Little things regarding translation

TO BE … TO = HUNGARIAN ADVERBS OF MANNER

Hungarian likes to use adverbs of manner when English prefers constructions with ’to’:

I’m proud to present our new products.
Büszkén mutatom be az új termékeinket.

I’m happy to participate on this event.
Boldogan veszek részt ezen az eseményen.

I’m very disappointed to hear that you’re leaving so soon.
Igen csalódottan hallom, hogy ilyen korán távozol.

That’s not always the case, though. You can also say:

Büszke vagyok, hogy bemutathatom az új termékeinket.
Boldog vagyok, hogy részt vehetek ezen az eseményen.
Csalódott vagyok, hogy ilyen korán távozol.

Note! In the ’hogy’ sentences we usually attach -hat, -het (can, may) to the verb as a way of politeness. That is true especially when I can/may/am allowed to do something.

JÓL not always WELL

The one to one meaning of ’jól’ is ’well’.

Jól érzi magát. – He feels well.

Jól haladnak a tanulmányai.
Her studies are going well.

However ’jól’ can also be used to emphasize something. In that case, you cannot translate the Hungarian sentence literally.

Jól ellátta a baját.
He gave him a good beating.

Jól megnézte magának azt az üzletet.
She got a good look at that shop.

Ezt jól megcsináltad! Mi ütött beléd?
You’ve really done it now! What’s gotten into you?

HELLYEL-KÖZZEL and HÉBE-HÓBA

The meaning for ’hellyel-közzel’ is ’sporadically, once in a while’. ’Hébe-hóba’ also means ’once in a while, once in a blue moon’. But don’t be afraid of what the dictionary says, translate the sentence in English the way you would say it as a native English speaker.

Hellyel-közzel el tudom mondani, amit megtanultam.
I can tell you by and large what I’ve learned.

Hébe-hóba nem árt kicsit szórakozni.
It doesn’t hurt to have fun every now and then.

PONT = TO CHOOSE

The word ’pont’ as a noun means ’point, dot; full stop’. As an adverb it can mean ’exactly, right’. Sometimes the English verb ’to choose’ is a great help to translate this word.

Tíz pontot kap a Griffendél.
Gryffindor gets ten points. (Ten points to Gryffindor)

Rajzolj pontokat a papírra.
Draw some dots on the paper.

Pont is kell a mondat végére.
You need to put a full stop at the end of the sentence.

Pont jókor érkezett a segítség.
Help arrived just in the nick of time.

Pont ezt mondták az előadáson is.
That’s exactly what they said at the lecture.

Annyiféleképpen megoldhattad volna a problémát, te meg pont a mostoha apádhoz mész segítségért?
You could’ve solved the problem in so many ways, and you choose to go to your step-father for help?

Similar Words With Different Meanings

There are words in every language that look/sound almost or entirely the same, but you should be careful with the meaning of such words.

szék – chair; it is pronounced similarly to sake
the Hungarian word for sake is kedv

kép – picture; it is pronounced similarly to cape
the Hungarian word for cape is köpeny

csík – stripe; it is pronounced similarly to cheek
the Hungarian word for cheek is orca

puszi – kiss on the cheek; it is pronounced similarly to pussy
the Hungarian word for pussy is cica; (and also punci > children’s word for vagina)

bél – bowels; it is pronounced similarly to bale
the Hungarian word for bale is balszerencse; csomag

szél – wind; it is pronounced similarly to sale
the Hungarian word for sale is eladás

kéj – lust, sensual pleasure; it is pronounced similarly to the letter K > kay

mer – to dare; it is pronounced similarly to mare
the Hungarian word for mare is kanca

tél – winter; it is pronounced similarly to tale
the Hungarian word for tale is mese

szól – to inform, to tell; it is pronounced similarly to soul
the Hungarian word for soul is lélek

bór – boron; it is pronounced similarly to bore
the Hungarian word for bore is furat; unalmas ember

csók – kiss; it is pronounced similarly to choke
the Hungarian word for choke is fuldoklás

pók – spider; it is pronounced similarly to poke
the Hungarian word for poke is bökés

ló – horse; it is pronounced similarly to low
the Hungarian word for low is alacsony

kész – ready; it is pronounced similarly to case
the Hungarian word for case is eset

méz – honey; it is pronounced similarly to maze
the Hungarian word for maze is útvesztő, labirintus

