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? asked in Society & CultureLanguages · 7 years ago

Trouble with translating Hungarian?

For the Hungarian speakers out there:

I'm a beginner, trying to translate a few Hungarian words that I heard.Some are confusing me. Please help if you can.

1. "Mit csinál ma".

I think that means "What are you doing today?" But when I Google translated that English phrase, I got "Mit csinálsz ma". Why does the Google phrase have a -sz word? Did I hear wrong? Or are both "csinál" and "csinálsz" correct here?

2. "vásárolok".

I think that means "I am shopping." But when I Google translated that English phrase, I got "én vásárlás". Are both "vásárolok" and "én vásárlás" correct for "I am shopping"?

3. "önnel"

I might have misspelled that word. I think that means "with you." But when I Google translated that English phrase, I got "vele". Did I spell "önnel" right? And are both "önnel" and "én vele" correct for "with you"?

Any explanation of these three would be very much appreciated.

Thank you!

3 Answers

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  • 7 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    1.

    "Mit csinál ma?" "What are you (sir/madam) doing today?"

    "Mit csinálsz ma?" "What are you (dude/bro/sis) doing today?"

    The formal/informal "you" must be very confusing to those who have no experience in a language with the same feature. Many European languages, however, have the same duality. Spanish: tu/Usted French: tu/Vous German: du/Sie etc.

    And it is not only the two kinds of Personal Pronouns but usually the verbal conjugation also changes along with it. In case of Hungarian, only the informal, colloquial you, "te" is in accordance with the second person singular "csinálsz". The informal you - both neutral "maga" and highly polite "Ön" - will require third person singular conjugation. The whole chart for "csinál" is:

    csinálok - I do

    csinálsz - you do

    csinál - he/she does, or you sir/madam do

    csinálunk - we do

    csináltok - you guys do

    csinálnak - they do, or you (ladies and gentlemen) do

    As you may have noticed, in case of many verbs, the ending for third person singular is -ik, but with many others (like "csinál") it is "zero ending".

    2. "vásárolok". = "I am shopping."

    Yes. Google Translator simply does not recognize Progressive/Continuous Aspect of English verbs. It translates word by word and recognizes "shopping" as a noun. "Vásárlás" is the noun shopping.

    My advice is, forget Google Translator, get a good printed language book and a live teacher. :D

    The full conjugation chart for the verb "vásárol" is:

    vásárolok I do shopping, "I shop"

    vásárolsz you dude do shopping

    vásárol he/she does shopping, or you sir/ma'm do shopping

    vásárolunk we do shopping

    vásároltok you guys do shopping

    vásárolnak they do shopping, or you (ladies, gentlemen) do shopping

    3. "önnel" = "with you sir/madam"

    "veled" = "with you dude"

    Cases of Personal Pronouns have the whole chart of persons plural and singular. The formal you in all specific cases is usually different; NOT same as the Personal Pronoun third person.

    velem = with me

    veled = with you dude

    vele = with him/her

    velünk = with us

    veletek = with you guys

    velük = with them

    BUT

    Önnel = with you sir/madam

    Önökkel = with you ladies/gentlemen

    If you are on FB then, for some more Hungarian, please visit:

    https://www.facebook.com/groups/learnhungarian

    (and refer back to here so we know it is you) ;)

  • 7 years ago

    1. I think both "Mit csinál ma?" and "Mit csinálsz ma?" are interchangeable. I think they are both correct if you are colloquially talking to a person.

    When you add -sz to a verb root, then you make it in referral to the second-person (informal), much like the opposite of English (instead of adding a pronoun before a verb, you add a suffix after a verb).

    'Csinál' - to do

    'Csinálsz' - [you/thou] do

    'ír' - to write

    'írsz' - [you/thou] write

    2. Usually, the personal pronouns like 'én' are omitted in favour of suffixes, so I think you are better off with "vásárolok". Try to primarily use the pronouns for emphasis or when saying 'I am' - 'Én vagyok'.

    3. 'önnel' is the formal singular way of saying 'with you.' 'Veled' is colloquial.

  • 7 years ago

    Thank you very much, Tamáska. Your efforts are appreciated. I could not have hoped for a more complete and understandable answer.

    And thanks also to Edwige. I wish I could have picked two "Best Answers."

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