Please let us know what you think of the survival lessons and give us an idea of what you would like to see in the next one. As always, we welcome your feedback in general and questions about the Hungarian language. Just leave a comment anywhere on http://www.letslearnhungarian.net and we’ll be sure to get it.

Music: Curtis Maranda, “Crystal Night.” Thanks once again to Curtis for again allowing us to use his music on the podcast. Please check out more about Curtis by going to: http://www.curtismaranda.com/

Download Survival Lesson 2 here (MP3 audio, 10:45)

Vocabulary for Survival Lesson 2 (formal speech):

Duna – the Danube (river)

Hol van a Duna? – Where’s the Danube?

jobbra – to the right

balra – to the left

Kérek szépen… – I would like…

Kérek szépen egy kávét tejjel. – I would like coffee with milk.

Kérek szépen egy teát tejjel. – I would like tea with milk.

Kérek szépen egy teát cukorral. – I would like tea with sugar.

Kérek szépen egy szénsavas ásványvizet. – I would like mineral water with gas.

Kérek szépen egy szénsavmentes ásványvizet. – I would like mineral water without gas.

Fizetni szeretnék. – I’d like to pay.

Kérem, segtísen! – Please help me!

Nem beszélek magyarul. – I don’t speak Hungarian.

Csak egy kicsit tudok magyarul. – I only know a little Hungarian.

Nem értek magyarul. – I don’t understand Hungarian.

Beszél angolul? – Do you speak English

Beszél németül? – Do you speak German?

egy – one

kettő – two

három – three

négy – four

öt – five

hat – six

hét – seven

nyolc – eight

kilenc – nine

tíz – ten

Thanks for all of the recent feedback we’ve gotten from so many of you. Györgyi and I love to read your comments and hear how you are using the language and enjoying the podcast. It’s also very motivating for us, so please keep it up! I apologize for not responding to your comments and emails lately, but we’ve been real busy with our upcoming move back to Hungary. Györgyi has already moved back, and I’ll go myself in September.

As for the podcast, I was hoping to get one more with Györgyi done before she left, but it didn’t work out. I would like to continue the podcast though, so perhaps I’ll do a few survival lessons solo until I see her again.

Well thanks for listening everyone, and again if you have anything to say, we’d love to hear it.

Minden jót,
Steven

See below for the script for this lesson’s material and the new vocabulary. Try and memorize as much as possible so you’ll be ready for the review next time.

Feel free to ask us if you have any questions about this lesson or Hungarian in general, or just to let us know what you think of our podcast. Just leave a comment on this post or on any other one. Thanks for listening!

Answers to last lesson’s quiz question:  Duna, Tisza, Dráva, Száva are four rivers that ran through pre-war Hungary.

A copy of János Arany’s epic poem, “A Walesi Bárdok” in both English and Hungarian can be found here.

Music: Once again we bring you music from the brilliant Budapest-based Mookie Brando and the Second Cousins, “There Are Days.”  Find out more about Mookie and his excellent band by going to http://www.mookiebrando.com/ Thanks so much to Mookie and his Cousins for allowing us to use their music on the podcast.

Download Lesson 10 here (MP3 audio, 30:00)

Dialogue for Lesson 10 (informal speech):

Györgyi:  Szia, én vagyok.

Steven:  Szia, minden rendben?

Györgyi: Hát, nem, sajnos.  Baj van.  Nem megy a kocsi.

Steven:  Nem megy a kocsi?  Jól vagy?

Györgyi: Igen, jól vagyok.  De a kocsi nem működik.

Steven:  Hol vagy most?

Györgyi: Az úton.  Vagyis, a sztrádán.

Steven:  A sztrádán?  Hűha.

Györgyi: Légyszi, segí­ts!

Steven:  Jó… na, most meg a mobil nem működik.  Lemerült.

Dialogue for Lesson 10 (English translation):

Györgyi:  Hey, it’s me.

Steven:  Hi, is everything ok?

Györgyi: Well, no, unfortunately.  There’s a problem.  The car isn’t moving.

