Hungarian Phrases for Travel

Words

13

Where

Everywhere

Level

Easy

How do you say hello in Hungarian? The everyday, friendly word is Szia (SEE-ah). To a group, it becomes Sziasztok (SEE-ahs-tok). Szia also works as goodbye, so you can use it both when you arrive and when you leave.

In shops, hotels and restaurants, the polite greeting is Jó napot kívánok (yoh NAH-pot KEE-vah-nok), often shortened to Jó napot; word for word it means "I wish you a good day".

Good morning is Jó reggelt, good evening Jó estét, and good night, when you leave late or go to bed, Jó éjszakát. To ask how are you in Hungarian, say Hogy vagy? (hodge vodge) to a friend and Hogy van? to someone you do not know. Köszönöm, jól means fine, thank you. The formal goodbye is Viszontlátásra; the short one is Viszlát.

Words

11

Where

Everywhere

Level

Easy

Thank you in Hungarian is Köszönöm (KUH-suh-nuhm); thank you very much is Köszönöm szépen (KUH-suh-nuhm SAY-pen). The sz is pronounced like an English s, and ö sounds like the vowel in British "bird" with rounded lips. Kérem (KAY-rem) means both please and here you are. The usual reply to thank you, you're welcome, is Szívesen (SEE-veh-shen).

Yes is Igen, no is Nem. Use Elnézést (EL-nay-zaysht) to get someone's attention or ask for directions, and Bocsánat (BOH-chah-not) when you bump into someone. If you are lost in a conversation, Nem értem means I don't understand, and Beszél angolul? asks whether the person speaks English.

Words

16

Where

Restaurant, café

Level

Easy

Ask for the menu with Az étlapot, kérem. To order, put the dish after Kérek egy … (KAY-rek edge): Kérek egy gulyást, a goulash, please. For the bill, say A számlát, kérem (oh SAHM-laht, KAY-rem), and if you want to pay by card, ask Kártyával fizethetek? Before you start eating, you will hear Jó étvágyat!, enjoy your meal.

Goulash on a Hungarian menu is gulyás; marhagulyás means it is made with beef. Where we ate it in Budapest, and the other places we loved, are in our what to eat in Budapest  guide.

Words

16

Where

Metro, tram, street

Level

Easy

In Budapest the metro, trams and buses use the same tickets; at machines and counters a ticket is a jegy (yedge). One ticket, please: Egy jegyet kérek. A stop is a megálló and a railway station a pályaudvar: Keleti pályaudvar is Keleti (East) Station, Nyugati pályaudvar is Nyugati (West) Station. The airport is the repülőtér.

We landed late at night and took a taxi into town; during the day the easiest way is the 100E airport express bus, and you can pay by card on board (from our video, 1:41).

Watch in the video · 1:41 

To ask the way, Hol van …? (hole von) does almost everything: Hol van a metró? In the answer, jobbra is right, balra left and egyenesen straight ahead. On doors you will see bejárat (entrance) and kijárat (exit); on shops, nyitva (open) and zárva (closed).

Words

5

Where

Hotel, shop

Level

Easy

To ask a price, say Mennyibe kerül? (MEN-nyee-beh KEH-rool). At hotel reception, Foglalásom van (I have a reservation) and your name is enough. Breakfast is reggeli; expensive is drága and cheap olcsó. Hungary's currency is the forint, written Ft or HUF on price tags.

Which area is easiest to stay in, and where we stayed ourselves, is in our where to stay in Budapest  guide, district by district.

Words

13

Where

Prices, times, platforms

Level

Medium

Hungarian numbers from 1 to 10: egy (edge), kettő (KET-tuh), három (HAH-rom), négy (naydge), öt, hat, hét (hayt), nyolc (nyolts), kilenc (KEE-lents), tíz (teez). Two has two forms: kettő when you count, két in front of a noun, as in két kávé, two coffees.

From 11 to 19 you add tizen: tizenegy is 11, tizenkettő 12. 20 is húsz, 21 huszonegy, 30 harminc, 40 negyven, 50 ötven. 100 is száz and 1000 ezer. Because forint prices run into the thousands, you will hear ezer all the time: ötezer forint is 5000 Ft.

Words

6

Where

Emergency

Level

Easy

In an emergency, Segítség! (SHEH-geet-shayg) means help. If you need a doctor, say Orvosra van szükségem. A pharmacy is a gyógyszertár, usually signed simply patika; the police are the rendőrség and a hospital is a kórház. If you feel unwell, Rosszul vagyok. The emergency number in Hungary is the European 112.

Words

4

Where

Signs, menus, maps

Level

Medium

Hungarian is read the way it is written, but a few letters work differently from English. The one that trips up most visitors is s versus sz: in Hungarian s sounds like English sh, and sz like English s. That is why locals say Budapest as "BOO-dah-pesht".

• cs sounds like ch (csirke: CHEER-keh), zs like the s in measure (Erzsébet), c like ts (utca: OOT-sah).
• gy is close to the d-y in British "during" (Hogy vagy: hodge vodge), ny like the ny in canyon, ly and j like y.
• A short a is close to the o in British "hot"; á is an open, long "ah".
• Accented vowels are long: é is "ay", í, ó and ú are long versions of i, o and u; ő and ű are long ö and ü, as in German.
• The stress always falls on the first syllable.

Once you know these rules, the names on the map stop being a puzzle. A few you will hear often in Budapest:

Words

2

Where

Bar, dinner table

Level

Medium

How do you say cheers in Hungarian? The usual toast is Egészségedre! (EGG-aysh-shay-ged-reh), literally "to your health". When you raise a glass with a group, Egészségünkre!, "to our health", works too. The same word, Egészségedre, is also what Hungarians say when someone sneezes, like "bless you".

It is a long word, so break it into four parts: egg, aysh, shay, ged-reh. On paper it has sz followed by s; in speech the two run together into one long sh sound.