Here are some questions (and answers) that come up often. Here I mainly focus on the What is the difference? type of questions.
Q: What is the difference between kérek and akarok (and szeretnék)?
A: Their literal translations are:
akarok = I want
kérek = I ask for
szeretnék = I would like
How to use them:
if you ask for a food or drink, use kérek.
Kérek egy sört. A beer please. / I want a beer. / I would like to have a beer.
Kérek egy hamburgert. A hamburger please.
I want to [other verb] -> akarok.
Táncolni akarok. I want to dance.
Futni akarok. I want to run.
Oda akarok menni. I want to go there.
You cannot combine kérek with a verb, like you cannot say “I ask for to run”.
It is good to note that saying “Táncolni akarok” sounds rude, it is better to use Táncolni szeretnék. instead.
Szeretnék = I would like
Táncolni szeretnék. = I would like to dance.
Q: What is the difference between ismer and tud?
A: tud - to know (facts, piece of information)
Tudom, hogy egy meg egy az kettő. I know that one plus one is two.
Tudom, hogy mit tettél tavaly nyáron. I know what you did last summer.
ismer - to be familiar with, to know (people or places)
Ismerem Pétert. I know Péter.
Ismerem Budapestet. I know Budapest, I am familiar with the city.
also, a little collection, Hungarian versus other languages. We can notice that English is the odd one out here.
| Language | 1 | 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Hungarian | tud | ismer |
| English | know | know |
| German | wissen | kennen |
| Spanish | saber | conocer |
| French | savoir | connaître |
| Esperanto | scii | koni |
What’s more: tud can also mean “can” “to be able”
For example: Tudok úszni. I can swim.
Tudok táncolni. I can dance.
Nem tudok főzni. I cannot cook.
Q: What is the difference between idős, öreg and régi?
A: Most of the time, use idős and öreg for people, and régi for objects.
Ez egy régi ház. This is an old house.
A nagymamám öreg. My grandmother is old.
A nagymamám idős. My grandmother is elderly.
So idős is more like elderly, it is more polite to say, while saying öreg is less polite.
“Régi” for people has a special meaning:
Egy régi barátom = An old friend of mine (We have been friends for a long time. This does not mean he is actually old)
Egy öreg barátom = An old friend of mine (He is actually old)
Another way to think of it: You simply need to pair them with their opposites, and it all becomes crystal clear:
"Öreg és fiatal" - "old and young"
"Régi és új" - "old and new".
Q: What is the difference between főnök, rendező and igazgató?
A: főnök - boss / manager
rendező - director (of a movie or theater play)
igazgató - director (of a company) or headmaster at a school
Q: What is the difference between kicsi and kis?
A: If it is immediately before a noun (or before another adjective that refers to the same noun) we can use both kis and kicsi.
Egy kicsi ház. = Egy kis ház. = A small house.
Egy kis piros labda = Egy kicsi piros labda = A small red ball
Moreover, kis- can be used to form compound words. Kislány (little girl) kismacska (little cat).
If it is after the noun, only kicsi works.
A ház kicsi. The house is small.
But *A ház kis would be wrong.
Q: What is the difference between kettő and két?
A: There are two words for the number two: kettő and két. This carries on to other numbers ending with two: 12 is tizenkettő or tizenkét, 42 is negyvenkettő or negyvenkét.
Use két when there's a noun in the sentence, to indicate its quantity.
Examples:
két alma = two apples;
két asztal =two tables;
két szép gyerek = two beautiful children.
Use kettő if it stands by itself, so we are talking about the number two. Example: Kettő meg kettő az négy. Two plus two is four.
Két sounds very similar to hét (seven), so to avoid confusion and to emphasize that you are talking about two, it is allowed to use kettő in front of a noun. Kettő alma, kettő asztal.
But do not use két when it stands by itself.
Note: did you notice the similarity between kicsi versus kis, and kettő versus két? It is the same rule :)
Q: What is the difference between hanem and de?
