personal to use that instead of just “sir” or “madam.”

Vocabulary Breakdown:

  • “dear” – kedves
  • “sir” – úr
  • “madam” – hölgy* 

* In the sentence above, hölgyem and uram mean “my lady” and “my lord” in Hungarian, respectively. 

6- I’m looking forward to your reply. Best wishes,

In Hungarian: Várom mielőbbi válaszát. Üdvözlettel,

This is a standard way to end Hungarian business emails and letters.

Vocabulary Breakdown:

  • “to be looking forward to” – várni
  • “reply” – válasz
  • “best wishes” – üdvözlet
A Man in a Blue Shirt in Glasses Is on the Phone and Taking Notes

5. Going on a Business Trip

Most people go on a business trip at least once in their lifetime. If you want to navigate your business trip like a pro, make sure to memorize these common business phrases in Hungarian. 

1- I’d like to make a hotel room reservation for one for two nights.

In Hungarian: Hotelszobát szeretnék foglalni egy főre két éjszakára.

When on a business trip, you’ll probably be sleeping in a hotel. This phrase will help you make a reservation.

Vocabulary Breakdown:

  • “hotel room” – hotelszoba
  • “reservation” – foglalás
  • “for one” – egy főre
  • “for two nights” – két éjszakára

2- Thank you for the great service. I’ll be sure to come back to your hotel.

In Hungarian: Köszönöm a remek kiszolgálást! Mindenképp visszatérek még a szállodájukba.

And of course, it’s always nice to say goodbye politely and make sure the staff knows you had a great time.

Vocabulary Breakdown:

  • “great” – remek
  • “service” – kiszolgálás
  • “to be sure to” – mindenképp
  • “to come back” – visszatérni
  • “hotel” – szálloda, hotel

3- I’d like to buy a return plane ticket from London to Paris.

In Hungarian: Szeretnék retúr repülőjegyet vásárolni Londonból Párizsba.

Vocabulary Breakdown:

  • “to buy” – vásárolni
  • “return” – retúr
  • “ticket” – jegy
  • “plane ticket” – repülőjegy

4- Hi. It’s nice to finally meet you in person. I’ve come, on behalf of our company, to pick you up.

In Hungarian: Jónapot! Örülök, hogy végre személyesen is találkoztunk. Én jöttem, a cégünk nevében, hogy üdvözöljem Önt.

This sentence can be useful when you come to pick somebody up on behalf of your company. It’s a nice gesture to address someone in their own language, and it’s a great way to earn points with a Hungarian client.

Vocabulary Breakdown:

  • “finally” – végre
  • “to meet” – találkozni
  • “to come” – jönni
  • “on behalf of” – ___ nevében

5- We’ve had a great conference. We’re going to have a meeting with my team and we will let you know about our decision during next week.

In Hungarian: Remek tárgyalás volt. Megbeszélést tartunk majd a csapatommal, és a jövő hét folyamán értesítjük Önöket a döntésünkről.

If you’re going on a business trip, it’s very likely to involve a meeting or a conference.

Vocabulary Breakdown:

  • “conference” – tárgyalás
  • “meeting” – megbeszélés
  • “team” – csapat
  • “to let know” – értesíteni
  • “decision” – döntés
  • “next week” – jövő hét

6- This is a one-time offer. Consider it.

In Hungarian: Ez egy egyszeri ajánlat. Fontolja meg!

For after negotiations…

Vocabulary Breakdown:

  • “one-time” – egyszeri
  • “offer” – ajánlat
  • “to consider” – megfontol
Two Colleagues in Tux and Costume Are Standing in Front of the Board at an Airport, Their Back Is Shown

6. HungarianPod101.com Can Boost Your Career

Now that you know the thirty most important Hungarian business phrases, you’re one step closer to a successful business experience in Hungary. You can go straight into the Hungarian labor market, set up your own business, and even negotiate with potential business partners.

If you want to pick up even more business vocabulary in Hungarian, we advise you to join the HungarianPod101 family. With us, you’ll get unlimited access to many articles, vocabulary lists, and video / audio content to make studying way easier.

Another benefit of becoming a member of our community is that you’ll always have someone to help when things get tough, be it us or your fellow language learners. With us, you’ll never be alone on this exciting journey.

We hope you enjoyed this article. If you have any questions or suggestions about what we could include in our next article, let us know in the comments section.

Which Hungarian business phrase do you wish you had known sooner? And which are you likely to use in the future?

Log in to Download Your Free Cheat Sheet - Business Words and Phrases in Hungarian

Learn Hungarian: YouTube Channels to Improve Your Skills

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We all know that studying can be daunting at times, especially if you’re not using the right methods. But studying doesn’t have to be boring. In fact, you’ll learn more effectively if you’re having fun in the process! 

You already know that studying with HungarianPod101.com is both fun and effective, and today, we’ve brought you the ten best Hungarian language YouTube channels to make studying feel less like a task and more like entertainment. Believe it or not, when you set out to learn Hungarian, YouTube can be a great source of information—and it will never keep you bored for long. 

Watching videos is a great way to learn any language. They not only have visual images (which aid you in remembering words and phrases), but they also employ auditory learning. This is important because studying with images and sounds at the same time is proven to be the most effective way of learning. 

In this article, we’ll introduce you to the top Hungarian YouTube channels for learning the language. We’ll feature channels in a range of categories, from beauty to documentaries and beyond, so you’ll definitely find something that catches your fancy. (On the off-chance you don’t, you can always ask your fellow Hungarian learners in the comments for more suggestions!) 

If you want the most trustworthy source for Hungarian learning on YouTube, be sure to visit the HungarianPod101 YouTube channel. Our videos are informative, but in no way boring. We always cover the most practical topics and expressions that you’re likely to use in everyday conversations with native Hungarians. Moreover, we know that people lead busy lives, which is why most of our videos are under ten minutes long. With us, you can practice listening and reading, learn useful expressions for everyday situations, and much more.