réz – copper; it is pronounced similarly to raise
the Hungarian word for raise is emelés

mély – deep; it is pronounced similarly to may; May
the Hungarian word for may is lehet and for May is május

dór – Dorian, Doric; it is pronounced similarly to door
the Hungarian word for door is ajtó

part – shore; it is pronounced similarly to part
the Hungarian word for part is rész

fog – tooth; it is pronounced similarly to fog
the Hungarian word for fog is köd

sok – much, many; it is pronounced similarly to shock
the Hungarian word for schok is sokk with double k

héj – shell; it is pronounced similarly to hay
the Hungarian word for hay is széna

gép – machine; it is pronounced similarly to gape
the Hungarian word for gape is ásítás

rét – meadow; it is pronounced similarly to rate
the Hungarian word for rate is arány

lék – leak, ice-hole; it is pronounced similarly to lake
the Hungarian word for lake is tó

nép – folk, a people; it is pronounced similarly to nape
the Hungarian word for nape is tarkó

toll – pen; it is pronounced similarly to toll
the Hungarian word for toll is vám (customs duty); harangszó (sound of bell)

só – salt; it is pronounced similarly to show
the Hungarian word for show is műsor; bemutatás; kiállítás

buli – party; it is pronounced similarly to bully
the Hungarian word for bully is szájhős

túl – over there; it is pronounced similarly to tool
the Hungarian word for tool is szerszám

szed – to gather, to collect, to pluck; it is pronounced similarly to sad
the Hungarian word for sad is szomorú

kuki – willy (children’s word for penis); it is pronounced similarly to cookie
the Hungarian word for cookie is keksz

gót – Gothic; it is pronounced similarly to goat
the Hungarian word for goat is kecske

szent – saint, holy; it is pronounced similarly to scent
the Hungarian word for scent is illat

Body Parts with Possessive Suffixes

In the https://myhunlang.com/2010/07/13/vocabulary-body-parts-part-1/ entry, we have talked about the idea of two body parts considered one. Usually, it is enough to say a body part in singular because you need both legs, arms, etc. to function adequately as a human being. So you often hear ‘Fáj a lábam = My leg hurts‘ even if both legs hurt.

However, this is not a rule carved in stone. Obviously, you can say ‘Fájnak a lábaim = My legs hurt‘ just as well.

Due to the habit of thinking in singular, we say fél-half instead of one-egy in the examples below.

Fél szememre vak vagyok – I‘m blind in one eye
Fél fülemre süket vagyok – I‘m deaf in one ear
Fáj a jobb/ball kezem – My right/left hand hurt

NOTE! The body parts always need the possessive suffixes unlike in the English sentence

Let‘s see the declination of some body parts with the possessive suffixes. The rules for POSSESSIVE SUFFIXES can be found here

Possession – Possessive Case

You already know that if a noun takes the plural -OK, it also has the O link vowel in possessive forms and if it takes -AK, it needs an A link vowel: orrok – noses, orrom – my nose; vállak – shoulders, vállam – my shoulder. It is important to remember that for front-vowel words as well: -EK > E testek – bodies, testem – my body; -ÖK > Ö köldökök – navels ; köldököm – my navel. Where necessary, I give you the plural form of subjective case in parenthesis (-AK).

R E G U L A R   W O R D S

TEST – BODY

sing: testem, tested, teste, testünk, testetek, testük
plur: testeim, testeid, testei, testeink, testeitek, testeik

FEJ – HEAD

sing: fejem, fejed, feje, fejünk, fejetek, fejük
plur: fejeim, fejeid, fejei, fejeink, fejeitek, fejeik

SZEM – EYES

sing: szemem, szemed, szeme, szemünk, szemetek, szemük
plur: szemeim, szemeid, szemei, szemeink, szemeitek, szemeik

FÜL – EAR

sing: fülem, füled, füle, fülünk, fületek, fülük
plur: füleim, füleid, fülei, füleink, füleitek, füleik

ARC – FACE

sing: arcom, arcod, arca, arcunk, arcotok, arcuk
plur: arcaim, arcaid, arcai, arcaink, arcaitok, arcaik

ORR – NOSE

sing: orrom, orrod, orra, orrunk, orrotok, orruk
plur: orraim, orraid, orrai, orraink, orraitok, orraik