Steven:  The car isn’t moving?  Are you ok?

Györgyi: Yeah, I’m fine.  But the car isn’t working.

Steven:  Where are you now?

Györgyi: On the road.  That is, the expressway.

Steven:  On the expressway?  Oh boy.

Györgyi: Help me, please?

Steven:  All right… uh oh, now the cell phone doesn’t work.  The battery’s dead.

Vocabulary for Lesson 10:

walesi – Welsh

Walesi vagyok. – I’m Welsh.

Én vagyok – it’s me

baj – problem

Baj van. – There’s a problem.

megy – going, moving

nem megy – not going, not moving

működik – working

nem működik – not working

út – road

az úton – on the road

vagyis – that is…, I mean…

sztráda – expressway, highway

a sztrádán – on the expressway

hűha – oh boy!

légyszi – please (informal)

segíts – help me! (informal)

Legyen szíves, segítsen! – Help me, please! (formal)

Kérem, segítsen! – Help me, please! (formal)

mobil, mobiltelefon – mobile phone, cell phone

lemerült – the battery’s dead

Csináljak egy képet rólad? – Shall I take a photo of you? (informal, said to one person only)

The next lesson is being prepared and will be out in a few days. Until then, enjoy this lovely song by the Hungarian rock band Kimnowak, “Gyémánt” (“Diamond”). It’s been played to death on Hungarian radio, but still I find it haunting and tender. Lead singer Péter Novák is the key to the song’s beauty.

We’ve just set up a new Twitter account of our own, which we’d like to update regularly with posts in English and Hungarian, plus a “Word of the Day” feature that I’d like to update everyday that I have access to a PC and Internet connection.

We’re actually in the process of moving over here at Let’s Learn Hungarian HQ and the Internet will be turned off in a few weeks, so this really isn’t the best time to start doing this.  Still, I’ll keep it up for as long as I can, then resume when I have net access again.

If you’ve got a Twitter account, feel free to follow us and ask questions about the language or Hungary. We’ll do our best to answer.

Steven

p.s. We hope to have a new lesson out this week!

I’ve finally finished Arthur Phillips’ excellent novel about expatriates in Budapest, the oddly-titled Prague (2002), and recommend it to everyone who loves Budapest, or just loves great prose and a well-told story. Prague follows five young expatriates who move to Budapest in 1990 for various reasons and discover themselves through their relationships with each other and with a newly-democratized Hungary. It sounds like a well-trod literary path, but Phillips gives it a fresh spin with crisp, insightful writing.

Phillips himself lived in Budapest for a few years in the early ’90s, and his love for the city shows. In fact, I think that he romanticizes the capital so much that he makes it out to be more funky and bohemian than it really deserves, while mostly ignoring the difficult aspects of living in an immediate post-Communist society. But since one of the book’s major themes appears to be nostalgia and how we remember the past (the obsession of one character in particular) perhaps this positive glow of Hungary circa 1990 was slyly intentional on Phillips’ part.

I found the stories and characters inhabiting this book familiar to me as an 1990s expatriate in Budapest myself, although I arrived to the city a few years after Phillips did. And more than just a story about expatriates, the book’s standout section describes the past 150 years of Hungarian history through a clever and fascinating tale of one family over several generations. I also found his observations about Hungarians and the “national character” to be pretty close to the mark (and so did Györgyi, surprisingly).

Well, if you’ve read Prague, please leave us your thoughts here. Our next book review will be another Hungarian-related novel, but this time by a Brazilian! To be continued…

Steven

Please let us know what you think of the survival lessons and give us an idea of what you would like to see in the next one. As always, we welcome your feedback in general and questions about the Hungarian language.

Music: Curtis Maranda, “Playtime.” Thanks to Curtis for again allowing us to use his music on the podcast. You can find out more about Curtis by going to http://www.curtismaranda.com/

Download Survival Lesson 1 here (MP3 audio, 17:48)

Vocabulary for Survival Lesson 1 (informal speech):

Jó reggelt – Good morning

Jó napot – Good afternoon

Jó estét – Good evening

Jó éjszakat – Good night

Köszönöm – Thank you

Köszönöm szépen – Thank you very much

Bocsánat – Excuse me

Ezt, kérem. – I would like this.