    → Before you continue, you may want to check out our vocabulary list for Talking About YouTube. What better way to start your journey through Hungarian YouTube videos? 😉

Log in to Download Your Free Cheat Sheet - Beginner Vocabulary in Hungarian Table of Contents
  1. JustVidman
  2. Dokumentumfilmek
  3. Viszkok Fruzsi
  4. Csecse Attila
  5. Csizmadia Gabi
  6. Pamkutya
  7. Dezső Bence
  8. Jancsó Gergely
  9. Csillsz
  10. Learn Hungarian with HungarianPod101.com
  11. HungarianPod101.com Gives You the Best Ways to Make Studying Fun

1. JustVidman

Category: Entertainment & Animation
Level: Intermediate – Advanced
Link to the YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoXnnnrdhaKljuhA2IrIhVQ
Example Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JoscTV7s2E

This guy is sure funny. 

While many YouTubers today simply record themselves talking to the camera, JustVidman does things differently. He creates animations and records voiceovers for them, and we promise you they’re amazing. 

By watching his videos, you can satisfy your appetite for fun and wit while sharpening your listening comprehension skills. We do recommend this channel for intermediate and advanced learners, though, as you need to have some basic understanding to get the jokes and keep up with the pace of his speech.

A Guy in a Blue Shirt Is Sitting in Front of His Laptop Using a Headset

2. Dokumentumfilmek

Category: Documentary
Level: Intermediate
Link to the YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1I8V0Ql0Oy6QnnQCfK2PPw/videos
Example Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBJjVWsjNE0

This channel is designed to cater for a wide variety of tastes. 

They upload documentaries on numerous topics from different eras, making it a great option if you want to broaden your vocabulary. You can watch documentaries on bees, Buddhism, Eminem, and even the history of Hungarians. Each video is very entertaining and ranges from forty to ninety minutes long.

A Lion Is Chasing Zebras in the Wild

3. Viszkok Fruzsi

Category: Beauty, Fashion & Lifestyle
Level: Beginner – Intermediate
Link to the YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7Cz1-qgx7bkzt-YdLpku5A
Example Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOS0f2XDzPk

Viszkok Fruzsi is one of the biggest Hungarian YouTubers and influencers nowadays. 

On her channel, she talks about beauty, fashion, and lifestyle, so her videos are perfect for acquiring a basic Hungarian vocabulary on YouTube. In addition, she speaks using everyday language, and the style of her videos is light and easy-to-follow.

Make-up Half Out of Its Bag, a Striped Little Bag

4. Csecse Attila

Category: Entertainment & Comedy
Level: Beginner – Intermediate
Link to the YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaImRySPtHnIv5Fx5tFK83A
Example Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6S3VCvLr7oQ

Csecse Attila’s channel is great, and not only because he makes funny and entertaining content! By watching his videos, you’ll surely stay up-to-date with nowadays’ slang. 

He has a very laid-back style, which, when combined with his wit and humor, makes for a wonderful watching experience. That said, because he does use a lot of slang, you’ll need to listen closely. If he ever uses a word or phrase you’re not familiar with, just keep watching and try to figure it out based on the context.

That’s why learning Hungarian through YouTube channels is so wonderful. You get to learn on your feet!

Which one of Attila’s videos is your favorite?

A Man in a Brown Shirt Is Standing in Front of a Camera

5. Csizmadia Gabi

Category: Vlog & Lifestyle
Level: Beginner
Link to the YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg0qvFR0a23SHrKML6I4zeg
Example Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uu2z_c_4dX8

With a friendly tone and easy-to-follow videos, Gabi’s channel is one of the best Hungarian learning YouTube channels out there. 

She uses everyday language in her vlogs, allowing the viewer to literally follow her through everyday life. And she makes a lot of vlogs—she even vlogs during Christmastime—so if you’re into raw, honest, and authentic content, you’ll love her. Some examples of what you can expect include tips on how to get into sports, a journey through personal events like eye surgery, and more.

A Group of Friends Chatting, 2 Girls and Two Guys Around a Table

6. Pamkutya

Category: Comedy & Music
Level: Advanced
Link to the YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/PamKutya
Example Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5BrX1wjQfw

If you want to learn the Hungarian language on YouTube, this channel will really challenge you and push you to grow. 

Pamkutya is one of the biggest parody channels in Hungary, and one of the most amusing places to find Hungarian music on YouTube. 

Nowadays, he makes his own songs, but he actually became famous by making parodies of both Hungarian and international songs. In these parodies, he keeps the beat and rhythm of the original songs but adds Hungarian lyrics to them (they even rhyme!). The best thing is that he always puts subtitles on his videos so that you don’t have to struggle with the clumsy translation that some random user puts up. 

He’s very creative, but because he sometimes raps or sings too fast, you’ll need a higher-than-beginner level to be able to keep up. Once you get to that level, though, you won’t be able to stop watching and listening.

Black Buttons, for Tuning, Are Visible

7. Dezső Bence

Category: Entertainment & Comedy
Level: Beginner – Intermediate
Link to the YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx2Z1KP4LYEbD8-qqwU-0wA
Example Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VChdCBpSht8

It would be a big mistake to miss out on Bence’s channel. 

He makes funny videos (such as challenges), and also collaborates with others often. For example, he has lots of “reaction” videos and Q&A’s. His channel might be considered 16+, but if you don’t mind a few dirty jokes here and there, his channel is the place to be. 

And better yet, if you want to learn Hungarian phrases on YouTube, he’s your man. He uses a combination of simple everyday language that even a beginner could understand and plenty of Hungarian slang.

A Man in a White-ish Shirt Is Recording a Video of Himself while Holding Up a Smartwatch

8. Jancsó Gergely

Category: Photography & Traveling
Level: Intermediate
Link to the YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkUEf6F2zejWctsBJAMrbXg
Example Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDNw7vxdZFI

Jancsó Gergely’s channel is a handful, but in a good way. 

He uploads videos on a great variety of topics, but mainly photography and travel vlogs. He travels quite a lot, and he’s even an expat who’s currently living in Australia. Due to the variety of content he publishes, we highly suggest that those looking to expand their Hungarian vocabulary watch this channel! At the minimum, you should have an intermediate level of Hungarian to get the most out of your watching experience. 

    → We recommend that you study up on your vocabulary for Travel and World Continents before checking out his channel!