SZEMÖLDÖK – EYEBROWS

sing: szemöldököm, szemöldököd, szemöldöke, szemöldökünk, szemöldökötök, szemöldökük
plur: szemöldökeim, szemöldökeid, szemöldökei, szemöldökeink, szemöldökeitek, szemöldökeik

SZEMPILLA – EYELASHES (A in PILLA becomes Á)

sing: szempillám, szempillád, szempillája, szempillánk, szempillátok, szempillájuk
plur: szempilláim, szempilláid, szempillái, szempilláink, szempilláitok, szempilláik

Other bodyparts with regular declination are: homlok forehead, tarkó nape, mell breasts, mellkas (-ok) chest, ágyék groin, here testicle, szőrzet hair (on face and body), térd knees, comb thighs, lábfej feet, csukló wrist, könyök elbow, lép spleen, epe bile, garat gullet, lapocka shoulder-blade, gerinc spine, nyelv tongue, szájpadlás palate, hüvely vagina, etc.

Sometimes the plural forms don‘t really make any sense like those with single bodyparts, nonetheless I will give you those forms underlined, as well.

 

W O R D S  W I T H  -A  I N S T E A D  O F  -O  L I N K  V O W E L

 

HAJ – HAIR (ON HEAD)

sing: hajam, hajad, haja, hajunk, hajatok, hajuk
plur: hajaim, hajaid, hajai, hajaink, hajaitok, hajaik

>Haj only refers to the hair on your head and remains singular:
Megfésülöm a hajam. – I’ll comb my hair.

>Szőr refers to any other body part than your head and remains singular:
Leperzseltem a szőrt a karomról. – I’ve burnt the hair from my arm.
>Szőrzet puts more emphasis on hair as a whole in: arcszőrzet – facial hair, testszőrzet – body hair

VÁLL – SHOULDER

sing: vállam, vállad, válla, vállunk, vállatok, válluk
plur: vállaim, vállaid, vállai, vállaink, vállaitok, vállaik

ÁLL – JAW

sing: állam, állad, álla, állunk, állatok, álluk
plur: állaim, állaid, állai, állaink, állaitok, állaik

NYAK – NECK

sing: nyakam, nyakad, nyaka, nyakunk, nyakatok, nyakuk
plur: nyakaim, nyakaid, nyakai, nyakaink, nyakaitok, nyakaik

HAS – BELLY

sing: hasam, hasad, hasa, hasunk, hasatok, hasuk
plur: hasaim, hasaid, hasai, hasaink, hasaitok, hasaik

HÁT – BACK

sing: hátam, hátad, háta, hátunk, hátatok, hátuk
plur: hátaim, hátaid, hátai, hátaink, hátaitok, hátaik

UJJ – FINGER (also LÁBUJJ – TOE)

sing: ujjam, ujjad, ujja, ujjunk, ujjatok, ujjuk
plur: ujjaim, ujjaid, ujjai, ujjaink, ujjaitok, ujjaik

HÓNALJ – ARMPIT

sing: hónaljam, hónaljad, hónalja, hónaljunk, hónaljatok, hónaljuk
plur: hónaljaim, hónaljaid, hónaljai, hónaljaink, hónaljaitok, hónaljaik

MÁJ – LIVER

sing: májam, májad, mája, májunk, májatok, májuk
plur: májaim, májaid, májai, májaink, májaitok, májaik

FOG – TOOTH

sing: fogam, fogad, foga, fogunk, fogatok, foguk
plur: fogaim, fogaid, fogai, fogaink, fogaitok, fogaik

TALP – SOLE

sing: talpam, talpad, talpa, talpunk, talpatok, talpuk
plur: talpaim, talpaid, talpai, talpaink, talpaitok, talpaik

 

E X C E P T I O N

SZÁJ – MOUTH (-AK)

sing: szám, szád, szája, szánk, szátok, szájuk
plur: szájaim, szájaid, szájai, szájaink, szájaitok, szájaik

It loses the J at the end in all numbers but the 3rd PS and 3rd PP in singular form. The plural forms make absolutely no sense, of course. We have one mouth, but those would be the forms if we had more than one mouth. 🙂

 

D R O P – V O W E L  W O R D S

KÖRÖM – NAIL

sing: körmöm, körmöd, körme, körmünk, körmötök, körmük
plur: körmeim, körmeid, körmei, körmeink, körmeitek, körmeik

AJAK – LIP (-AK)

sing: ajkam, ajkad, ajka, ajkunk, ajkatok, ajkuk
plur: ajkaim, ajkaid, ajkai, ajkaink, ajkaitok, ajkaik
>This word is a perfectly good example for the unnecessary plural form because obviously your lips are made of two parts, so you can just say: Az ajkam meg van duzzadva. – My lips are swollen.