Egészségedre! – Cheers!

Segítség! – Help!

tolvaj – thief

Hol van a…? – Where’s the…?

Hol van a WC? – Where’s the toilet?

Hagyj békén! – Leave me alone!

Viszontlátásra! – Goodbye!

Viszlát! – Bye!

See below for the script for this lesson’s material and the new vocabulary. Try and memorize as much as possible so you’ll be ready for the review next time!

Feel free to ask us if you have any questions about this lesson or Hungarian in general, or just to let us know what you think of our podcast. Just leave a comment on this post or on any other one. Thanks for listening!

Music: Nomada, “Aven le Roma.” Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Hungary License. Available at remix.creativecommons.hu.

Download Lesson 9 here (MP3 audio, 29:21)

Dialogue for Lesson 9 (informal speech):

Jennifer: De jó ez a kép!

Balázs: Igen. Az Szentendre.

Jennifer: Szentendre? Hol van Szentendre?

Balázs: Nincs messze. Innen harminc kilóméter.

Jennifer: Hmmmm, következő kép… Ki ??

Balázs: Ő? Csak egy barát.

Jennifer: Nem inkább egy barátnő??!?!??!

Balázs: Uhhhhhhh……..

Dialogue for Lesson 9 (English translation):

Jennifer: What a great picture!

Balázs: Yes, that’s Szentendre.

Jennifer: Szentendre? Where’s Szentendre?

Balázs: It’s not far. Thirty kilometers from here.

Jennifer: Hmmmm, next picture… Who’s she?

Balázs: Her? Just a friend.

Jennifer: Don’t you mean a girlfriend??!?!??!

Balázs: Uhhhhhhh……..

Vocabulary for Lesson 9:

Hogy hí­vnak? – What’s your name? (informal)

Honnan jöttél? – Where are you from? (informal)

Budapestről jöttem. – I’m from Budapest.

Amerikából jöttem. – I’m from America.

svéd – Swedish

Svéd vagyok. – I’m Swedish.

tizenhárom – thirteen

tizennégy – fourteen

tizenöt – fifteen

De jó… – What a great…, What a nice…

De jó! – How great! How wonderful!

kép – picture

Szentendre – small town on the Danube north of Budapest

hol – where

Hol van… – Where is…?

Hol van a WC? – Where’s the toilet?

messze – far

Nincs messze. – It’s not far.

Messze van. – It’s far.

innen – from here

harminc – thirty

kilóméter – kilometer, kilometers

kétezer – two thousand

háromezer – three thousand

négyezer – four thousand

ötezer – five thousand

hatezer – six thousand

következő – next

ki – who

ő – he, she

barát – friend, boyfriend

Ő a barátom. – He’s my boyfriend.

inkább – rather, instead (of)

barátnő – girlfriend

lelkes tanuló – avid learner

Indiai vagyok. – I’m Indian.

Örülök, hogy találkoztunk. – Nice to meet you.

Szeretjük a lányotokat. – We love your daughter. (informal)

Szeretjük a lányukat. – We love your daughter. (formal)

Szép szemed van. – You have nice eyes. (informal)

Szexis szemed van. – You have sexy eyes. (Sounds a little ridiculous!)

Hajrá! – Do your best! Good luck!

Funny phrase of the week:

Darázs fészek, darázs fészek, de nem is ember, aki nem részeg!

Wasp’s nest, wasp’s nest, but you’re not a person unless you’re drunk!

!!SPECIAL CONTEST!!

What do these four words mean? How are they connected? Write us if you think you know!

“Duna, Tisza, Dráva, Száva”

Thanks for listening!!

Uncle Drew of the excellent Budacast podcast tracked down the elusive Speak (otherwise known as Tamás Deák) and interviewed the man himself for CBC Radio’s “Search Engine” show. Link here.

