Learn Hungarian Tutorial for Beginners
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- be able to accomplish basic tasks in Hungary without resorting to English
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A fun and informal guide to the Hungarian language. We introduce you to Hungarian gently, starting with the words you'll need the most, and gradually building up your vocabulary and understanding of Hungarian grammar. You'll learn the basics of Hungarian in a natural way, enabling you to accomplish many basic tasks in Hungarian and providing you with a solid basis for further study.
- Tourists thinking of taking a holiday in Budapest or Hungary
- Anyone who wants an introduction to Hungarian
- Anyone who enjoys a challenge!
Words in this Tutorial
Jó reggelt
Good morning
Jó napot
Good day
Jó estét
Good evening
Words in this Tutorial
köszönöm
thankyou
köszönöm szépen
thankyou very much (literally, thankyou nicely)
köszi
thanks
Words in this Tutorial
igen
yes
nem
no
kérek
please
Words in this Tutorial
Kérek egy bort
A wine, please
Kérek egy sört
A beer, please
Kérek egy kávét
A coffee, please
In this tutorial we’ll take a look at some dialogue that might take place if you’re in a shop. I’m not sure what Zsófi’s laughing about in this tutorial …
Words in this Tutorial
Mit adhatok
What can I give you
[What can I do for you?]
Tessék
Please?
[What can I do for you?]
Egy sört kérek
A beer please
Két kavét kérek
Two coffees please
Még valamit?
Still something?
[Anything else?]
Mást nem, köszönöm
Nothing more, thankyou
Viszont látásra!
Goodbye!
[See you later!]
Viszlát!
Bye!
Words in this Tutorial
Mi a telefonszámod?
What is your phonenumber?
Mi a számod?
What’s your [phone]number?
Note: “mi” does not end in “t” here because it is not the object of the sentence.
The international dialling code for Hungary is +36 (or 0036 on phones with no plus sign).
Words in this Tutorial
kijárat
exit
bejárat
entrance
Note: “ki” means “out” and “be” means out. These are common prefixes for Hungarian words.
tolni
push
húzni
pull
taxi
taxi
busz
bus
vonat
train
Words in this Tutorial
jegy
ticket
vonaljegy
ticket
[literally, "line ticket"]
egy volanjegyet kérek
one ticket please
[Note: jegy becomes jegyet because it is the object in the sentence]
két volanjegyet kérek
two tickets please
[Note: it is not necessary to use the plural form of "jegy"]
Note: Bus 200E takes you from Budapest airport to the Kőbánya Kispest metro station, where you can take a metro into town. You can buy a ticket on the bus. One ticket is good for one journey on the bus or metro.
Words in this Tutorial
Parlament
Parliament
Buda, Pest
The two main towns that make up Budapest. Buda is West of the river, Pest north. Buda is quieter and leafier and contains the Fisherman’s Bastion and castle, while Pest is busy and bustling and contains the parliament. Many prefer to live in Buda, although personally I like Pest — it’s more vibrant.
Margit Sziget
Margaret Island, a pretty island in the Danube with lots of trees and flowers.
Margit Híd
Margaret Bridge, from which you can descend to Margaret Island.
Budai Vár
Buda Castle
Fürdő
Bath
Széchenyi Fürdő
Széchenyi Baths, probably the most famous spa bath in Budapest
Gellért Hegy
Gellért Hill (Hegy also means mountain)
Gellért Fürdő
Gellért Baths, the baths at the foot of the hill
Andrássy út
Famous, rather posh tree-lined street in Budapest
Hősök tere
Heroes Square, the big square at the far end of Andrássy út
Lánchíd
Chain Bridge, a very beautiful bridge across the Danube
Duna
Danube, the river
Dialog in this Tutorial
Egy asztalt kérek, két személyre.
A table for two, please.
Parancsoljon!
Here you go.
Mit szeretnének inni?
What you you like to drink?
Két pohár vörösbort kérünk.
Two glasses of red wine, please.
Discussion
Egy asztalt kérek, két személyre: this means literally, “a table I ask, for two people”. Note that the word for table, asztal, gets a “t” added to the end, because it’s the object of the sentence; the thing the sentence is actually about. The word for person, személy, has “re” added to the end of it. This suffix actually takes the place of the English “for” in this sentence. It’s common in Hungarian to use suffixes where we would use a separate word in English.
Parancsoljon: the waiter uses this word to say something like “there you go” or “here you are”; in other words, “here’s your table”.
Mit szeretnének inni?: we’ve seen mi (what) before; it means “what”. Here it has “t” added to it because it’s the object in the sentence. inni means “to drink”; it’s technically the infinitive form of the verb “to drink”. szeretnének means “would you like”, where the “you” is plural.szeretni actually means to love or like something, while szeret (the “stem” of the verb) means “he/she/it likes”. We’ll get into verb conjugation more later on, but for now it’s enough to note that the né bit added to the stem of this verb is what makes this verb conditional (“would you like” rather than “do you like”), while the ek ending makes it apply to multiple people. It’s common in Hungarian to add multiple suffixes to a word like this. Don’t worry, we’re going to explore this slowly!