TOROK – THROAT
sing: torkom, torkod, torka, torkunk, torkotok, torkuk
plur: torkaim, torkaid, torkai, torkaink, torkaitok, torkaik

GYOMOR – STOMACH

sing: gyomrom, gyomrod, gyomra, gyomrunk, gyomrotok, gyomruk
plur: gyomraim, gyomraid, gyomrai, gyomraink, gyomraitok, gyomraik

SAROK – HEEL (-AK)

sing: sarkam, sarkad, sarka, sarkunk, sarkatok, sarkuk
plur: sarkaim, sarkaid, sarkai, sarkaink, sarkaitok, sarkaik

 

W O R D S   W I T H   V O W E L S   S H O R T E N E D

KÉZ – HAND

sing: kezem, kezed, keze, kezünk, kezetek, kezük
plur: kezeim, kezeid, kezei, kezeink, kezeitek, kezeik

DERÉK – WAIST (-AK)

sing: derekam, derekad, dereka, derekunk, derekatok, derekuk
plur: derekaim, derekaid, derekai, derekaink, derekaitok, derekaik

FENÉK – BOTTOM

sing: fenekem, feneked, feneke, fenekünk, feneketek, fenekük
plur: fenekeim, fenekeid, fenekei, fenekeink, fenekeitek, fenekeik

SZÍV – HEART

sing: szivem, szived, szive, szivünk, szivetek, szivük
plur: sziveim, sziveid, szivei, sziveink, sziveitek, sziveik

> However, you can also see the forms with long í: szívem, szíved…It is your choice.

BÉL – BOWELS

sing: belem, beled, bele, belünk, beletek, belük
plur: beleim, beleid, belei, beleink, beletiek, beleik

How to Pronounce Older Hungarian Family Names

In the following link we have already covered some of the challenges our Hungarian ancestors met after the Latin alphabet had been introduced in their lives:

https://myhunlang.com/2017/01/14/the-hungarian-alphabet-rovasiras/

Now we will take a look at the pronunciation of older family names, specifically those of some Hungarian poets, doctors, writers. Their profession is not really important now. We are more interested in how to say their names.

First you see the full name, then the correct pronunciation as it should be written if only we had stuck with the original Hungarian alphabet (mistakenly called runic writing!).

1. It was very common that a Y was written at the end of the family name instead of an I, but you pronounce it as Hungarian I, like English I in HIT. It was also common that the same family name was written with Y or I due to the confusion of how to apply the Latin alphabet to the Hungarian sounds.

Acsády Károly – Acsádi
Acsádi Rozália
Ady Endre – Adi
Ambrózy Ágoston – Ambrózi

Béki István
Béky-Halász Iván – Béki

Mezei András
Mezei Balázs
Mezey József – Mezei
Mezey Katalin – Mezei

Note that the GY, LY, NY, TY sounds at the end of the names were said in the same way as today with the exception of Áprily Lajos under group 6.

2. About a hundred years ago the C was still written as CZ. The sound in CATS.

Aczél Géza – Acél
Aczél János – Acél
Oravecz Imre – Oravec
Boncza Berta – Bonca
Czuczor Gergely – Cucor
Herczeg László Tibor – Herceg

3. Sometimes an H was added, but the pronunciation of the sound did not change. GH is pronounced as G in GET. TH is simple T.

