Learn how to ask for things using formal Hungarian
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Simone: Hi, this is Absolute Beginner season 1, lesson 5: Making a Formal Hungarian Request. I'm Simone. |
| Gergo: And I am Gergo. Sziasztok! |
| Simone: In this lesson, you are going to learn about asking for things in a formal situation. |
| Gergo: Yes, and this conversation happens at Anne’s workplace. |
| Simone: ...where her boss interrogates her for some information. |
| Gergo: This is a formal situation. Her boss still hasn’t let up, so they use formal language. |
| Simone: Let’s listen to the conversation. |
Lesson conversation |
|---|
| Szabó úr: Hogy írja a nevét? |
| Anne: A-n-n-e S-m-i-t-h |
| Szabó úr: Köszönöm. Kérem az útlevelét. |
| Anne: Parancsoljon, |
| Szabó úr: Köszönöm. Itt írja alá, kérem. |
| Anne: Igen, máris. |
| Slow speed: |
| Szabó úr: Hogy írja a nevét? |
| Anne: A-n-n-e S-m-i-t-h |
| Szabó úr: Köszönöm. Kérem az útlevelét. |
| Anne: Parancsoljon, |
| Szabó úr: Köszönöm. Itt írja alá, kérem. |
| Anne: Igen, máris. |
| With English: |
| Szabó úr: Hogy írja a nevét? |
| Mr. Szabó: “How do you spell your name?” |
| Anne: A-n-n-e S-m-i-t-h |
| Anne: A-n-n-e S-m-i-t-h |
| Mr. Szabó: Köszönöm. Kérem az útlevelét. |
| Anne: “Thank you. Your passport, please.” |
| Anne: Parancsoljon, |
| Anne: “Here it is.” |
| Szabó úr: Köszönöm. Itt írja alá, kérem. |
| Mr. Szabó: “Thank you. Sign here, please.” |
| Anne: Igen, máris. |
| Anne: “Yes, right away.” |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Simone: Okay, so what’s going on here Gergo? |
| Gergo: She is registering at her new workplace, handing over passports and whatnot. |
| Simone: Which you should carry around at all times. |
| Gergo: Yes, just be careful and use common sense with your belongings and you should be fine. |
| Simone: We do hear about pickpockets every now and then, but generally speaking, public transport is very safe. |
| Gergo: Right, during the rush hour you should be more careful. There were some bus lines a few years ago that were notorious for having pickpockets, line 7 especially, but it’s not a big problem now. |
| Simone: Just make sure you keep your hand around your pocket. |
| Gergo: Also, try to hold your backpack in front of your body. Although it defeats the purpose of a BACKpack, this is safer and it is also more polite – you’re less likely to hit an old lady in the head while turning around this way. |
| Simone: And it’s also the regulation in most cities on the public transport, right? |
| Gergo: Yep, so make sure you blend in. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Gergo:ír |
| Simone: “write” |
| Gergo:ír |
| Gergo:ír |
| Gergo:név |
| Simone: “name” |
| Gergo:név |
| Gergo:név |
| Gergo:kérem |
| Simone: “please, would like” |
| Gergo:ké-rem |
| Gergo:kérem |
| Gergo:útlevél |
| Simone: “your passport” |
| Gergo:út-le-vél |
| Gergo:útlevelét |
| Gergo:parancsoljon |
| Simone: “here it is, here you are” |
| Gergo:pa-ran-csol-jon |
| Gergo:parancsoljon |
| Gergo:Itt írja alá! |
| Simone: “Sign here.” |
| Gergo:Itt ír-ja a-lá! |
| Gergo:Itt írja alá! |
| Gergo:máris |
| Simone: “right away, already” |
| Gergo:má-ris |
| Gergo:máris |
| KEY VOCABULARY AND PHRASES |
| Simone: Any comments on these Gergo? |
| Gergo: The first one we want to talk about is parancsoljon. |
| Simone: “Here it is.” |
| Gergo: Right, but it literally means “give orders.” It is polite to say when you’re handing something to somebody. |
| Simone: You may also hear it from clerks, people in the service industry, as a way to start things up, much like “What can I do for you.” |
| Gergo: Yes, and naturally, this is in formal language now. |