A: Hanem is like "but rather" it is only used if the first part of the sentence was negated. "Not X, but rather Y"
For example: Ez nem piros, hanem kék. This is not red, but blue.
Ez a ruha nem szép, hanem csúnya. This dress is not beautiful but ugly.
But, it is possible to have a negative clause and use de: Ez a ruha nem szép, de olcsó. This dress is not beautiful but it's cheap. (beautiful and cheap are not contradictory)
If the first clause is a positive statement -> always use de.
Ez a ruha szép, de nem olcsó. This dress is beautiful but not cheap.
Note: if you know German, de = aber and hanem = sondern.
Q: What is the difference between alacsony and rövid?
Both translate to “short” in English, but alacsony is the opposite of magas (tall) and rövid is the opposite or hosszú (long).
Egy magas lány – a tall girl
Egy alacsony lány – a short girl
Egy hosszú utca – a long street
Egy rövid utca – a short street
In other words, alacsony means small height, and rövid means small length.
Q: What is the difference between nincs, nincsenek, sincs, sincsenek?
A: you can think of these words like fusing some other words together
instead of "nem van" write "nincs". So nem+van = nincs
is + nem =sem
and one more level, is + nem + van = is + nincs = sincs
nincsenek is the plural version of nincs
sincsenek is the plural version of sincs
Some examples.
Az autó itt van. The car is here.
Az autó is itt van. The car is also here. (something else is here + the car too)
Az autó nincs itt. The car is not here.
Az autó sincs itt. The car is not here either. (something else is not here + the car also not)
Az autók nincsenek itt. The cars are not here.
Az autók sincsenek itt. The cars are not here either.
Q: So we never write "nem van" in a sentence?
A: You never write them right next to each other. "Az autó nem van itt" is WRONG. Use "Az autó nincs itt" instead. (The car is not here)
However, if nem+ van are not right next to each other, it is fine to include both in the sentence. "Az autó nem itt van." is correct, meaning The car is not here (but somewhere else).
Q: Where should I place "is" (too, also) in a sentence?
A: You should put IS after the word it refers to.
Examples: I, too, like horses = Én is szeretem a lovakat.
I like horses too (stress on "I" and "too" in speech) = I like horses (someone else also likes horses) = Én is szeretem a lovakat.
I like horses too = I like horses (in addition to something else that I like) = Szeretem a lovakat is.
Én is szép vagyok. I am also beautiful. (someone else too + me too)
Én szép is vagyok. I am also beautiful. (I am smart too+ beautiful too)
Note 1: "[Sentence], too." is usually ambiguous in English, but in Hungarian, you place IS somewhere and it is never ambiguous. (So one English sentence has several possible Hungarian translations).
Note 2: Never put is at the beginning of the sentence. As we have seen, "is" refers to the word right before it. If it is the first word of the sentence, what does it refer to? Nothing. That does not work.
Q: Where should I place "nem" (not) in a sentence?
A: You should put NEM before the word it refers to.
Examples: Én nem a pincér vagyok, hanem a szakács. I am not the waiter, but the cook. Contrast: waiter versus cook, so nem is placed before pincér.
Nem én vagyok a pincér, hanem ő. It is not me who is the waiter, but him. Contrast: Me versus him, so nem is placed before én.
Az alma nem kék. The apple is not blue.
Nem az alma kék. It is not the apple that is blue (something else is blue).
If you would like to negate the whole sentence, place NEM before the verb. (This can change the word order of other parts of the sentence too..)
Magyar vagyok. - I am Hungarian.
Nem vagyok magyar. - I am not Hungarian.
Péter a kertben focizik. - Péter is playing soccer/football in the garden.
Péter nem focizik a kertben - Péter is NOT playing soccer/football in the garden. (negates the whole sentence)
Péter nem a kertben focizik - Péter is playing soccer/football not in the garden (but somewhere else.) (negates a part of the sentence)
Q: What is the difference between mennyi and hány?