And if you’re one of the few who hasn’t yet seen the most awesome video for “Stop the War” (or can’t wait to see it again), we present it here:

p.s. NEW HUNGARIAN LESSON OUT IN A FEW DAYS! (Sorry for the delay, folks… )

The thing I like best about last.fm is that they offer some information about each musical artist they play and how to find out more about them. Actually, I’ve mostly stopped listening to online internet radio since discovering last.fm.

Enjoy!

Link to the Hungarian channel.

But in the comments section we were obliquely referenced.  The first comment was innocuous enough:

grabog 2008.05.11. 20:18:11
Belehallgattam a magyarba. Hát, érdekes.
(I listened to the Hungarian. Interesting.)

But the next comment also caught my eye:

richard4tus 2008.05.12. 04:37:56
ezt a podcastot már én is próbáltam, de eltántorított az elképesztő angol akcentus…
(I also tried this podcast, but the horrid English accent sent me reeling.)

Apparently he means me and my accent in Hungarian.

First of all, I apologize for butchering the Hungarian language. I probably do have a strong accent. Györgyi’s used to it by now, but I imagine that other native speakers might not be so impressed.

Second, it should go without saying, but it’s worth stating openly:  DO NOT IMITATE MY SPEECH PATTERNS.  Györgyi is the native speaker, and you should repeat after what she says ONLY. I’m only here so that she doesn’t sound lonely speaking by herself, and because a dialogue needs at least two people. 

If there was another Hungarian speaker near us, we would gladly co-opt that person into our podcast and get me out of the way.  Hopefully we’ll be able to get another native speaker on soon so you can hear two native speakers talking and imitate their speech patterns properly.  Until we can do that, I ask for the native speakers’ understanding and tolerance with my tört magyar!

—steven

See below for the script for this lesson’s material and the new vocabulary. Try and memorize as much as possible so you’ll be ready for the review next time!

Feel free to ask us if you have any questions about this lesson or Hungarian in general, or just to let us know what you think of our podcast. Just leave a comment on this post or on any other one. Thanks for listening!

Links discussed in the podcast:

House of Hungarian Wines: http://www.magyarborokhaza.hu/index.php

Mátyás Pince: http://www.matyaspince.hu/

Kulacs Étterem: http://www.kulacs.hu/

Budacast podcast: http://www.budacast.hu/

Music: Ernő Király, “Bor Nota” (“Wine Song”) (1914). Source: Internet Archive

Download Lesson 8 here (MP3 audio, 29:50)

Dialogue for Lesson 8 (informal speech):

Fiú: Boldog Anyák Napját!

Anya: Köszönöm szépen. Mi ez?

Fiú: Ajándék!

Anya: Megnézhetem most?

Fiú: Persze.

Anya: Ó, ez nagyon szép!

Fiú: Tetszik?

Anya: Igen. Mennyibe került?

Fiú: Hát, azt hiszem, hogy az idén nem lesz mas ajándékod!

Dialogue for Lesson 8 (English translation):

Son: Happy Mother’s Day!

Mother: Thanks so much. What’s this?

Son: A present!

Mother: Can I look at it now?

Son: Of course.

Mother: Oh, it’s very beautiful.

Son: Do you like it?

Mother: Yes. How much was it?

Son: Well, I think that you won’t get any more presents this year!

Vocabulary for Lesson 8:

lengyel – Polish

brazil – Brazilian

Brazília – Brazil

boldog – happy

anya – mother

nap – day

Boldog Anyák Napját – Happy Mother’s Day

Boldog Születésnapot – Happy Birthday

ajándék – present, gift

Megnézhetem? – Can I look at it?

persze – of course

nagyon – very

szép – beautiful

Tetszik. – I like it. (Or, You like it, He likes it, etc.)

Tetszik? – Do you like it?

Mennyibe kerül? – How much is it? How much does it cost?