Ágh István – Ág
Apáthy Géza – Apáti
Bartha István – Barta
Báthori István – Bátori

The most typical family names for this phenomenon are Balogh, Horváth, Németh and Tóth:

Balogh Attila – Balog
Balogh Gyula – Balog
Balogh János – Balog
Balogh József – Balog
Balogh László – Balog

Horváth Attila – Horvát
Horváth Béla – Horvát
Horváth Benji – Horvát (Benji=Bendzsi)
Horváth Elemér – Horvát

Németh Dezső – Német
Németh Erzsébet – Német
Németh György – Német
Németh István Péter – Német

Tóth Árpád – Tót
Tóth Bálint – Tót
Tóth Endre – Tót

4. Many times the consonants were doubled, however they were pronounced as one simple consonant, and then the usual Y was added. Some names where combinations like that were applied are:

Andrássy Béla – Andrási
Andrássy Lajos – Andrási
Antalffy Endre – Antalfi
Ásguthy Erzsébet – Ásguti
Barkóczy Borbála – Barkóci
Básthy József – Básti
Beniczky Emil – Benicki
Kazinczy Ferenc – Kazinci

5. The name of Áprily Lajos is pronounced as Áprili, not as LY in LYUK (=English Y).

6. The name of Babits Mihály is pronounced as Babics. TS was the general combination for the sound we write with CS nowadays for the English CH in CHANGE. The same goes for:

Batsányi János – Baccsányi
Csokits János – Csokics
> written in two different ways in the same name: CS and TS

Kovács Márk János
Kovács Péter
Kováts József – Kovács
Kováts Tamás – Kovács

CH was also used to write the CS sound: Jankovich Ferenc – Jankovics

7. The name of Dessewffy József is pronounced as Dezsőfi.

8. Sometimes the Á vowel like the English I in SIGH was written like AÁ:

Gaál Imre – Gál
Laár András – Lár

9. The family name Weöres was also written normally as Vörös:

Vörös István
Weöres Sándor – Vörös

Újévi köszöntő

 

Székely újévi köszöntő Szekler New Year’s Eve Toast
Adjon Isten minden szépet,
Irigyeknek békességet,
Adjon Isten minden jót,
Hazug szájba igaz szót.

Hontalannak menedéket,
Éhezőknek eleséget,
Tollat író kezébe,
Pulyát asszony ölébe.

Legényeknek feleséget,
Szegényeknek nyereséget,
Áfonyát a havasra,
Pisztrángot a patakba.

Istenhitet a pogánynak,
Hű szeretőt a leánynak,
Szép időben jó vetést,
Szomorúaknak feledést.

Sarkvidékre hideg telet,
Az árváknak jó kenyeret,
Fegyvereknek nyugalmat,
Szelíd szónak hatalmat.

Betegeknek egészséget,
Fuldoklóknak reménységet,
Vitorlának jó szelet,
Napfényből is öleget.

Jó lövést az ordasokra,
Nyíló ajtót vaskapukra,
Vándoroknak fogadót,
Isten adjon minden jót!

 May God give you all the best,
Peace to the envious,
May God give you all the good,
True word to the liar’s mouth.

Shelter to the homeless,
Food to the hungry,
Pen in the writer’s hand,
Child in the woman’s lap.

Wives to the bachelors,
Profit to the poor,
Blueberries on the snowy mountains,
Trout into the rivers.

Faith to the heathens,
Faithful lover to the maidens,
A good sowing in nice weather,
Oblivion to the sad.

Cold winter on the poles,
Tasteful bread to the orphans,
Quietness to the weapons,
Power to the gentle words.

Health to the ill,
Hope to those drowning,
A good wind to the sail,
Enough sunlight.

A good shot on the wolves,
Opening doors on the iron gates,
Inns to the wanderers,
May God give you all the good!

 

Ady Endre – Harang csendül

Karácsony (Harang csendül)
Christmas (Church Bells Chiming)

I.

Harang csendül,
Ének zendül,
Messze zsong a hálaének,
Az én kedves kis falumban
Karácsonykor
Magába száll minden lélek.

Minden ember
Szeretettel
Borul földre imádkozni,
Az én kedves kis falumba
A Messiás
Boldogságot szokott hozni.

A templomba
Hosszú sorba
Indulnak el ifjak, vének,
Az én kedves kis falumban
Hálát adnak
A magasság Istenének.

Mintha itt lenn
A nagy Isten
Szent kegyelme súgna, szállna,
Az én kedves, kis falumban
Minden szívben
Csak szeretet lakik máma.

II.

Bántja lelkem a nagy város
Durva zaja,
De jó volna ünnepelni
Odahaza.
De jó volna tiszta szívből
– Úgy mint régen –
Fohászkodni,
De jó volna megnyugodni.

