Let’s Learn Hungarian!

As recommended by Györgyi in the last lesson, here’s a few videos of the Hungarian pop band Jazz+Az, featuring the work of entrepreneur/musician Péter Geszti.

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

Lesson 7 brings us a dialogue between two old friends, Csaba and Katalin, who unexpectedly run into each other in a restaurant after not having met for a long time. Katalin wants to have a drink with Csaba, but he has a surprise for her!

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)

Lesson 6 presents some very useful phrases for the traveler to Hungary! Have a listen and try to memorize as much as possible. This lesson’s dialogue isn’t as long as in previous lessons, so it shouldn’t be that hard to memorize it all.

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

Happy Easter, everyone! Easter in Hungary is a two-day affair, comprising both Sunday and Monday, with the latter an official holiday.

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!

Hey folks,

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

Inspired by an email by listener Kathy and mentioned in the last lesson, here is the short rhyme that Hungarians use to practice rolling their “r” sound:

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!

Lesson 5 shows us a conversation between Ági, a customer, and a waiter. Ági just wants a drink, but has a hard time getting one!

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.

As promised in the last podcast, here’s a video of the Hungarian rock parody band Irigy Hónaljmirigy (“Jealous Armpit Gland”). Not sure of the name of the song exactly, but the title of the video says “kocsma dal,” or “pub song.” The video basically consists of two drunk guys humorously beating up everyone in a bar while lampooning some generic European electronica.

Enjoy…

Listener Olivér has just provided us with two useful links.

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!

Lesson 4 introduces you to Zoltán and his Aunt Erzsi, who insists she is fine even though everything seems to hurt! This is another informal language dialogue with a number of useful, everyday expressions.

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

Lesson 3 is packed with lots of useful, everyday expressions, so make sure you learn them well! See below for the new dialogue, vocabulary, and some simple grammar forms. It’s a lot of new material, but try to learn it all if you can, and see if you can memorize the dialogue too.

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)

Lesson 2 is available here! It is a bit longer than the first lesson with A LOT of new vocabulary and grammar, so make sure you listen several times, follow along with the script below, and try to memorize as much as you can. Thanks for all your comments on the first lesson, we really appreciate your feedback! We always welcome your questions and opinions, so feel free to leave a comment below. And thanks for listening!

Theme music: Curtis Maranda, “Crystal Night.” Please check out more of his music by going to http://www.curtismaranda.com/ Thanks to Curtis for providing us with the music for this podcast.

Download Lesson 2 here (MP3 audio, 21:40)

Dialogue for Lesson 2 (in formal speech):

Ticket vendor: Jó napot.

Tourist: Egy metrójegyet kérek.

Ticket vendor: Vonaljegyet vagy átszállójegyet?

Tourist: Ööööööö, nem értem.

Ticket vendor: Ajaj! Hová megy?

Tourist: A Deák térre megyek.

Ticket vendor: Jó. Tessék egy vonaljegy. 270 forint lesz.

Tourist: Köszönöm szépen.

Dialogue for Lesson 2 (English translation):

Ticket vendor: Hello.

Tourist: I’d like a subway ticket.

Ticket vendor: (Would you like) a line ticket or a transfer ticket?

Tourist: Uhhhh, I don’t understand.

Ticket vendor: Uh-oh. Where are you going?

Tourist: I’m going to Deák Square.

Ticket vendor: All right. Here’s a line ticket. That’ll be 270 forint.

Tourist: Thank you very much!

Vocabulary for Lesson 2:

angol – English

Angol? – Are you English? (formal)

Angol vagy? – Are you English? (informal)

kanadai – Canadian

Kanadai? – Are you Canadian? (formal)

Kanadai vagy? – Are you Canadian? (informal)

francia – French

Francia? – Are you French? (formal)

Francia vagy? – Are you French? (informal)

egy – one, a (the indefinite article)

kettő – two

három – three

négy – four

öt – five

metrójegy – subway ticket

metró – subway

jegy – ticket

kérek – I would like…

vonaljegy – line ticket (for use on Budapest’s public transportation)

vagy – or

átszállójegy – transfer ticket (to transfer on public transportation lines in Budapest)

Nem értem – I don’t understand.

Ajaj! – Uh-oh!

Hová megy? – Where are you going? (formal)

a – the (definite article)

Deák tér – Deák Square (central square in Budapest)

tér – square, plaza

megyek – I’m going (somewhere)

Tessék egy… – Here’s a… (something)

kettőszázhetven – two hundred-seventy

forint – name of the Hungarian currency

lesz – will be