Black and White Picture, a Guy Behind a Camera, His Face Cannot be Seen

9. Csillsz

Category: Beauty, Fashion & Lifestyle
Level: Beginner – Intermediate
Link to the YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZe0OvOQgmAEwQ3oa5e023Q
Example Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKendMDj1UI 

Chillsz’s videos are very light and—she usually talks about what clothes she bought or what makeup she uses, so if you want to pimp up your beauty vocabulary, this is one of the best Hungarian YouTube channels to follow. Even beginners can enjoy watching her videos, as she uses simple everyday language.

An Asian Woman Is Giving a Make-up Tutorial while Recording Herself with Her Camera, She Is Holding a Palette

10. Learn Hungarian with HungarianPod101.com

Category: Education
Level: Beginner – Advanced
Link to the YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/HungarianPod101/videos
Example Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9YGuy_-RD0

As we said at the beginning of this article, the HungarianPod101 YouTube channel is tailor-made. 

Regardless of your current level, you’ll certainly find a video or series on our channel to help you work your way up. We cover a wide range of topics, from self-introductions to Hungarian holidays. 

Even if you’re an absolute beginner, we’ve got you! We have a separate playlist for beginners like you, so that you won’t get lost on your way up.

The YouTube logo with a Red Background

11. HungarianPod101.com Gives You the Best Ways to Make Studying Fun

Now that you’re familiar with a few of the big Hungarian YouTube channels, you know what to do when you want to learn Hungarian online but don’t really feel like studying. Watching these YouTube channels will surely feel more like entertainment than learning.

If you want to maximize your YouTube studying process, we advise you to listen to a single video at least three times. This is because, with each time you listen, you might be able to understand a new word you didn’t catch the first time around. We also recommend taking notes and writing down any unknown Hungarian words so that you can find their meanings in your language.

Don’t forget that if you need any help, HungarianPod101 is here to the rescue. You can find all kinds of videos on our channel, so if you feel like the channels we listed above aren’t your cup of tea, our channel is there as a safety net. We deliver the best content for you as frequently as we can, and we teach you the most important stuff in the shortest time possible.

We hope you enjoyed this article; if you would like to see more like this in the future, let us know.

Before you go, which Hungarian YouTuber from our list is your favorite? Or do you have your own favorite? Don’t hesitate to share with us and your fellow Hungarian learners in the comments!

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How to Say Goodbye in Hungarian

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Have you ever left a group conversation without saying anything? It was pretty awkward, right? 

Knowing the best parting words for a given situation is a crucial aspect of smooth communication in any language. To give you a hand, today we’re going to show you several different ways to say goodbye in Hungarian. With enough study and practice, you’ll never be at a loss for words again! 

The key to success is establishing the basics, and HungarianPod101.com is the perfect companion for this task. If you read our articles on How to Say Hello in Hungarian and How to Introduce Yourself in Hungarian, you’re already off to a great start. Within this article lies the final link you need to have a complete conversation! Start with a bonus, and download the Must-Know Beginner Vocabulary PDF for FREE!(Logged-In Member Only)

Log in to Download Your Free Cheat Sheet - Beginner Vocabulary in Hungarian Table of Contents
  1. Before We Begin…
  2. The Most Common Ways to Say Goodbye in Hungarian
  3. Specific Ways to Say Goodbye
  4. How HungarianPod101.com Will Help You Master Your Hungarian

1. Before We Begin…

Farewell phrases in Hungarian can take many forms, depending on the person you’re speaking with and how formal the situation is. Just like the French use ‘tutoyer’ and ‘vouvoyer,’ Hungarians also distinguish between formal speech (used with strangers and the elderly) and informal speech (used with friends and family). We’ll talk more about this later.

All of the Hungarian goodbye phrases in this article are ones you can use in everyday situations while visiting Hungary—from talking with a stranger at the bakery to parting ways with your new besties. Trust us, locals will appreciate your efforts and be more welcoming of you. It’s always good to know one or two words and phrases in the local language of your travel destination.

Ready? Let’s start, shall we?

2. The Most Common Ways to Say Goodbye in Hungarian

Most Common Goodbyes

There are numerous ways to say goodbye in the Hungarian language. Knowing which words and phrases are most appropriate will take practice, but there are a few factors you should consider:

  • Your relationship with the person you’re speaking to.
  • How many people you’re speaking to.
  • How formal or informal the situation is. 
  • Whether your words fit in the context. 

To make things simple for you, we’ve divided the words and phrases below into Informal and Formal categories. As long as you use them accordingly, you should be just fine. 😉 

A- Informal 

We’ll start with some informal phrases, and show you how easy they are! Each of these words and phrases can be used to mean both hello and goodbye in Hungarian. Yep, how nice is that?

Szia! Use szia when you’re talking to one person. 
Sziasztok!Use sziasztok when you’re talking to two or more people. The suffixes at the end indicate that you’re talking to more than one person. 
Helló!Helló, taken from English, is a very informal way to say hello and goodbye in Hungarian slang. Use it with close friends and maybe even family, but never your boss or strangers! 
Csá(ó)!This is the Hungarian version of the Italian greeting. 
Cső!Okay, this one is funny. Cső means “tube” or “pipe” in Hungarian. To say it to multiple people, you can use csősztök (but you don’t necessarily have to)!
Csőtészta!Can you guess what csőtészta means? It means “macaroni,” but it’s commonly used as an informal farewell.
Csokoládés csőtészta!And this one? “Chocolatey macaroni”! 

Note that the last four informal goodbyes don’t necessarily have to match the number of people you’re talking to. They can be used as-are whether you’re talking to one person or a group of people. 

B- Formal

There aren’t very many ways to say goodbye in a formal environment. Here are two common ones:

Viszontlátásra! (“Goodbye!”)This is the most polite way to tell someone goodbye.
Viszlát! (“Bye!”)This Hungarian word for goodbye is a shortened version of the one above. It’s still polite, but a little less formal. 

Note that you can use both of these phrases as they are; they don’t need to be changed according to the number of people.

A Guy in a Hoodie Is Standing in the Door, Waving and Smiling

3. Specific Ways to Say Goodbye

If you want to truly become fluent in Hungarian, you’ll need to go a step further. In this section, we’ll cover several ways to say goodbye in more specific situations! Memorize these, and your speech will sound so much more natural. 

