Hungarian grammar has a reputation for being fiendish, but its rules are wonderfully logical once you see the patterns.
You are speaking to a bank clerk you have never met. Which form of 'you' should you use?
Te, the familiar form
Ön, the polite form
Ti, the plural familiar form
Ő, the gender-neutral form
Spot on! Ön (or Maga) is the polite 'you', used with strangers, officials and in business, and it takes third-person verb forms.
The answer is Ön, the polite 'you'. It takes third-person verbs, so 'Ön beszél angolul?' means 'Do you speak English?' politely.
Which is correct for 'three apples' in Hungarian?
három almák
három almas
három alma
három almákat
Correct! After a number or a word like 'sok' (many), Hungarian nouns stay singular: három alma.
It's 'három alma'. Hungarian nouns stay singular after numbers, as the number already shows there's more than one.
How do you say 'I live in Budapest'?
Budapestbe lakom.
Budapesten lakom.
Budapestből lakom.
Budapestban lakom.
Well done! Budapest is an exception that takes -n/-on/-en, like Hungarian towns: Budapesten lakom.
It's 'Budapesten lakom'. Most Hungarian towns take -n/-on/-en for 'in', while -be means 'into' and -ből 'out of'.
Scratch the card to reveal a fact about Hungarian
Hungarian has around 18 grammatical cases, expressed with suffixes instead of prepositions.
How does Hungarian say 'I have a car'?
Van egy autóm.
Én bírok egy autó.
Az én autó van.
Én tartok autót.
Exactly! Hungarian has no everyday verb 'to have': it says 'there is my car' – (Nekem) van egy autóm.
It's 'Van egy autóm', literally 'there is a car-of-mine'. Possession uses 'van' plus a possessive ending.
Which ending means 'my' in 'anyám' (my mother)?
The word 'én' placed before it
The plural ending -k
The suffix -m
The ending -ban added to it
Right! Possession is shown by suffixes: -m for 'my', as in anyám, apám, házam.
It's the suffix -m. Hungarian adds possessive endings to the noun, e.g. ház (house) becomes házam (my house).
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Hungarian has no grammatical gender: ő means both 'he' and 'she'.
Did you know?
Ön is the polite 'you'
Hungarian nouns have gender
Family names come first
Plural follows every number
Szia is an informal greeting
A shop assistant asks if you want a bag. What does 'Kérem' mean when said while handing it over?
You're welcome
No, thank you
Here you are
Goodbye, see you
Correct! 'Tessék' or 'kérem' is used when handing something over, like 'here you are'.
It means 'here you are' in this context. 'Kérem' literally means 'I ask for it', and it's flexible: it also works as 'please' and 'you're welcome'.
Which form of 'in the house' follows vowel harmony correctly for 'kert' (garden)?
kertban
kertbe
kertben
kertbön
Yes! 'Kert' has a front vowel, so it takes -ben: kertben (in the garden).
It's 'kertben'. Front-vowel words take -ben and back-vowel words take -ban, and 'kertbe' means 'into the garden'.
Which sentence correctly says 'I see the house' using the definite conjugation?
Látok a házat.
Látom a házat.
Látok a ház.
Látom egy házat.
Perfect! A definite object (a házat) needs the definite verb form: látom.
It's 'Látom a házat'. With a definite object Hungarian uses the definite form (látom), and with 'egy házat' the indefinite (látok).
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Is Hungarian related to its neighbours' languages?
No! Hungarian is Uralic, distantly related to Finnish and Estonian, not to German or Slavic languages.
Your Hungarian colleague's business card shows 'Kovács Anna'. Which part is her given name?
Anna
Kovács
Both are family names
It shows her gender
Correct! Hungarians put the family name first, so Kovács is the surname and Anna the given name.
Anna is her given name. Hungarian names put the family name first: Kovács Anna is Anna Kovács in English order.
Which greeting suits arriving at a government office?
Szia!
Sziasztok!
Helló, szia!
Jó napot kívánok!
Great! 'Jó napot kívánok' (I wish you a good day) is the standard polite greeting.
Use 'Jó napot kívánok!'. 'Szia' and 'sziasztok' are informal greetings for friends and family.
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Question 1: You are speaking to a bank clerk you have never met. Which form of 'you' should you use?
Question 2: Which is correct for 'three apples' in Hungarian?
Question 3: How do you say 'I live in Budapest'?
Question 4: How does Hungarian say 'I have a car'?
Question 5: Which ending means 'my' in 'anyám' (my mother)?
Lightning round 1
Question 6: A shop assistant asks if you want a bag. What does 'Kérem' mean when said while handing it over?
Question 7: Which form of 'in the house' follows vowel harmony correctly for 'kert' (garden)?
Question 8: Which sentence correctly says 'I see the house' using the definite conjugation?
Question 9: Your Hungarian colleague's business card shows 'Kovács Anna'. Which part is her given name?
Question 10: Which greeting suits arriving at a government office?
Made with AI. This quiz was made with AI, which can make mistakes.
