Everyday Hungarian
This section covers what you need on day one in Hungary: saying numbers and times, reading dates, addressing people politely, asking questions and saying no. Each topic is short on theory and long on the forms people actually use.
Quick reference
| You want to say | Hungarian | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| It is 2:30. | Fél három van. | Telling time |
| on 15 March | március 15-én | Dates |
| two coffees | két kávé | Numbers |
| Could you help me? (formal) | Tudna segíteni? | Formal and informal you |
| There is no bread. | Nincs kenyér. | Van and nincs |
| Nobody came. | Senki sem jött. | Negation |
All everyday Hungarian guides
- Beginner
Hungarian numbers
Count in Hungarian from zero to a billion: két vs kettő, the one-word and hyphen spelling rule, ordinals, fractions, decimals and numbers with suffixes.
- Beginner
Telling the time in Hungarian
How to tell the time in Hungarian: Hány óra van?, negyed, fél and háromnegyed pointing to the next hour, múlt and múlva, the 24-hour clock and -kor.
- Beginner
Dates, days and months in Hungarian
Days and months in Hungarian, the year-month-day date format, how to say "on the 27th" (27-én, 1-jén, 2-án), seasons, national holidays and name days.
- Beginner
Formal and informal "you" in Hungarian
Te or Ön? How tegeződés and magázás work in Hungarian, with 3rd-person verb forms, tessék and tetszik, Csókolom, who to address how, and how to switch to te.
- Beginner
Hungarian names and titles
Why Hungarians put the family name first, what -né means in married names, how to use úr, néni, bácsi and doktor úr, common nicknames, and suffixes on names.
- Beginner
Asking questions in Hungarian
How to ask questions in Hungarian: the question words (ki, mi, hol, hová, mikor, hány, melyik), yes/no intonation, the -e particle, word order and answers.
- Beginner
Negation in Hungarian: nem, ne, sem
How negation works in Hungarian: nem vs ne, sem and sincs, obligatory double negation (Senki sem jött), nincs instead of nem van, and prefix movement.
- Beginner
The verb "to be": van, nincs, lesz
How the Hungarian verb lenni works: van and vannak, when van is dropped (Péter tanár), nincs, "there is", "to have" (Van egy kutyám), location, and lesz.
- Intermediate
Common Hungarian mistakes
The Hungarian mistakes English speakers make most, in wrong-to-right tables: conjugation, cases, plurals, word order, van and nincs, spelling, and social slips.
Frequently asked questions
Should I use te or Ön with Hungarians?
Use te with friends, family, children and most people your age in informal settings; use Ön (with 3rd person verbs) with strangers, officials and older people until they offer te.
Why do Hungarians put the family name first?
Hungarian name order is family name followed by given name, like Nagy János. It follows the general Hungarian pattern of placing the modifier before what it modifies.