Introduction

These are some basic stuff I got from YouTube and Duolingo.

Pronunciation

Hungarian pronunciation is fairly easy and the writing is phonetic, the whole idea of long and short vowels is a bit tricky for me though, I've never come across a language with that before, but that's cool. Most of the letters are pronounced as in English, but there are a few things to take note of.

• There are seven short vowels: a, e, i, o, u, ö and ü.
• There are seven long vowels: á, é, í, ó, ú, ő and ű.

• a is pronounced like the o in pot, and á is pronounced like the a in pat.
• e is pronounced as in egg but é is pronounced like the Irish way of saying pain. It's not a diphthong (two sounds) but one sound like the e in the Spanish parte.
• i is pronounced like the ee in meet and í is the same but longer.
• o is pronounced like the oa in boat, ó is same but longer.
• ö is pronounced like in German, Turkish, Swedish etc. and sounds a bit like the er in her but the r should be very slight. ő is the same but longer.
• u is pronounced like the oo in boot and ú is the same but longer.
• ü pronounced like in German and Turkish or the Swedish y. Make the position in your mouth as if you were about to say the oo as in boot sound but try say the ee in meet sound instead, ű is just the longer version.

As for consonants, most are pronounced as in English. But some are not:

• c is pronounced like the ts in cats
• cs is pronounced like the ch in chat
• dz is pronounced like the ds in beds
• dsz is pronounced like the j in jolly
• gy is pronounced like the d in don't followed by the y in young
• j is pronounced like the y in young
• ly is pronounced like lli in million
• ny is pronounced like the ny in canyon
• q is pronounced like the k in kite followed by the vase
• r is pronounced like a thrill as in Spanish, Polish, Italian, Russian, Ukrainian, etc.
• s is pronounced like the sh in shine (Not as in sun!)
• sz is pronounced like the s in sun (Not as in shine!)
• ty is pronounced like the t in tail followed by the y in young
• w is pronounced like the v in vase
• y is pronounced i
• zs is pronounced like the s in measure

Also be sure to check out this video to hear them pronounced (skip to 1:40 to hear the sounds).

Phrases

Here is a basic template to get you started on how to introduce yourself in Hungarian.

Szia! / Jó napot!

Én (elnevezés) vagyok.

Én (munka) vagyok.

Én magyar vagyok / Én nem vagyok magyar.

Én (nemzet) vagyok.

Translation:

Hi! / Hello!

My name is (name).

I work as a (job).
I am Hungarian / I am not Hungarian.
I am (nationailty).

Here is an example using myself.

Szia!
Én Daniel vagyok.
Én díak (student) vagyok.
Én nem vagyok magyar.
Én ír (Irish) vagyok.

Now you try! Use this video to help you! (Turn on subtitles!)

Now try to introduce yourself in Hungarian in the comments below!