In this tutorial we'll order dessert and ask for the bill! You won't understand the dialog at first, but by the end it'll make sense.
Dialog in this TutorialTessék, az étlap!
The menu, please.
Mit hozhatok?
What can I bring you?
Egy gulyáslevest és egy rakott krumplit kérek!
A goulash soup and a layered potato*, please.
És Önnek mit hozhatok?
And you, what can I bring you?
Egy húslevest és töltött paprikát kérek!
A meat soup and stuffed peppers, please!
*explanations below!
DiscussionTessék, az étlap!: we’ve seen tessék before; it has several different meanings, many of which can perhaps be best translated by “please”. az means “the”. In Hungarian, we use a to mean “the” before words that start in a consonant, and az before words that start with a vowel (rather like the way “a” can change to “an” in English).
Mit hozhatok?: after some time, the waiter or waitress asks, “what can I bring you?”. The verbhoz means “bring”; by adding hat we turn it into “can bring”, and by further adding ok, we turn it into “I can bring” or “can I bring”. For the moment, it’s enough to understand the explanation of how this works; we’ll return to verb structure later in the course.
Egy gulyáslevest és egy rakott krumplit kérek: the food known as “goulash” (gulyás) in English-speaking countries is usually a stew; in Hungary, the home of goulash, it’s actually usually a soup. leves is the word for soup, and we add a “t” because this is one of the two objects in this sentence. rakott krumplit means literally “layered potato” (krumpli means “potato”). This is a delicious Hungarian dish containing potato, Hungarian sausage, boiled eggs and cream. Rakott krumpli is particularly great to eat when it’s cold and you’re very hungry, but it’s good any time of the year too
És Önnek mit hozhatok?: és means “and”, as we’ve seen before. Ön is actually the formal way of saying “you” in Hungarian. You use it with strangers. nek is added to the end where we would prefix the word with “to” in English; so instead of “to you”, Hungarians say “Önnek”.
Egy húslevest és töltött paprikát kérek!: hús means “meat”, but húsleves is actually usually chicken soup. töltött means “stuffed”, and paprika is the Hungarian word for the vegetable we call “sweet pepper” in English. When we add the t to paprika, the vowel sound at the end becomes longer, and we denote this with an accent in writing. So the a at the end of paprikachanges to á. Stuffed peppers is a Hungarian delicacy; the peppers in question are medium-sized sweet yellow peppers, and they are usually stuffed with pork, tomato and other stuff. Delicious!
In this video we'll look at asking for directions and giving a simple reply.
- Hol van a parlament?
(Where is the parliament?)
- Fordulj jobbra, menj egyenesen, majd fordulj balra! A Parlament a Duna mellett van.
(Turn right, go straight ahead, then turn left! The Parliament is beside the Danube.)
Where is the supermarket?
Hol van a szupermarket?
Turn left, go straight ahead.
Fordulj balra, menj egyenesen.
Thank you!
Köszönöm!
A tutorial on how to talk about stuff you like doing in your free time. Or don't, as the case may be.
What do you like to do in your free time?
- Mit szeretsz csinálni a szabadidődben?
- I like reading.
- Szeretekolvasni.
- I like playing football.
- Szeretek focizni.
- I like dancing.
- Szeretek táncolni.
- I like drinking.
- Szeretek inni.
Do you like hiking?
- Szeretsz túrázni?
- Yes, I like hiking.
- Igen, szeretek túrázni.
- No, I don't like hiking.
- Nem szeretek túrázni.
Do you like dancing?
Szeretsz táncolni?
Yes, I like dancing, and I like drinking.
Igen, szeretek táncolni, és szeretek inni.
Do you like playing football?
Szeretsz focizni?
No, I don't like playing football; I like eating.
Nem szeretek focizni; szeretek enni.
Let's tackle the numbers up to twenty. They're not too bad, if you've mastered numbers up till ten.
Numbers Up to Twenty
Eleven: tizenegy
Twelve:tizenkettő
Thirteen:tizenhárom
Fourteen: tizennégy
Fifteen:tizenöt
Sixteen: tizenhat
Seventeen:tizenhét
Eighteen:tizennyolc
Nineteen: tizenkilenc
Twenty: húsz
Vocabulary
Apple: alma
Glass: pohár
Flower: virág
Person: ember
Book: könyv
Bottle: üveg
Chair: szék
Scone: pogácsa
Bread: kenyér
Water: víz
Homework
Eleven scones.
Fourteen tickets.
Twelve books.
Twenty chairs.
Fifteen flowers.
Eighteen apples.
Although perplexing at first, vowel harmony is used instinctively by Hungarians and is a vital part of the language. Don't worry, it gets easier .... maybe ...
