Learn how to refuse politely
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| Introduction |
| Eric: Welcome to 3-Minute Hungarian Season 1, Lesson 6 - Refusing Politely. In this lesson, you’ll learn how to politely refuse an invite in Hungarian. |
| Body |
| Eric: Here's the formal way to say 'You are very kind, but no thank you.' in Hungarian. |
| Lena: [Normal] Nagyon kedves, de nem köszönöm. |
| Eric: First is a word meaning 'very'. |
| Lena: [Normal] nagyon [Slow] nagyon |
| Eric: Next is the word meaning 'kind'. |
| Lena: [Normal] kedves [Slow] kedves |
| Eric: Next is the word meaning 'but'. |
| Lena: [Normal] de [Slow] de |
| Eric: Next is the word meaning 'no'. |
| Lena: [Normal] nem [Slow] nem |
| Eric: Last is the word meaning 'thank you'. |
| Lena: [Normal] köszönöm [Slow] köszönöm |
| Eric: Listen again to the formal phrase meaning 'You are very kind, but no thank you.'. |
| Lena: [Slow] Nagyon kedves, de nem köszönöm. [Normal] Nagyon kedves, de nem köszönöm. |
| Eric: Ok, now let's see a less formal way to say 'No, thank you.'. |
| Lena: [Normal] Nem, köszönöm. |
| Eric: First is a word meaning 'no'. |
| Lena: [Normal] nem [Slow] nem |
| Eric: Last is the word meaning 'thank you'. |
| Lena: [Normal] köszönöm [Slow] köszönöm |
| Eric: Listen again to the phrase meaning 'No, thank you.'. |
| Lena: [Slow] Nem, köszönöm. [Normal] Nem, köszönöm. |
| Eric: Next up is the way to say 'Sorry, but I already have plans.'. |
| Lena: [Normal] Sajnálom, de már van programom. |
| Eric: First is a word meaning 'sorry, but'. |
| Lena: [Normal] sajnálom, de [Slow] sajnálom, de |
| Eric: Next is the word meaning 'already'. |
| Lena: [Normal] már [Slow] már |
| Eric: Next is the word meaning 'there is/ have'. |
| Lena: [Normal] van [Slow] van |
| Eric: Last is the word meaning 'my plan'. |
| Lena: [Normal] programom [Slow] programom |
| Eric: Listen again to the phrase meaning 'Sorry, but I already have plans.' |
| Lena: [Slow] Sajnálom, de már van programom. [Normal] Sajnálom, de már van programom. |
| Eric: Finally, here is a different way to say 'Sorry, but I already have plans.' |
| Lena: [Normal] Sajnálom, de nem érek rá. |
| Eric: First is a word meaning 'sorry'. |
| Lena: [Normal] sajnálom [Slow] sajnálom |
| Eric: Next is the word meaning 'but'. |
| Lena: [Normal] de [Slow] de |
| Eric: Next is the word meaning 'no'. |
| Lena: [Normal] nem [Slow] nem |
| Eric: Last is the word meaning 'I have time'. |
| Lena: [Normal] érek rá [Slow] érek rá |
| Eric: Listen again to the phrase meaning 'Sorry, but I already have plans.'. |
| Lena: [Slow] Sajnálom, de nem érek rá. [Normal] Sajnálom, de nem érek rá. |
| Cultural Insight |
| Eric: Now it's time for a quick cultural insight. |
| Lena: These examples show you how to politely refuse an invite. The only expression you need to be a bit careful of is Sajnálom, de nem érek rá meaning 'Sorry, but I already have plans.' It's more casual than the others, and the difference it can cause depends on your tone of voice when you say it. If you look and sound sorry and even mention the reason why not, then it's totally acceptable. But if you say it without adding any emotion or a bit harshly, then it can sound rude or too direct. |
Outro |
|---|
| Eric: And that’s all for this lesson. Don’t forget to check out the lesson notes, and we’ll see you in the next lesson! |
| Lena: Sziasztok! |
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