De jó volna mindent, mindent
Elfeledni,
De jó volna játszadozó
Gyermek lenni.
Igaz hittel, gyermek szívvel
A világgal
Kibékülni,
Szeretetben üdvözülni.

III.

Ha ez a szép rege
Igaz hitté válna,
Óh, de nagy boldogság
Szállna a világra.
És a gyarló ember
Ember lenne újra,
Talizmánja lenne
A szomorú útra.

Golgota nem volna
Ez a földi élet,
Egy erő hatná át
A nagy mindenséget,
Nem volna más vallás,
Nem volna csak ennyi:
Imádni az Istent

És egymást szeretni…
Karácsonyi rege
Ha valóra válna,
Igazi boldogság
Szállna a világra…

Translation from
“Feltöltő P. T. Az idézet forrása http://mek.niif.hu
Feltöltő N.Ullrich Katalin
Az idézet forrása N. U. K.

I.

Church bells chiming,
Carols in the air,
Thanksgiving hymns sung all around,
Home in my beloved village
At Christmas time
All get spiritual, more devout.

All the people
With love deeper,
Fall on their knees and keep praying,
In my beloved little village
The Messiah
Would always bring us rejoicing.

Towards the church
In long queues march
The young and the old together,
In my beloved little village
With thankful prayers
To God, our Lord, the holy father.

As if down here,
God was so near,
His sacred grace would whisper, fly,
In my beloved little village
All the people’s hearts
Are filled with pure love day and night.

II.

My mind’s disturbed by the city’s
Rough and loud noise,
I wish I could but celebrate
Back there at home.
I wish I could with all my heart
– Like so long ago –
Say prayers profound,
I wish I could calm down.

I wish I could forget it all,
All of it really,
I wish I could be child again
Playing freely.
With true faith, with heart of a child
Make my peace with
The whole wide world,
In loving salvation well deserved.

III.

If this wonder legend
Could now become true faith,
Oh, how great happiness
Could come to the earth again.
And fallible, weak humans
Would be humans one day,
They would all have this charm
For the long, sorrowful way.

No Calvary would this
Earthly life be for us,
A single power would imbue
The vast universe thus,
No other religion,
Nothing, but merely this:
Adore God Almighty,

In loving others persist…
Christmas legend, if it
Really could come true,
Perfect, pure happiness
Would be in the world, too…

 

Deceiving Consonant Geminations

It is just a quick note. We’ve talked about consonant gemination. What it means is that whenever you see two identical consonants, you double the length of the pronunciation.

However, there are certain words you should pay attention to. Such words look like they go under this category, but they really don‘t.

1. Words beginning with GY preceded by the co-verb MEG:

meg|gyullad (to catch fire)

meg|gyújt (to light)

meg|gyón (to confess)

meg|gyászol (to mourn)

meg|gyúr (to knead)

meg|gyaláz (to outrage, to abuse)

etc.

The G in MEG and the GY in such verbs are pronounced separately, NOT LIKE A DOUBLE GGY!

 

2. The demonstrative pronouns EZ (this), AZ (that) when coupled with the suffix –HEZ, -HOZ:

ez + -hez = ehhez (to this)

az + -hoz = ahhoz (to that)

This is seemingly a consonant gemination, but it is really assimilation in writing. Both would require the consonants to be pronounced double as long, but this is an exception. That double H is pronounced as one consonant: ehez, ahoz.

 

3. Words ending in two consonants followed by -VAL, -VEL:

pénz + -vel = pénzzel (with money)

lánc + -val = lánccal (with chain)

kard + -val = karddal (with sword)

etc.

Due to assimilation in writing the V in -VAL, -VEL becomes the same as the last consonant in the word this suffix is attached to. It would be impossible to say those zz, cc, dd double as long, so we just say them as: pénzel, láncal, kardal.

Hungarian Compound-Words

When it comes to putting words together, you can observe that the various nations think differently about certain aspects of an object or an action. For a Hungarian one feature is more important than it is for other nations, and the opposite of it is also true.

Note that the first member of a Hungarian compound-word is sometimes turned into an adjective, which is not always the case in English.