Szia és sok sikert!“Goodbye and good luck.”
You can use this phrase when you’re parting ways with a friend who’s about to take a big exam or go for a job interview.

It’s interesting to note that Hungarians wish someone “lots of” luck, instead of “good” luck. 

Szép délutánt!Jó estét!Jó éjszakát!“Good afternoon.” “Good evening.” “Goodnight.”
These three phrases are a good way to wish someone goodbye depending on the time of day

Note that in each phrase, you can use either szép (“nice”) or (“good”).

Szép álmokat!Aludj jól!“Sweet dreams.” “Sleep well.”
You can use these two phrases when you’re saying goodbye late in the evening or at night. 

Note that Hungarians use the word szép (“nice”) again, instead of édes (“sweet”) in the first phrase.

A Middle-aged Woman with Short Curly Hair and in a Polka Dot Shirt Is Waving and Smiling

Később találkozunk.
Holnap találkozunk.
Ebédnél találkozunk.
Tíz órakor találkozunk.
“See you later.”
“See you tomorrow.”
“See you at lunch.”
“See you at ten o’clock.”
Each of these phrases is generally used together with a basic goodbye phrase (such as szia or viszlát). 

Do you see the pattern we used here? Találkozunk translates to “we will meet.” To let the other person know when you’ll meet, simply put the correct word in front. 

Check out the following vocabulary lists to get the vocabulary you need to make your own unique sentences:

Vigyázz magadra!Légy óvatos!“Take care.” “Be careful.”
You can use these phrases to let the other person know that you care for their wellbeing. Here are some quick language notes:
  • In English, we cut off the “of yourself” part when we say “take care.” But in Hungarian, we include it. The word magadra means “of yourself.”
  • In the second phrase, the imperative form of “you” is légy, and óvatos means “careful.”

Mennem kell.
Szaladok. / Futok.
Rohanok.
“I have to go.”
“I’m running.”
“I’m rushing.”
You can use these Hungarian goodbye phrases to let someone know you need to leave in a hurry. Note that the second and third phrases are very informal, so you should only use them with close friends and family (and never your teacher or boss, for instance). 

A quick language note:
  • The first phrase is composed of two parts: kell (“have to”) + mennem (“I go”).

Legyen szép napod!
Legyen szép napja!
“Have a nice day.” [Informal]
“Have a nice day.” [Formal]
This is something you’re likely to hear after shopping for groceries. You could use the first phrase toward people your own age or younger, and the second phrase toward people older than you or of higher status. 

Tartsuk a kapcsolatot!“Let’s keep in touch.”
Hungarians don’t “keep in touch.” Instead, they “maintain the relationship.”
  • Tart (“Keep” or “Maintain”) -> Tartsuk [imperative form]
  • Kapcsolat (“Relationship”)
Note that using the imperative form here implies the word “let’s,” since Hungarian doesn’t have another way to express this. 

Találkozzunk még!“Let’s meet some other time, too.”
You can use this phrase if you would like to continue seeing someone regularly. 
  • Találkozzunk (“Let’s meet”)
  • Még (“Some other time, too”)

Majd felhívlak.“I’ll give you a call.”
Hungarians don’t “give” you a call; they “call you.” For this reason, Majd felhívlak literally means “I will call you (at some point).”

2 Guys, One in a White and the Other in a Blue Shirt Are Shaking Hands Over a Table

4. How HungarianPod101.com Will Help You Master Your Hungarian

Well, it’s time to say goodbye… 

Once you’ve learned these farewell phrases in Hungarian, we guarantee that you’ll have no problems saying goodbye, nor will you ever be at a loss for words.

Now that you’re familiar with the most common ways to say goodbye in Hungarian, you’re one step closer to actually visiting the country. You know both formal and informal ways to say bye in Hungarian, and you also know the best phrases for any situation.

But if you feel like you need more, you’re welcome to join the HungarianPod101 family. We offer you the opportunity to practice what you’ve just learned, as well as access to many other useful articles that you can actually benefit from before visiting the beautiful country of Hungary.

Join us now and study with hundreds of other students who share the same ambition as you.

We’re here to help you along on your language-learning journey, and to assist you should you encounter any difficulties.

Do you remember what csokoládés csőtészta means? Let us know in the comments!

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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?

Students Paying Attention During a Lecture

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!

A Woman in a Blue Shirt Smiling and Holding a Tablet

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

A Guy in a Blue Long-sleeved T-shirt with Headphones On

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!

Four Girls Talking and Laughing in a Circle

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?

A Guy in a Gray Shirt Smiling with a Basketball

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!  


One Asian and One Black-haired Man Discussing Something Shown on a Laptop

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.

Asian Woman in a White Dress Smiling

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?

A Mother and Her Son Discussing Something That Is Shown on a Laptop

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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Passing the ECL Hungarian Language Proficiency Test

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Language learning is all fun and games…until you reach a plateau. 

You may start asking yourself “But where am I going with this?” And you wouldn’t be the only language-learner doing so. 

When learning a language, it’s normal to lose motivation every now and then. That’s why it’s important to set goals and milestones for yourself; there’s no better way to keep yourself motivated and pumped through all those hours hunched over books. 

Do you know what else makes a great motivator? Tangible progress! The most effective way to monitor your progress, test your mettle, and find room for improvement is through a Hungarian language proficiency test. 

This article is the guide for preparing for the ECL Hungarian language exam. 

If you have no idea what we’re talking about, stick around. We’ll give you tons of information about this test, including how it works and what you can expect to see on it. And if you’ve already decided you want to take the ECL Hungarian exam, keep reading for tips on how to prepare and succeed! 

A note before we start: If you’re not sure what level of Hungarian you’re at, we recommend taking a free online test first. This will allow you to see where you’re at, without spending the money you would on an official test. If you’re not satisfied with your score on the free test, don’t fret: HungarianPod101.com is here to help you sharpen your Hungarian skills! 

Now, let’s start with a quick comparison of the two main Hungarian exams.