Azt hiszem, hogy… – I think that…

az idén – this year

lesz – will be

nem lesz – will not be

más – other, another

Boldog Névnapot – Happy Name Day

Svédországból jöttem. – I come from Sweden.

bor – wine

fehérbor – white wine

vörösbor – red wine

Van valami hagyma nélküli étel? – Do you have any food without onions?

kulacs – traditional Hungarian shepherd’s water bottle

tök – pumpkin

I kind of prefer their more upbeat songs, but these two aren’t bad. This is “Csepp a tengerben” (“Drop in the Ocean”), which has a hypnotic quality about it:

“Megint hétfő” (“Monday Again”) showcases Geszti’s low-key rhyming skills, and the video features some Budapest landmarks: Liberty Bridge, the old skool Tram 49, and the even older-skool Metro 1:

enjoy,
steven

See below for the script for this lesson’s material and the new vocabulary words. See how much of it you can memorize for the next lesson, as I’m sure we’ll have another review waiting for you.

Feel free to ask us if you have any questions about this lesson or Hungarian in general, or just to let us know what you think of our podcast. Just leave a comment on this post or on any other one. Thanks for listening!

Intro music: Curtis Maranda, “7th Heaven”. Check out more of Curtis’ work at http://www.curtismaranda.com/

Outro music: Mookie Brando and the Second Cousins, “Mister Cliché”. You can find out more about Budapest-based Mookie Brando at http://www.mookiebrando.com/ Thanks to Curtis and Mookie for allowing us to use their original music on the podcast.

Download Lesson 7 here (MP3 audio, 24:18)

Dialogue for Lesson 7 (informal speech):

Katalin: Csaba, te vagy?? Én vagyok, Katalin.

Csaba: Hű, szia Katalin!

Katalin: Hát, ezer éve nem találkoztunk.

Csaba: Igen. Hogy vagy? Minden rendben?

Katalin: Kösz, jól. Most…

Pincér: Tessék parancsolni.

Katalin: Ööööö, mit iszol, Csaba? Kávét? Teát?

Csaba: Nem, köszönöm. Most már nem iszom kávét.

Katalin: Komolyan? Miért nem?

Csaba: Mert Hare Krishna lettem.

Katalin: Micsoda??!?!?

Dialogue for Lesson 7 (English translation):

Katalin: Csaba, is that you? It’s me, Katalin.

Csaba: Whoa, hi Katalin.

Katalin: Wow, we haven’t met in ages.

Csaba: Yeah. How are you? Is everything ok?

Katalin: Fine, thanks. At the moment…

Waiter: May I take your order?

Katalin: Uhhh, what will you have to drink, Csaba? Coffee? Tea?

Csaba: No thanks. I don’t drink coffee anymore.

Katalin: Really? Why not?

Csaba: Because I’ve become a Hare Krishna.

Katalin: What??!?!?

Vocabulary for Lesson 7:

Hogy vagytok? – How are you? (when speaking to more than one person)

mindenki – everybody

Mi újság? – What’s up?

semmi – nothing

tizenegy – eleven

tizenkettő – twelve

kínai – Chinese

lassabban – more slowly

te – you (informal singular)

következő – next

hát – well, um…

Ezer éve nem találkoztunk. – We haven’t met in ages.

Tessék parancsolni. – May I take your order?

iszol – you drink (something)

Mit iszol? – What are you drinking? What are you having to drink?

kávé – coffee

tea – tea

iszom – I drink (something)

most már nem – not… anymore

komolyan – really, seriously

mert – because

lettem – I’ve become (something)

micsoda – what (often used to express surprise)

The next lesson is in the can and will be out within a few days. Sorry for the delay in getting it out. Györgyi and I went on vacation for a week, so we’re a little behind with the podcast.

But I wanted to mention that for Budapest residents, you should all go out and see an art exhibition by contemporary artist Bullet Shih. Based in New York and Budapest, Bullet is someone I’ve known for many years, and has had a few exhibitions up in town which I’ve enjoyed in the past.

There’s an article in the Budapest Sun about Bullet and his show here. The show is until April 19.

