The Hungarian language is of the Finno-Ugric branch that originated between the Volga and the Urals in the first millennium BC. The hungarian language is difficult but using a few words in Hungarian will certainly be appreciated by the locals.

We have classified Hungarian words into 4 categories that will be most useful to you when visiting Budapest:

  1. Basics (such as: hello, thanks, yes…in hungarian)
  2. Directions/transportation (where is…,…)
  3. Eating (cheers! in hungarian, water, wine, beer…)
  4. Money (Where is an ATM ?,…)

The translation of each word into Hungarian is followed by its phonetic pronunciation written between brackets.

BASICS

Hello Szervusz (ser-voos)
Goodbye Viszontlátásra (Vee-sont-la-tash-ra)
thanks köszönöm ( keu-seu-nem )
please kérem ( key-rem )
yes igen (ee-gen)
no nem (nehm)
I’m sorry Bocsánat ( bo-cha-nat)
Excuse me elnézést ( el-ney-zeysht )
Do you speak english ? Beszél angolul ? (Be-seyl-an-go-loul?)
I don’t understand Nem értem (nem eyr-tem)
Where is the toilet?  Hol van a mosdó? (hol van a mosh-doa?)
1 egy ( edj )
2 kettö ( ket-eu )
3 három ( ha-rom)

DIRECTIONS / TRANSPORTATION

street utca (out-tsa)
Square tér
Bridge hid
district kerület (key-rulet)
adress cim (ts-im)
entrance bejárat (beh-yah-raht)
exit kijárat (kih-yah-raht)
forbidden tilos (tilosh)
where is the…? Hol van a…? ( hol vahn aw..?)
hotel hotel
toilet mosdó (mosh-doa)
How much is a ticket ? Mennyibe kerül egy jegy? (Men-nyi-be Ke-rul edj yedj ?)
right/left jobb/bal (yob/bal)

EATING

restaurant étterem (eyt-ter-em)
water viz (veez)
beer sör (shor)
vine bor (bor)
May I see the menu, please? Megnézhetném a menüt, kérem? (Meg-neyz-het-neym a me-nut, key-rem)
the bill, please! a számlat kérem! (aw sam-lat keh-rem)
price ár
salt só (shoa)
tea tea (te-a)
coffee kávé (ka-vey)
butter vaj (vay)
black pepper feketebors (fe-ke-te-borsh)
breakfast/lunch reggeli/ebéd (reg-ge-li/e-beyd)
Cheers! egészségetekre (ag-eh-sheg-ad-reh)
it was delicious Nagyon finom volt. (Na-djon fi-nom volt)

MONEY

Do you accept British pounds? Elfogadnak angol fontot? (El-fo-gad-nak An-gol Font-ot)
Do you accept Euros? Elfogadnak eurót? (El-fo-gad-nak You-rot)
Do you accept credit cards? Elfogadnak hitelkártyát? (El-fo-gad-nak Hi-tel-kart-yat)
What is the exchange rate? Mi az árfolyam? (mi az At-fo-yam ?)
Where is an ATM ? Hol van bankautomata? (hol van Bank-a-ou-to-ma-ta?)
Can you change money for me? Válthatok Önnél pénzt? (Valt-ha-tok On-neyl peynzt?)
Do you have a safe? Van széfjük? (van Seyf-yuk?)
I lost my bag Elveszett a táskám (el-ve-set a tash-kam)
I lost my wallet Elveszett a tárcám. (el-ve-set a tar-tsam)
Can I use your phone? Használhatom a telefonját? (Haa-nal-ha-tom a Te-le-fon-yat ?)
 Police!  Rendőrség! (ren-dor-sheyg)

 

Good luck to all for you use of the Hungarian language!

Do not hesitate to consult our section on ‘Preparing your trip’ to enjoy your stay in Budapest and our articles in the section, ‘Visit Budapest’, on this link!