Log in to Download Your Free Cheat Sheet - Study Strategies in Hungarian Table of Contents
  1. ECL vs. Origó
  2. The ECL Listening Test
  3. The ECL Reading Test
  4. The ECL Writing Test
  5. The ECL Speaking Test
  6. Tips on Preparing for the ECL
  7. Conclusion: HungarianPod101.com Will Help You Ace Your Exam

1. ECL vs. Origó

Currently, there are two official Hungarian proficiency tests available for foreigners: the ECL and the Origó. Both exams are a great way to test your knowledge if you want to live and work in Hungary, or even if you’re just curious about how far you’ve come in your Hungarian studies.

You can register for both exams online:

  • The registration deadline is usually one month before the exam date (but double-check on the website). The sooner you register, the better! 
  • You’ll need to pay a fee before you take the test. This is usually between 30,000 and 35,000 Ft (around €90-100), though this can vary based on the level you’re taking.

The Origó and ECL language tests are similar in that they’re both monolingual Hungarian exams. They’re both accredited, and they both have four sections: writing, reading, listening, and speaking. Do note that Origó allows candidates to take the oral and written tests on the same day or on different days. In order to pass either test, you must: reach at least forty percent on each section AND reach at least sixty percent overall. 

1- Origó

Origó is named after the language center of a Hungarian university in Budapest: ELTE (Eötvös Loránd University) Nyelvi Centrum. Origó offers tests for other languages, as well, and creates its own tests and exercises. You can easily apply for any exam on the official website, though you can only take the tests in Budapest. The Origó website also features samples (displayed in Hungarian) to give you a better idea of what to expect.

The structure and components of Origó exams are fairly similar to those of the ECL exams. Here, we’ll cover the unique components of the Origó test:

  • There is one candidate in front of two examiners.
  • The conversation is guided.
    • You’ll talk about a given topic based on an image. The severity of this topic differs based on the exam level you’re taking.
    • You’ll roleplay (act out a situation).
  • You’ll need to interpret an excerpt (only at the C1 level).

2- ECL

The abbreviation “ECL” stands for “European Consortium for the Certificate of Attainment in Modern Languages.” 

It’s an international examination system that offers standardized tests in the languages of EU countries. ECL offers Hungarian language exams for four levels: A2 (waystage), B1 (threshold), B2 (vantage), and C1 (effective operational proficiency). For these, you can find sample sheets containing examples of exercises that you might encounter when you sit for the exam. You can take the ECL test in Pécs, Hungary.

From now on, what you’ll be reading applies to the ECL Hungarian language aptitude exam.

A Guy in a Blue Shirt Who’s Happy about His A+ Grade

2. The ECL Listening Test

Duration15 to 35 minutes (depending on the level)
MaterialsAudio files (there will be two)
TasksAnswer questions and complete exercises related to the audios
Question TypesMultiple choiceShort answerMatching Completing sentences & chartsPlacing words where they belong
Additional NotesYou will hear the audios twiceThe audios’ complexity varies by levelFocus on the core meaning for the best results

As you saw in the table, the complexity of the audios you’ll hear vary based on level. This means that you need to study your vocabulary accordingly! The higher the level, the broader and more diverse your vocabulary should be. For example, at the A2 level, you’ll need to know generic, everyday words and phrases; at the C1 level or higher, you should know words and phrases in a range of fields and topics.

The best way to expand your vocabulary is to test yourself from time to time. Aim to learn a few new words every week or month, and occasionally write your own tests to see how much you know! 

In the meantime, here are some examples of questions likely to appear on the listening test: 

  • “What color is the car?” (Milyen színe van az autónak?) [A2]
  • “Where do the students meet?” (Hol találkoznak a diákok?) [A2]
  • “In what show did the actress appear last year?” (Múlt évben milyen műsorban szerepelt a színésznő?) [B1]
  • “What interested her/him in books other than images as a child?” (Mi érdekelte gyerekként a mesekönyvekben a képeken kívül?) [C1]

If you keep the things we mentioned in mind and practice a lot, you should be fine during the exam. Don’t hesitate to hear what an actual A2-level audio sounds like.

A Girl Holding Her Head and Studying

3. The ECL Reading Test

Duration60 to 90 minutes (depending on the level)
SectionsTwo sections
MaterialsTwo texts, one shorter and one longer
TasksAnswer questions and complete exercises based on the texts
Question TypesFill-in-the-blankShort answerMatching
Additional NotesThere will be 20-30 questions or blanks on your sheet (but fewer questions the higher the level is).

Again, the complexity of the texts and exercises varies based on the level you’re taking. At the A2 level, you should be able to comprehend the general meaning of short, simple texts on familiar, general topics like public notices, travel brochures, and timetables.

Here’s an example of something you may read:

  • “In Hungarian cities, you have to board buses and trams through the front door. It is possible to buy a ticket from drivers of buses and trams.”
    A magyar városokban az első ajtón kell felszállni a buszra, a villamosra. A busz vagy a villamos vezetőjétől is lehet jegyet vásárolni.

The B1 level differs only a bit from the A1. On this level, you have to understand the general meaning of texts on a variety of topics. You should also understand essential details of simple passages on familiar topics such as job advertisements, instructions for use, personal letters, and domestic bills.

If you pass a B2 exam, it means that you can understand specific information about a certain topic and recognize the tone and purpose of passages taken from newspapers, magazines, regulations, formal letters, reports, etc.

If you take a Hungarian exam at the C1 level, you must demonstrate the ability to comprehend information and ideas, to recognize the tone of the speaker, and to identify the purpose of different types of texts written for the general reader.

Example:

  • “To what causes can the shorter length of the earlier Kipling-edition be attributed?”
    Milyen okokkal magyarázható a korábbi Kipling-kiadás kisebb terjedelme?

You can read more about these requirements yourself on the official ECL website.

As with the listening section, your vocabulary should be adequate for the level you plan on testing for. However, in this case, you probably have it easier as the words are actually written down, so you don’t have to guess what word you heard in order to make sense of the text.

