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

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

sz – 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

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)

– 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

English-Hungarian Thematic Dictionary

I finally got to the end of writing this dictionary for you. What you’ll find in this 5,38 MB pdf doc is thematically arranged Hungarian words. I hope it’ll help you continue the endless effort you’ve put in your studies so far. 🙂

So here it is. I wish you a good knowledge of Hungarian words for Christmas! 🙂 If there’s any problem with the download, let me know.

English-Hungarian Thematic Dictionary