(answers copied from jsiehler and vvsey)
https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/16692481 = https://archive.ph/HN5vv
Basically, "uncountable versus countable." Usually, hány is translated as "how many" and is asking about something you can answer by counting (discrete units). Mennyi is "how much" and is asking about a quantity that is not necessarily countable.
How many apples are in the basket? Hány alma van a kosárban?
How much water is in the tub? Mennyi víz van a kádban?
But Hungarian is more forgiving here, you can use "mennyi" with countable objects, as well. Not the other way around, though. Let's say it depends on whether you expect a "countable answer".
Q: Mennyi alma? - A: Két kiló (Two kilos). Or you can say the number of apples.
Q: Hány alma? - A: Tizenöt (15). I was definitely asking the number of apples.
And "Mennyi" can also be used in exclamations like "Wow, look at all those cars!" - "Mennyi autó!" In this case, the countability does not matter at all. You use "mennyi".
You can also ask: Mennyi fa van az erdőben? (How many trees are in the forest?)
How about annyi and ahány?
The same countable- uncountable distinction is carried over:
(amennyi - uncountable)
Annyi víz van a folyóban, amennyi a tengerben.
There is as much water in the river as in the sea.
(ahány - countable)
Annyi póló van a szekrényben, ahány ing.
There are as many T-shirts in the wardrobe as there are shirts.
Like before, amennyi might be used for countable things too.
Q: Can you please explain the difference between -ból , -tól and -ról?
A: Maybe this helps:
http://www.hungarianreference.com/Nouns/triads-of-movement.aspx
So you can think of these endings as a 3x3 system.
| goal | position | source | |
|---|---|---|---|
| SPACES | -ba -be | -ban -ben | -ból -ből |
| SURFACES | -ra -re | -on -en -ön -n | -ról -ről |
| SOLIDS | -hoz -hez -höz | -nál -nél | -tól -től |
spaces:
Bemegyek a házba.
A házban vagyok.
Kimegyek a házból.
I go into the house.
I am in the house.
I go out of the house.
surfaces:
Az asztalra rakom a könyvet.
A könyv az asztalon van.
Elveszem az asztalról a könyvet.
I put the book on the table.
The book is on the table.
I take away the book from the table.
solids:
Odamegyek a szoborhoz.
A szobornál várok.
Elmegyek a szobortól.
I go over to the statue.
I wait at the statue.
I go away from the statue.
See also these links:
https://www.easyhungarian.com/elm_irany3_tablazat.html
https://www.easyhungarian.com/elm_irany3_esetek.html
+1
About the definite article in general statements
English drops the definite article on general subjects - but it cannot be dropped in Hungarian.
General statements -> an article is needed in Hungarian.
Elephants are big. - Az elefántok nagyok.
What if you want to say "The elephants are big." (specific elephants)?
That is also "Az elefántok nagyok. " You can tell the difference only from context.
Another thing worth to notice: in "X is Y" or "X are Y" type of sentences, you need an article in Hungarian. (exception: proper names like "László magas." "Budapest nagy." )
Elephants are big. / The elephants are big. Az elefántok nagyok.
Belgian writers are very good./ The Belgian writers are very good. A belga írók nagyon jók.
Cats are beautiful. A macskák szépek.
Sugar is sweet. A cukor édes.
Salt is salty. A só sós.
My little theory: In Hungarian you can switch the word order, so Nagyok az elefántok. Nagyon jók a belga írók. Szépek a macskák. Édes a cukor. are also fine.
If there were no definite article there..... imagine that "Cukor édes " would mean sugar is sweet. But you could swap it and get Édes cukor. But that is already an exising construction. Édes cukor. = Sweet sugar.
So, we are lucky, this mix-up will never happen, because the definite article is there in this situation. Édes a cukor.
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