A Woman in a Red T-shirt Holding Her Head in Front of a Computer

4. The ECL Writing Test

Duration35 to 75 minutes (depending on the level)
SectionsTwo exercises
Materials
TasksWrite two pieces of text
Essay TypesYou may be asked to write texts in the following formats:
Letters of invitationOrdinary messagesPersonal lettersEmails (formal and informal)Internet blog or forum commentsReports (official and personal)EssaysMagazine articles
Additional NotesThe length of the texts you’re supposed to write vary from level to level:
A1: 50 words per written pieceA2 and up: An additional 50 words per level (C2 will have 200 words)

There are four key areas you should focus on while writing:

  • Grammar
    • Do you know whether to use á or a?
    • How are your sentence structures looking?
  • Spelling
    • Practice, practice, practice, to ensure that your spelling is impeccable! 
  • Handwriting
    • The examiners won’t be able to read or correct your work if it’s illegible. 
  • Layout & Aesthetics
    • Make sure that your text is well-organized and neatly put-together. 
    • A paper full of crossed-out words and scribbles may cause confusion! 

Here’s an example of a task you might get for a B2-level ECL exam:

  • “Your Hungarian friend is going to visit you and your family and inquires about your eating habits. Reply to him/her in an email.” (ca. 150 words)
    Az Ön magyar barátja meg fogja látogatni Önt és a családját, és az étkezési szokásaikról érdeklődik. Válaszoljon neki e-mailben! (B2)

For this exercise, you’ll be given guidelines for how to compose the email.

Students Taking an Exam

5. The ECL Speaking Test

The ECL oral test comprises two or three candidates having a conversation in front of two examiners. 

The examinees start by introducing themselves. This part is not assessed, but it helps ease the candidates into the exam and loosens the tension a bit. Then comes the guided and assessed conversation between the examinees. They have to talk about a certain topic based on a picture and act out a situation. The topic can be about anything—depending on the level again—from your daily routine, to holidays and issues concerning health.

It’s advised to sometimes disagree with your partner and to provoke each other a bit, rather than agreeing on everything. This way, you can show the examiners that you have a wide range of vocabulary and that you have the tools needed for a debate. However, it’s essential to respect the other person’s opinion and to remain polite throughout the conversation. 

Another crucial thing to watch is how much you speak. It almost doesn’t matter what you say, just say something. If you stay silent most of the time, the examiners won’t have anything to assess. Thus, they might give you a percentage at the end that doesn’t reflect your actual knowledge.

Multiple-choice Exam Sheet

6. Tips on Preparing for the ECL 

Studying for a Hungarian language exam is just about the same as studying for any other exam. However, in the case of Hungarian, you might want to pay special attention to spelling; Hungarians tend to write and pronounce words differently than an English-speaker is used to. Therefore, you might want to do as many mock tests regarding Hungarian grammar and spelling as you can.

Another way you can practice is by watching Hungarian talk shows, series, or movies. There’s no better way to learn all the slang you can expect to hear in day-to-day Hungarian conversations. This is also a very fun way to learn and study! 

An important part of any language is speech. Although you can hear people talking in movies and series, it might be a good idea to invest in some CDs and listen to a few songs as well. Or, you can buy a Hungarian book and listen to the CD it comes with multiple times until you understand the conversations fully.

You can practice your Hungarian alone in your room in front of a mirror, or even with online tutors, but the best way is to talk with a native speaker. In today’s world, there are many apps you can download to meet and talk with people from all over the world. Now may be the time to try one! 

Do you plan on visiting Hungary anytime soon? Try to make a friend there! They can be your penpal, though you can also call each other from time to time. 

What matters is that you practice the language.

Language Skills

7. Conclusion: HungarianPod101.com Will Help You Ace Your Exam

Now that you know everything about ECL and a little bit about the Origó Hungarian language proficiency test, you can decide if you want to jump straight in or practice some more first. Either way, you can count on us to provide you with all the learning tools and support you need.

We’ve given you a basic summary about ECL and its contents, with a few examples. Now, you can decide whether ECL is something that would work for you, or if you should delve into Origó a bit more. One thing is for sure though: they’re not going to be much different. But if you feel like Origó would work better for you, go for it. All that matters is that you feel comfortable and are confident in your knowledge.

If you have any questions about either Hungarian exam, don’t hesitate to reach out and ask. We’re all in this together, right?

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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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A Simple Guide to Hungarian Verb Conjugation

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Have you ever wondered what the most important thing is when trying to learn a new language? That’s right, verbs. And to be able to use them, you need to familiarize yourself with their conjugations. This applies to Hungarian even more so, because it’s a complicated language and Hungarian verb conjugation can be tricky. 

For example, the Hungarian lenni conjugation is quite challenging, as the spelling of the word completely changes from one verb tense to the other. But fear no more! Here at HungarianPod101.com, we’re going to walk you through it.

Our goal is for you to have the chance to learn about conjugation in Hungarian in the easiest and most comprehensible way. In this article, you’ll get to know the basic Hungarian verb conjugation rules, and see how they look for yourself. 

If you want to maximize the amount of information you retain from this lesson, it might be wise to check out a few Hungarian conjugation tables to see how it works more clearly. We also recommend that you do a little Hungarian conjugation practice to really learn how to apply these rules.

We hope you’re ready to learn about conjugation in Hungarian, because we’re thrilled you’ve chosen us as a companion for this challenging journey. If you’re brave and persistent enough, you’ll get the hang of Hungarian conjugation in no time. 

So, let’s get started!

Log in to Download Your Free Cheat Sheet - Useful Verbs in Hungarian Table of Contents
  1. What is Conjugation?
  2. Hungarian Determined and Undetermined Conjugations
  3. Hungarian Infinitive Conjugation
  4. Hungarian Verb Conjugation Concerning Tenses
  5. Hungarian Verb Conjugation Moods
  6. Conclusion: HungarianPod101.com Brings Out the Best in You

1. What is Conjugation?

Top Verbs

To be able to start learning about how to conjugate Hungarian verbs, it’s very important to get this question out of the way.

So, what does “conjugation” mean? Why is it so crucial when speaking Hungarian? 

Well, first of all, verbs are the core of a sentence in every language. Second, in order for your sentences to make sense, and for you to say what you actually mean to say, it’s essential to use the right Hungarian verb tenses and conjugations.