Back vowels
u, ú
o, ó
a, á
Front vowels
i, í
ü, ű
e, é
ö, ő
Rounded
ü, ű
ö, ő
Unrounded
i, í
e, é
Homework
Scone - scones
P_g_cs_ - p_g_csák
Ticket - tickets
J_gy - j_gyek
Book - books
K_nyv - k_nyvek
Chair - chairs
Sz_k - sz_kek
Flower - flowers
V_r_g - v_r_gok
Apple - apples
_lm_ - _lmák
Although the rules for forming plurals might seem complex at first, similar rules are found in many places in the Hungarian language and are actually largely a matter of creating words that "sound right".
Plural Suffixes
-k, -ak, -ok, -ek, -ök
-k
After words ending with a vowel
The last vowel gets lengthened
o => ó
u => ú
a => á
i => í
e = é
ö => ő
ü => ű
Examples
autó => autók (car => cars)
alma => almák (apple => apples)
vessző => vesszők (comma => commas)
bicska => bicskák (pocket knife, pocket knives)
Homework: form the plural of these.
boka (ankle)
könyvelő (bookkeeper)
tégla (brick)
tonna (ton)
eladó (salesperson)
festő (painter)
zsebkendő (handkerchief)
vese (kidney)
tüdő (lung)
autópálya (motorway)
-ok and -ek
Only for words ending in
consonants (usually)
-ek
● Single-vowel words containing e or é, or
● Multiple-vowel words containing front vowels
Examples -ek
● kés (knife) => kések (knives)
● szék (chair) => székek (chairs)
● .pület (building) => .pületek (buildings)
-ok
● After words containing back vowels, or mixed
back and front
Examples -ok
● ananász (pineapple) => ananászok
(pineapples)
● villamos (tram) => villamosok (trams)
● kabát (coat) => kabátok (coats)
Homework
● szúnyog (mosquito)
● leves (soup)
● lekvár (jam)
● sziget (island)
● sivatag (desert)
● étlap (menu)
-ök and -ak
The last two plural endings to
learn! Used after words ending
in consonants.
-ak
● Single-vowel words containing a or á
● Some multiple-vowel words where the last
vowel is a or á
(This ending is not very common)
Examples -ak
● agy (brain) => agyak
● ház (house) => házak
● fal (wall) => falak
● madár (bird) => madarak (slightly irregular)
-ök
● After words containing only front rounded
vowels; ö, ő, ü, ű
Examples -ök
● kör (circle) => körök
● köröm (fingernail) => körmök (slightly irregular!)
● bőrönd (suitcase) => bőröndök
● rönk (log) => rönkök
Homework
● ágy (bed)
● tök (pumpkin)
● öltöny (suit)
● hal (fish)
● vaj (butter)
● bűn (sin)
Objects
The object is the thing that the subject of the
sentence acts upon.
I drive a car.
I eat an apple every day.
I'm buying a house.
Object Suffixes
● In Hungarian a 't' must be added to the object of
the sentence.
You may also need a linking vowel.
● There are five common endings:
-t, -at, -ot, -et, -öt
-t (first case)
● Add to words ending in vowels. Lengthen the
final vowel if it's short.
alma (apple) => almát
autó (car) => autót
vese (kidney) => vesét
cipő (shoe) => cipőt
-t (second case)
● Add to words ending in s, sz or r.
bőr (skin) => bőrt
sör (beer) => sört
kés (knife) => kést
kolbász (sausage) => kolbászt
hús (meat) => húst
-et (first case)
● After words ending in cs, t, ty, gy, k or m
kert (garden) => kertet
hegy (hill / mountain) => hegyet
szék (chair) => széket
-et (second case)
● After words ending in a double consonant and
containing front vowels.
meggy (sour cherry) => meggyet
több (more) => többet
csekk (bank cheque) => csekket
-ot
● Usually added to words with back or mixed
vowels
pók (spider) => pókot
kabát (coat) => kabátot
virág (flower) => virágot
vonat (tram) => vonatot
-at
● Single-vowel words containing a or á and
ending in a consonant
agy (brain) => agyat
ágy (bed) => ágyat
máj (liver) => májat
vár (castle) => várat
-öt
● Multiple-vowel words containing front rounded
vowels (ö, ő, ü, ű)
bőrönd (suitcase) => bőröndöt
könyök (elbow) => könyököt
főnök (boss) => főnököt
köröm (nail) => körmöt (slightly irregular)
Irregular Objects
● Many words are irregular, so try to learn the
object when you learn the word. e.g. fagyi (icecream)
=> fagyit (“i” does not get lengthened)
● If the last vowel is long, often it will get
shortened: víz (water) => vizet, kerék (wheel)
=> kereket, út (road) => utat
● Single-vowel words ending in a vowel often get
a “v” added and the vowel may be shortened:
kő (stone) => követ, ló (horse) - lovat
Homework
Form the objective version of each of the
following words:
● város (town)
● ország (country)
● kincs (treasure)
● tál (bowl)
● öröm (happiness)
● fa (tree)