Bullet Shih: Life on the Meniscus
www.bulletshih.com
Chinese Characters Contemporary Art Space
Kertész utca 4, Pest, District VII.
Open Wed, Thu 3-7pm, Fri 4-10pm, Sat 11am-3pm
www.chinesecharacters.hu

We also discuss some Easter traditions in Hungary, and present the winner of last lesson’s challenge to continue the mineral water dialogue between the restaurant patron and her waiter.

Our music is again provided by the very talented Budapest-based Mookie Brando and the Second Cousins, who were kind enough to offer us their song “Angelina” for this podcast. Please see more of their work at http://www.mookiebrando.com/ or http://www.myspace.com/mookiebrando where there are several songs available for download! Thanks so much to Mookie and his kin for allowing us to use their music on the podcast.

Thanks for listening to the podcast, and if you have any comments or questions, we’d love to hear from you. Feel free to leave a comment on this post or on any other one.

Download Lesson 6 here (MP3 audio, 26:00)

Dialogue for Lesson 6 (formal speech):

Woman: Elnézést, meg tudná mondani, hogy mennyi az idő?

Tourist: Öööööö, bocsánat, beszél angolul? Én csak egy kicsit tudok magyarul.

Woman: Ahhh, külföldi. Az idő. Mennyi az idő?

Tourist: Idő? Idő… Ah, az idő! Most tíz óra van.

Woman: Köszönöm szépen.

Tourist: Nincs mit.

Dialogue for Lesson 6 (English translation):

Woman: Excuse me, would you tell me what time it is?

Tourist: Uhhhhh, sorry. Do you speak English? I only know a little Hungarian.

Woman: Ahhh, you’re a foreigner. The time. What time is it?

Tourist: Time? Time… Ah, the time! It’s ten o’clock now.

Woman: Thank you very much.

Tourist: Not at all.

Vocabulary for Lesson 6:

két – two (of something)

holland – Dutch

Holland vagyok. – I’m Dutch.

már – already

Most már mindent értek. – I understand now.

Meg tudná mondani, hogy… – Would you tell me…

mennyi – how much, how many

idő – time

Mennyi az idő? – What time is it?

bocsánat – sorry

beszél – you speak (formal)

angolul – in English

Beszél angolul? – Do you speak English? (formal)

Beszélsz angolul? – Do you speak English? (informal)

én – I

csak – only, just

egy kicsit – a little, a little bit

tudok – I know

magyarul – in Hungarian

Tudok magyarul. – I know Hungarian.

külföldi – foreigner

óra – o’clock, clock

Tíz óra van. – It’s ten o’clock.

Nincs mit. – Not at all.

Easter – Húsvét

Easter Monday is also when some people observe the Hungarian tradition of “locsolkodás,” or “sprinkling.” According to custom, men sprinkle water or cologne on women they know, starting from dawn on Easter Monday. Typically they also say some type of poem to the girl before sprinkling, and in return the female gives the male a present, often a painted egg.

Several years ago, and even today in some villages, men toss buckets of water at women in their finest traditional clothing. Or at least, they do it for the cameras!

All-in-all, it’s a fun tradition, but clearly the man gets the better end of the deal, as he gets an egg and the woman gets either soaked or ends up smelling like cheap perfume at the end of the day.

There are a lot of funny sprinkling poems out there, so share some here if you know any!

Have a look at our new page of Hungarian language learning resources, which you can find by clicking on the link at the top of the page.  You can also purchase every resource listed through the links on the page.

Also, please share with us if there are any learning materials that you’ve used yourself and can recommend to others.

Köszönjük szépen!

–steven

Répa, retek, mogyoró,

korán reggel ritkán rikkant a rigó.

Carrot, radish, hazelnut,

The blackbird rarely chirps in the early morning.

Although the version Kathy mentioned was slightly different:

Répa, retek, mogyoró,

mind a három nagyon jó.

Carrot, radish, hazelnut,

All three are delicious.

Have a listen to Lesson 5 for the correct pronunciation of these two rhymes!