By definition, conjugation is “the variation of the form of a verb in an inflected language by which the voice, mood, tense, number, and person are identified.”

Consequently, Hungarian verbs can be:

  • 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

In the case of Hungarian—an agglutinative language—conjugation is done by attaching suffixes to the end of the verbs. And these suffixes indicate, among other things, if the verb is in first, second, or third person. Thus, Hungarian does not use personal pronouns (like English) unless someone wants to emphasize the subject.

  • “They cook.”
    Főznek.

The Hungarian verb suffixes also give away whether we’re talking about one person or multiple people (singular or plural).

  • “She sleeps.” 
    Alszik.
  • “We drive.”
    Vezetünk.

Below, you can see all the possible Hungarian verb endings regarding persons and their number.

I (én): -m, -k                                                            we (mi): -juk, -jük, -unk, -ünk

you (te): -d, -sz, -l                                                   you (ti): -játok, -itek, -tok, -tek, -tök

he/she/it (ő/az): -ja, -i, -ik                                       they (ők): -ják, -ik, -nak, -nek

Book Open to the Middle against a Dark Background

2. Hungarian Determined and Undetermined Conjugations

Hungarian conjugations can be undetermined or determined. Or, in other words: definite and indefinite

This type of Hungarian conjugation is used to differentiate between objects. In sentences where the Hungarian indefinite conjugation is used, the object in question is unknown—or, if you will, indefinite. On the contrary, when the definite conjugation is used, the object that is being talked about is a known, particular thing or person.

For a beginner, this concept can be quite overwhelming, as it’s rather hard to decide which one to use at first.

1- “Read” (olvasni)

Definite: “I’m reading (the book).” — Olvasom a könyvet.

Indefinite: “I’m reading (something).” — Olvasok.

2- “See” (látni)

Definite: “They see the rose.” — Látják a rózsát.

Indefinite: “They see a rose (unknown rose).” — Látnak egy rózsát.

3- “Write” (írni)

Definite: “I’m writing the article (a specific article).” — Írom a cikket.

Indefinite: “I’m writing (an article/something).” — Írok (egy cikket).

4- “Love” (szeretni)

Definite: “I love the girl.” — Szeretem a lányt.

Indefinite: “I love a boy.” — Szeretek egy fiút.

5- “Ask” (kérni)

Definite: “I ask for the salt.” (As in: “Pass me the salt.”) — Kérem a sót.

Indefinite: “I ask for a ball.” (As in: “Buy me a ball.”) — Kérek egy labdát.

6- “Cook” (főzni)

Definite: “I’m cooking the pasta.” — Főzöm a tésztát.

Indefinite: “I’m cooking (something).” — Főzök (valamit).

7- “Paint” (festeni)

Definite: “I’m painting the walls.” — Festem a falakat.

Indefinite: “I’m painting a portrait.” — Festek egy portrét.

What you have to keep in mind is the following:

In Hungarian definite conjugation, verbs have definite suffixes attached to their stem; likewise, indefinite conjugation requires indefinite suffixes attached to the stems.

If you take a look at the examples above, you can see that the suffixes changed depending on whether the subjects knew the object or not.

  • “They see the rose.” (Látják a rózsát.)
    In this case, the object is a specific rose, one that “they” know and are able to recognize.
  • “They see a rose.” (Látnak egy rózsát.)
    In this case, the object is not a specific rose; it’s one that “they” do not know and are not able to identify.

Here, in the same Hungarian conjugation chart as above, you can see suffixes of both definite and indefinite conjugation of every person and number. As you can see, in the first person singular, there is no indefinite ending.

I (én): -m, -k                                                            we (mi): -juk, -jük, -unk, -ünk

you (te): -d, -sz, -l                                                   you (ti): -játok, -itek, -tok, -tek, -tök

he/she/it (ő/az): -ja, -i, -ik                                       they (ők): -ják, -ik, -nak, -nek

Books and Notes

There are cases when it’s not easy to decide which Hungarian conjugation type to use. For example, if you can’t find any articles (neither definite nor indefinite ones) in a sentence.

Use Hungarian indefinite conjugations:

1. If there is no article.
“They are watching a movie.” (Filmet néznek.)

2. In the case of undetermined pronouns.
“Anything they give me is fine.” (Bármit adnak, megfelel.)

3. In the case of an unknown noun that is in plural form.
“I cut vegetables.” (Zöldségeket vágok.)

Use Hungarian definite conjugations:

1. In the case of demonstrative pronouns.
“I invited that guy.” (Meghívtam azt a srácot.)

2. In the case of actual names, or known people.
“We tricked Sam.” (Megtréfáltuk Samet.)

Hungarian verb conjugation endings (if you use a definite or an indefinite ending) are of high importance. This is because a person often appears uneducated if they don’t use the -m ending for -ik verbs in the first person singular present form.

Hungarian -ik verbs are the citation form of a verb, also known as the spoken form of a word when it stands alone (like in dictionaries). They’re called the -ik verbs because their last syllable is -ik.

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

“Pseudo -ik verbs” exist in Hungarian too, and in their case, the -m ending is impossible. Moreover, it’s ungrammatical.

8- “Flow” (Folyni)

  • “The water flows.”
    Folyik a víz.
  • “I flow.”
    Folyom.

Does your language have definite and indefinite conjugation as well?

Books on Top of Each Other

3. Hungarian Infinitive Conjugation

The infinitive form is the basic verb form in Hungarian, just like in most languages. The reason for this is that this form of verbs has no suffix at all, and thus are the simplest.

In Hungarian verb conjugation, the infinitive form is in:

  • Present tense
  • Third person singular
  • Indicative mood and uses 
  • Indefinite conjugation

Take for example:

  • “To speak” (beszélni)
  • “To love” (szeretni)
  • “To sing” (énekelni)
  • “To wait” (várni)
  • “To smile” (mosolyogni)

In some cases, a linking vowel is needed for the Hungarian infinitive verb to be pronounced correctly.