Hungarian Word – English Equivalent > Literal Translation

  1. kézfej – back of the hand > kéz+fej = hand+head
  2. lábfej – foot >láb+fej = foot+head
  3. szemüveg – a pair of glasses > szem+üveg = eye+glass
  4. tollbamondás – dictation > tollba+mondás = into pen+saying
  5. ékszer – jewel > ék+szer = ornament/decoration+tool
  6. mosószer – detergent > mosó+szer=washing+chemical
  7. gyógyszer – medicine > gyógy+szer = curing+chemical
  8. rendőr – police officer > rend+őr = order+guard
  9. tűzoltó – fireman > tűz+oltó = fire+extinguisher
    >>this word can mean the fireman and the tool to put out the fire with
  10. gördeszka – skateboard > gör-+deszka = rolling+board
  11. ágynemű – bed linen > ágy+nemű = bed-kind
    >>nemű means sort of, belonging to, -kind, -type
  12. ágytál – bedpan > ágy+tál = bed+bowl
  13. kémcső – test tube > kém+cső = spying/watching+tube
  14. távcső – telescope > táv+cső = distance/remote+tube
  15. hőkép – infrared image > hő+kép = heat+image
  16. kézfogás – handshake > kéz+fogás = hand+grip
  17. épületegyüttes – a block of buildings > épület+együttes = building+group
  18. zenekar – orchestra > zene+kar = music+choir
  19. kukásautó – garbage truck > kukás+autó = garbage+car
  20. számítógép – computer > számító+gép = computing+machine
  21. repülőgép – airplane > repülő+gép = flying+machine
  22. nyaklánc – necklace > nyak+lánc = neck+chain
  23. lelkiismeret – conscience > lelki+ismeret = soul+knowledge
  24. hűtőszekrény – refrigerator >hűtő+szekrény = cooling+cupboard
    >>or cooling wardrobe/closet. You decide! 🙂
  25. ablaktörlő – windscreen wiper > ablak+törlő = window+wiper
  26. visszapillantó tükör – rear-view mirror > visszapillantó+tükör = backglancing+mirror
  27. izomkolosszus – jock > izom+kolosszus = muscle+giant
  28. háromajtós szekrény – beefy/muscular man > háromajtós+szekrény = triple-door+wardrobe 🙂
  29. égbolt – firmament > ég+bolt = sky+arch
  30. tűlevél – pine needle > tű+levél = needle+leaf
  31. nyakkendő – necktie > nyak+kendő = neck+cloth
  32. hüvelykujj – thumb, big toe > hüvelyk+ujj = inch+finger
  33. éjjeli szekrény – bedside table > éjjeli szekrény = night closet
  34. személyi igazolvány – identity card > személyi igazolvány = personal certificate
    >>igaz – true/real; igazol – to identify, to certify; igazolvány – certificate
  35. szempilla – eyelashes > szem+pilla = eye+glancer
    >>the verb pillant (to blink) comes from pilla
  36. tépőzár – velcro > tépő+zár = tearing+lock
  37. gombostű – pin > gombos+tű = button+needle
  38. esernyő – umbrella > esó+ernyő = rain+shade
    >>eső is shortened as ‘es’ for easier pronunciation
  39. ejtőernyő – parachute > ejtő+ernyő = dropping+umbrella
    >>ernyő itself can mean umbrella, screen, shade
  40. zuhanyrózsa – shower head > zuhany+rózsa = shower+rose
    >>due to the form of the shower head
  41. melltartó – bra > mell+tartó = breast+holder
  42. lábujj – toe > láb+ujj = foot+finger
  43. pénztárca – purse, wallet > pénz+tárca = money+holder/case
  44. belváros – downtown > bel+város = inner+town
    >>külváros – suburb >kül+város = outer+town
  45. röppálya – trajectory > röp+pálya = flying+path
    >>röp is the root for repül, röpül – to fly
  46. úszógumi – rubber ring > úszó+gumi = swimming+rubber
  47. továbbképző tanfolyam – refresher course > továbbképző+tanfolyam = further training+course
  48. fényszóró – search light, headlights > fény+szóró = light+spreader/scatterer
  49. vagyontárgy – property, asset > vagyon+tárgy = fortune/property object
  50. államcsíny – coup d’etát > állam+csíny = state+trick/prank

There are also some peculiar words that cannot be translated literally:

lábbeli – footwear > láb+-beli = belonging to foot
>>the suffix -beli is kind of equivalent to ‘belonging to something’

fülbevaló – ear ring > fülbe+való = tool belonging into ear
>>való also refers to ‘belonging’ just as -beli, but it is not a suffix

fehérnemű – underwear > fehér+nemű = a white kind of clothing
>>the word ‘nem’ has a couple of meanings: gender; no; sort of
(see ágynemű above)

 

How to use the conjunction ‘hogy’?