Please see below for the dialogue and vocabulary for Lesson 5 below. Try your best to learn all of the new expressions, and see if you can memorize the dialogue too!

This lesson’s music was brought to you courtesy of Budapest-based Mookie Brando and the Second Cousins, “Slow Walk Home.” Find out more about this excellent band by going to http://www.mookiebrando.com/

Thanks for listening! And feel free to leave a comment or a question below. We welcome your feedback!

Download Lesson 5 here (MP3 audio, 26:48)

Dialogue for Lesson 5 (formal speech):

Ági: Legyen szíves!

Pincér: Parancsoljon.

Ági: Kérek szépen egy sört.

Pincér: Elnézést, nincsen sör.

Ági: Nincs sör? Akkor kérek egy kólát.

Pincér: Sajnos, nincs kóla.

Ági: Akkor mi van?

Pincér: Ásványví­z van.

Ági: Jó. Kérek szépen egy ásványvizet.

Pincér: Tessék. Ezer forint lesz.

Ági: Ezer forint??!?!?!?

Dialogue for Lesson 5 (English translation):

Ági: Excuse me!

Waiter: At your service.

Ági: I’d like a beer, please.

Waiter: Sorry, we don’t have beer.

Ági: No beer? Then I’ll have a cola.

Waiter: Unfortunately, we don’t have cola.

Ági: Then what do you have?

Waiter: We have mineral water.

Ági: Fine. I’d like a mineral water, please.

Waiter: Here you are. That’ll be 1,000 forint.

Ági: 1,000 forint??!?!?!?

Vocabulary for Lesson 5:

Erzsébet – Elizabeth

is – also, too

belga – Belgian

Belga vagyok. – I’m Belgian.

hat – six

hét – seven

nyolc – eight

kilenc – nine

tíz – ten

legyen szíves (formal) – please

parancsoljon – at your service

Kérek szépen… – I’d like…

sör – beer

elnézést – excuse me, I’m sorry

nincs (nincsen) – we don’t have, there is no

kóla – cola, soda pop, Coke

sajnos – unfortunately

Mi van? – What do you have?

ásványvíz – mineral water

ví­z – water

ezer – one thousand

Grammar for Lesson 5:

1. there is/there isn’t

There is (something). –> (Something) van.

Ex. Ásványvíz van. We have mineral water.

There isn’t (something). –> Nincs (something).

Ex. Nincs sör. We don’t have beer.

2. Direct object ending

-the direct object takes a “-t” ending:

kóla –> kólát

sör –> sört

Kérek szépen egy kólát. I’d like a cola, please.

Enjoy…

1) Online Hungarian-English, English-Hungarian translation and multi-language dictionary:

http://www.webforditas.hu/index.php

I’m not too sold on machine translation yet, but it’s free, and certainly better than nothing.

2) An interesting looking pop-up dictionary application for Mac OSX (free for home use):

http://www.progikon.hu/swifttranslate_en.html#letolt

Közsi szépen, Olivér!

We enjoy reading your comments and finding out how you enjoy the podcast and why you’re interested in learning Hungarian. Feel free to drop us a line on a post and let us know your thoughts. Thanks again to all those who’ve previously written.

Our theme music is provided courtesy of Curtis Maranda. You can check out more of his music by going to http://www.curtismaranda.com/ Thanks again to Curtis for providing us with the music for our podcast.

Download Lesson 4 here (MP3 audio, 18:41)

Dialogue for Lesson 4 (casual speech):

Zoltán: Szia Erzsi néni. Hogy vagy? Jól vagy?

Aunt Erzsi: Jól vagyok. Minden rendben van.

Zoltán: Igen? Az jó.

Aunt Erzsi: Igen. De mostanában fáj a lábam. És fáj a karom. Meg fáj a hátam is.

Zoltán: Hmmmmmm. Szóval jól vagy.

Aunt Erzsi: Igen, jól vagyok.

Dialogue for Lesson 4 (English translation):

Zoltán: Hi Auntie Erzsi. How are you? Are you well?

