Basic Hungarian Phrases

You might already be familiar with the fact that Hungarian is one of the most notoriously complicated languages. It belongs to the Uralic language family, which means that its closest relatives in Europe are Finnish and Estonian. But don't expect the kind of similarity which would make learning Hungarian easier if you already speak Finnish, for example. As many students and speakers of the language will tell you, there's nothing quite like it.

Whether you'd like to take on the challenge to learn Hungarian, or if you just want to get by on your first days in the country, here's a handy little list of words and expressions which will help you out. Try practicing the with Google Translate!

Greetings and the basics:

Hungarian has a four-tiered system for expressing levels of politeness, which looks a bit complicated at first, but it's also very simple when it comes to greetings. Szia is used informally, for friends, family, and young people, whereas Jó napot is used to greet people formally.

Szia! - Hello! 

Jó reggelt! -  Good morning!

Jó napot! - Good day!

Jó estét! - Good evening!

Hogy vagy? - How are you?

Jól - Fine

Hogy hívnak? - What’s your name?

Az én nevem… - My name is…

Viszlát! - Good Bye!

Köszönöm - Thank you

Directions:

Hol van/merre van..? - Where is …?

Jobbra - To the right

Balra - To the left

Fel - Up

Le - Down

Egyenesen - Forward

Keresztül - Through

Bolt - Bankrház múzeum vár

Kórház - Hospital

Egyetem - University

Múzeum -Museum

Vár - Castle

Híd - Bridge

Vasútállomás, pályaudvar - Train station

Autóbuszállomás - Bus station

Megálló - Stop

Jegy - Ticket

Bérlet - Pass

Autó - Car

Tömegközlekedés - Public transport

Bicikli - bike

Motor - Motorbike

Villamos - Tram

Busz - Bus

Trolibusz - Trolleybus

Metró - Subway

Vonat - Train

At the shop:

Készpénz - Cash

Kártya - Credit card

Visszajáró - Change

Víz - Water

Gyümölcslé - Juice

Tej - Milk

Kávé - Coffee

Tea -Tea

Sör - Beer

Bor - Wine

Gyümölcs - Fruit

Zöldség - Vegetable

Hús - Meat

Kenyér - Bread

Zsemle - Bread roll

Kifli - Crescent shaped bread roll

Krémek - Spreads

Vaj - Butter

Sajt - Cheese

Felvágott - Deli meat