The conjunction ‘hogy’ is not to be confused with the interrogative pronoun ‘Hogy‘. The first means ‘that‘, the latter is equivalent to ‘How‘.

that = hogy

How? = Hogy? Hogyan?

English likes to omit ‘that‘ even if no interrogative pronoun is present: They thought he was injured. It always omits it when an interrogative pronoun is inserted: Whisper in my ears what your secret is.

In Hungarian the use of ‘hogy‘ has become more and more frequent over the last decades, but this process has already begun in the Habsburg era. The cumbersome German sentence structures had an influence on the Hungarian language. People thought it was ”cool” to imitate the way of speaking which could be heard from the Austrians every day.

The very nature of our language is that it does not like to plunge into circumstantial sentence construction. It can, but ”it does not really like it”.

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To speak Hungarian more fluidly, you can omit ‘hogy‘ when the subordinate clause begins with an interrogative pronoun. (By the way, in reality, Hungarian has no subordinate clause, only secondary clause.)

GOOD:
Nem tudtam, hogy mit tegyek.
I didn’t know what to do.
BETTER:
Nem tudtam, mit tegyek.
I didn’t know what to do.

GOOD:
Kíváncsiak voltunk, hogy miért fordultál ellenünk.
We were curious why you’ve turned against us.
BETTER:
Kíváncsiak voltunk, miért fordultál ellenünk.
We were curious why you’ve turned against us.

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When it comes the ‘How-Hogy‘, there is no Good and Better solution, only Right or Wrong. In this case it is a must that we omit the conjunction ‘hogy‘.

WRONG:
Áruld el, hogy hogy tudtad meg.
Tell me how you’ve learned it.
RIGHT:
Áruld el, hogy tudtad meg.
Tell me how you’ve learned it.

A better solution of the right solution is using the emphasized version of ‘Hogy‘, which is ‘Hogyan‘.

Áruld el, hogyan tudtad meg. – Tell me how you’ve learned it.

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More examples with the Better solution:

Tudja, mit akar, és mindig el is éri a célját.
He knows what he wants and he always achieves his goal.

Senki nem érti, miért követte el a gyilkosságot.
Nobody understands why he has committed murder.

Hívtam és végre elmondta, mikor érkezik a vonattal.
I called her and she finally told me when her train will arrive.

Hallottam a zajt, de el sem tudtam képzelni, ki járkálhatott a kertemben tegnap este.
I heard the noise, but I couldn’t possibly imagine who was walking around in my garden last night.

A rendőr arra kért, mondjam el, hány betörőt láttam ma reggel.
The police officer asked me to tell him how many burglers I have seen this morning.

Ki tudja, merre van a posta?
Who knows where the post-office is?

With verbs expressing opinion, belief it is your choice to use ‘hogy’ regardless whether the sentence has a question word or not.

Gondolom, (hogy) jól mulattál a partin.
I guess you had fun at the party.

Azt hiszitek, (hogy) nem ismerem a szánalmas trükkjeiteket?
Do you think I don’t know your pitiful tricks?

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With verbs that express will, desire we put ‘hogy‘ in the subordinate clause.

Azt akarom, hogy többet ne viselkedj így.
I don’t want you to behave like that ever again.
Literally: I want that you don’t behave like that ever again.

A delegáció úgy óhajtja, hogy a tárgyalás máris elkezdődjön.
The delegation wishes that the negotiations begin right now.

Senki nem kívánhatja, hogy ez még egyszer megtörténjen.
Nobody can possibly wish that this happen once again.

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Under any other circumstances, we do put ‘hogy’ in the sentence. In the following sentence you can also see that English has different methods to express the Hungarian ‘hogy‘.

Hallottad, hogy a barátod kórházba került?
Have you heard that your friend was taken to hospital?

Ki mondta, hogy sehol egy rendőr, amikor szükség van rá?
Who said (that) there is no cop around when you need one?

Az államügyész azt állítja, hogy nem tudott a megvesztegetésről.
The district attorney claims not to have known about the corruption.