| Simone: The second one is máris. |
| Gergo: Yes, máris. |
| Simone: “Right away.” |
| Gergo: This is used to indicate that you are already on the thing you’re asked to do. You’re being very obedient, almost. |
| Simone: Nice. Give us an example. |
| Gergo: Imagine that someone is waiting for you and you call ahead to say: “I’m there in a second.” |
| Simone: Which is... |
| Gergo: You have to say: Máris ott vagyok. |
| Simone: In this dialogue she didn’t use a verb with it. |
| Gergo: Yes, it almost works like “yes” in this instance, it not only means you are willing to do what’s asked, but you’re also doing it with much speed. |
| Simone: The last one is “how do you spell your name?”. |
| Gergo: Hogy írja a nevét? The more precise translation would be “how do you write your name?”. |
| Simone: This is formal, second person singular, but it is also third person singular, right? |
| Gergo: Yes, we won’t point this out every time there is a formal sentence, but just make sure you remember that the formal “you” and “he/she,” that is the formal second person and the third person is conjugated the same way. |
| Simone: And naturally, in this lesson, we want to use the formal version, since it is the boss addressing an employee. |
| Gergo: Right, they may turn more friendly later, but at the moment, we still need Mr. Szabó to be very polite. |
| Simone: All right, let’s talk grammar now. |
Lesson focus |
| Simone: In this lesson, we’re going to focus on how to ask for things. |
| Gergo: And we will continue to do so in the next lesson as well, since this is a bit complicated in Hungarian. We start by repeating the sentence from the dialogue: Az útlevelét kérem. |
| Simone: “Your passport, please,” or to be more precise “I’d like your passport.” |
| Gergo. Right, kérem is “I’d like.” The trick here is to know that in Hungarian verbs conjugate differently, depending on whether the following object is definite or indefinite. |
| Simone: In this case, “your passport” is definite, right? |
| Gergo: Right, therefore the verb is kérem. The correct translation would probably be “I’d like the” or “I’d like your.” |
| Simone: Ok, examples, please Gergo. |
| Gergo: Repeat: Azt kérem. Azt kérem. |
| Simone: “I’d like that one.” |
| Gergo: Now say: Ezt kérem. Ezt kérem. |
| Simone: “I’d like this one.” How do you say: “I’d like the red one.” |
| Gergo: Repeat: A pirosat kérem. A pirosat kérem. You also use kérem to ask someone to do something. In this case a verb usually follows. |
| Simone: What do you say to the cabbie, if you want him to stop? |
| Gergo: Kérem álljon meg. Kérem álljon meg. |
| Simone: “Please stop.” |
| Gergo: Now say this: Kérem engedjen ki. Kérem engedjen ki. |
| Simone: “Please let me out.” You say that to the kidnappers? |
| Gergo: Either that, or just when you’re trying to get out from the window seat to get off the bus. Whichever happens to you more often Simone. |
| Simone: You never know. |
| Gergo: This second type of sentence with kérem is very much like the one in the dialogue, Itt írja alá, kérem. |
| Simone: “Sign here please.” |
| Gergo: Just to recap here, we already learned how to say “I’d like the” or “I’d like your.” This is asking for objects that are definite. |
| Simone: But we don’t know how to ask for indefinite stuff, like “I’d like a beer.” |
| Gergo: No, because in Hungarian definite – indefinite objects change the preceding verb. |
| Simone: So what’s the deal with those? |
| Gergo: My suggestion is this: Learn these sentences, use them a couple times and check out our next lesson on exactly this topic. |
| Simone: All right, you’re off the hook for now. See you next time. |
| Gergo: Sziasztok. |
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