  • “To help” (segíteni)
  • “To move” (mozdítani)
  • “To hear” (hallani)

There are some irregularities regarding infinitives, as well:

Hungarian InfinitiveHungarian Citation FormEnglish Infinitive
ennieszik “to eat”
inniiszik“to drink
mennimegy“to go”
vinnivisz“to bring” / “to carry”
jönnijön“to come”
hinnihisz“to believe”
tennitesz“to put” / “to do”

Do you know when and how to use the Hungarian infinitive? If not, keep reading.

The infinitive form is mostly used when the action we want to express is the subject or object of the sentence, but the noun form of the same expression could easily be used too.

  • “Winning is great.” — Győzni nagyszerű. (A győzelem nagyszerű.)
  • “Eating is needed.” — Enni szükséges. (Az evés szükséges.)
Blonde Girl Reading a Book

4. Hungarian Verb Conjugation Concerning Tenses

In Hungarian, there are only three tenses: Past, Present, and Future. Each of them has their own way of conjugating.

First, let’s take a look at the Hungarian present tense conjugations, as there are two types of these.

Present:

“Simple present” does not have suffixes. It’s formed with the basic Hungarian conjugation, as follows:

  • “To sit” (ülni)

This verb can only be conjugated with indefinite endings. You might want to scroll back up to review them in the Hungarian verb conjugation table.

I sit — (én) ülök                                                         we sit — (mi) ülünk

you sit — (te) ülsz                                                      you sit — (ti) ültök

he/she/it sits — (ő/az) ül                                            they sit — (ők) ülnek

Do you still remember? As mentioned earlier, Hungarian does not use personal pronouns (like English) unless someone wants to emphasize the subject. This is why the personal pronouns are in parentheses above.

The kind of “present” tense that works similarly to the English “present continuous,” (“verb + -ing” form), is formed by attaching –ó or –ő to the end of verbs. They work as adjectives and come before the noun they refer to.

Here are some examples:

1- “Reads” – olvas + –ó = olvasó » “reading”

  • “The guy reading seems smart.” 
    Az olvasó srác okosnak tűnik.

2- “Sits” – ül + = ülő » “sitting”

  • “The girl sitting is pretty.” 
    Az ülő lány csinos.

Past:

The past tense, which is usually formed as “verb + -ed” in English, looks like “verb + -t/-tt” in Hungarian. Hungarian words with -t or -tt suffixes also work as adjectives.

  • “The ship sunk.” 
    A hajó elsüllyedt.
  • “The sunken ship is at the bottom of the ocean.” 
    Az elsüllyedt hajó az óceán fenekén van.
  • “He drank a lot.” 
    Sokat ivott.
  • “The drunken beverage was coke. 
    A megivott ital kóla volt.

Meg- in the second example sentence is a prefix often used before verbs. The stem of the verb is inni, which is in past tense—in this case, (-tt)—with a linking vowel (“o,” which also appears in the first example).

Future:

One way to indicate future tense in Hungarian is by means of a future participle. This is a specific form of a verb that plays a similar role in the sentence as an adjective or adverb. The future participle is formed as “to be …-ed” in English, and with the suffixes -andó and -endő in Hungarian. It expresses an obligation that has to be done at some point in the future.

  • “The meat to be cooked is on the kitchen counter.” 
    A megfőzendő hús a konyhapulton van.
  • “The distance to be swam is not that long.” 
    A leúszandó táv nem olyan nagy.

Again, le- here is a prefix to the verb úszni. Also, Hungarian uses the adjectives “big” and “small” for distance, rather than the English words “long” and “short.”

Note that the true future tense in Hungarian is not formed using the aforementioned future participles. Instead, it’s constructed using the appropriate conjugation form of the auxiliary verb fogni and the infinitive form of the verb. 

  • “I will go to the market tomorrow.” 
    Holnap el fogok menni a piacra.
  • “He will surely get accepted to the university.” 
    Biztosan fel fogják venni az egyetemre.
Instructions Manual

5. Hungarian Verb Conjugation Moods

Below you can find the moods Hungarian has as well as the tenses they’re used in:

  • Indicative/Realis Mood: present, past, future
  • Imperative/Subjunctive Mood: present
  • Conditional Mood: present, past

Indicative:

This mood is mainly used to indicate that something is a statement or a fact, like in declarative sentences.

  • “I sleep.” (Alszom.)
  • “I ate an apple.” (Ettem egy almát.)
  • “They will be.” (Lesznek.)

Imperative:

Usually, commands and requests are expressed using the imperative mood. And unlike in French, for example, Hungarian imperatives exist in all persons and numbers. In addition, unlike in English (which uses regular full-stops), there’s an exclamation mark at the end of each imperative sentence at all times.

The imperative mood is usually formed with a -j suffix. However, if the word ends with a sibilant (-s, -zs, -sz, -z), the -j will, in most cases, transform into the last sibilant of the word’s stem.

  • “Leave me alone.” (Hagyj békén!)         “Dig.” (Áss! [Ás + -j])
  • “Go away.” (Menj el!)                             “Pull me out.” (Húzz ki! [Húz + -j])
  • “Don’t shout.” (Ne kiabálj!)                     “Let’s play.” (Játsszunk!)
  • “Let’s start.” (Kezdjünk!)                        “Believe me (both of you).” (Higgyétek el!)

Conditional:

By using the present conditional mood, one expresses events that have little chance of happening in the present or the future.

Suffixes used: -na, -ne, -ná, -né (and their conjugated forms, depending on the person and the number).

  • “If she kissed me, I would faint.” (Ha megcsókolna, elájulnék.)

Meg- and el- are Hungarian verb prefixes in this sentence.

The past conditional is used for those events that could have happened in the past, but did not. 

Auxiliary verb: volna (the conditional form of the verb “to be,” or lenni in Hungarian).

  • “If they hadn’t met me, they would have never gotten here.” (Ha nem találkoztak volna velem, sosem jutottak volna idáig.)

Do you know the ad Hungarian conjugation in conditional form?

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

More Essential Verbs

By now, you’ve not only learned the basics of how to conjugate Hungarian verbs, but also about the different tenses and moods in Hungarian. You’ve even gotten the hang of Hungarian definite and indefinite conjugation!

Now all that’s left to do is a little Hungarian verb conjugation practice. Read more of our articles, and you’ll be the master of Hungarian verb conjugation in a fortnight.

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