Aunt Erzsi: I’m fine. Everything’s all right.

Zoltán: Oh, yeah? That’s good.

Aunt Erzsi: Yes, but nowadays my legs hurt. And my arms hurt. And my back hurts as well.

Zoltán: Hmmmmm. So you’re well.

Aunt Erzsi: Yes, I’m fine.

Vocabulary for Lesson 4:

ausztrál – Australian

olasz – Italian

néni – an older woman, “Auntie”

Jól vagy? – Are you well?

Jól vagyok. – I’m fine.

minden – everything

rendben van/rendben – It’s ok, It’s all right.

az – that

Az jó. – That’s fine, that’s great.

de – but

mostanában – nowadays, these days

fáj – hurt, something hurts

Fáj a lábam. – My legs hurt.

láb – leg(s)

a lábam – my leg(s)

Fáj a karom. – My arms hurt.

kar – arm(s)

a karom – my arm(s)

meg – and, and so

Fáj a hátam. – My back hurts.

hát – back

a hátam – my back

is – also, as well

szóval – in short, in one word

Jól vagy. – You’re well.

some common Hungarian “pet names”

szivem – my heart

drágám – my dear

édesem – my sweet

kincsem – my treasure

cicám – my kitty

mókuskám – my squirrel

macikám – my bear

We love getting feedback, hearing how all of you are doing with the language, and why you want to learn Hungarian, so feel free to leave us a comment on this post with your thoughts and impressions. Thanks for all of the previous comments and words of support.

Once again, our theme music is provided courtesy of Curtis Maranda. Please check out more of his music by going to http://www.curtismaranda.com/ Thanks to Curtis for providing us with the music for our podcast.

Download Lesson 3 here (MP3 audio, 21:47)

Dialogue for Lesson 3 (casual speech):

Mari: Halló.

James: Szia Mari! James vagyok.

Mari: Szia James! Hogy vagy?

James: Kösz, jól. Most szabad vagy?

Mari: Igen, miért?

James: Nem megyünk moziba?

Mari: Jaj, bocs, most nem tudok.

James: Jó. Akkor máskor. Szia!

Mari: Szia!

Dialogue for Lesson 3 (English translation):

Mari: Hello!

James: Hi, Mari! It’s James.

Mari: Hi, James! How are you?

James: Fine, thanks. Are you free now?

Mari: Yes, why?

James: Do you want to go to the movies?

Mari: Oh, sorry, I can’t (go) now.

James: All right. Another time, then. Bye!

Mari: Bye!

Vocabulary for Lesson 3:

német – German

német vagy? (informal) – Are you German?

ír – Irish

Ír vagy? (informal) – Are you Irish?

orosz – Russian

orosz vagy? (informal) – Are you Russian?

halló – Hello (answering the phone)

szia – hi/bye (to one person only)

sziasztok – hi/bye (to more than one person)

Magyar vagyok. – I’m Hungarian.

Amerikai vagyok. – I’m American.

Angol vagyok. – I’m English.

Kanadai vagyok. – I’m Canadian.

hogy – how

vagy – you are

Hogy vagy? – How are you?

kösz – thanks

köszi – thanks

jól – fine, well

most – now

szabad – free

miért – why

megyünk – we go (somewhere)

mozi – the movies, movie theater

moziba – to the movies

jaj – oh!, oh no!

bocs – sorry (casual)

nem tudok – I can’t

tudok – I can

akkor – then

máskor – another time

Grammar for Lesson 3:

1. Stating your name:

(your name) vagyok.

I’m (your name).

2. Stating your nationality:

(your nationality) vagyok.

I’m (your nationality).

3. Negating a verb:

-place nem before the verb

tudok (I can) — nem tudok (I can’t)

értem (I understand) — nem értem (I don’t understand)

megyünk (we go) — nem megyünk (we don’t go)

Earlier the site went down for a few hours while we upgraded our content management software, so we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. Please let us know if there is something that isn’t working correctly after this upgrade.

A new lesson is coming in a day or two!

–steven