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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Sziasztok. Hello and welcome to Hungarian Survival Phrases brought to you by HungarianPod101.com, this course is designed to equip you with the language skills and knowledge to enable you to get the most out of your visit to Hungary. You will be surprised at how far a little Hungarian will go.
Now, before we jump in, remember to stop by HungarianPod101.com and there, you will find the accompanying PDF and additional info in the post. If you stop by, be sure to leave us a comment.

Lesson focus

In the last lesson, we learned how to get a table at a restaurant, but please know that because of the popularity of Hungarian food, it can be difficult to get a seat, especially on the weekends. The best thing to do without a doubt is to make a reservation for the time you want to go and eat.
In this lesson, we'll cover making a reservation in a restaurant.
Normally, if you make a phone call in order to make a reservation for the evening you would say, Szeretnék asztalt foglalni ma estére.
Szeretnék asztalt foglalni ma estére.
Literally, szeretnék means "I would like to."
szeretnék
We follow this with asztalt, which in English means, "table" in the accusative.
Let's break it down by syllable: asz-tal.
asztalt
Foglalni is the infinitive form of the verb "to book."
Let's break it down by syllable: fog-lal-ni.
foglalni
Finally, we have ma estére, which is the equivalent of "for tonight."
ma es-té-re.
ma estére
Let's recap the phrase one more time: Szeretnék asztalt foglalni ma estére.
Szeretnék asztalt foglalni ma estére.
Normally, they'll ask you how many people are in your party and the time of the reservation.
"For how many people?" is Hány főre?
Hány főre?
Let's break it down by syllable: Hány fő-re?
Now let's imagine you are a party of two.
In Hungarian, you would use Kettőre, which in English means, "for two people."
Kettőre
Kettőre
Finally, let's see how they will ask you the time of your reservation. Hány órára? "At what time?" Hány órára? literally means, "At what time."
Let's break down these words and hear them one more time: Hány órára?
Hány órára?
Now let's answer the question! Let's imagine you want to reserve a table at eight o'clock.
Nyolc órára kérem. is "At eight o'clock, please."
Nyolc órára means, "At eight."
Let's break down these words and hear them one more time: Nyolc ó-rá-ra.
Nyolc órára
We follow this with kérem, which would translate as "please."
kérem
kérem
Let's repeat the whole phrase one more time: Nyolc órára kérem.
Nyolc órára kérem.

Outro

Okay, to close out today's lesson, we'd like for you to practice what you've just learned. I'll provide you with the English equivalent of the phrase and you're responsible for shouting it aloud. You'll have a few seconds before I give you the answer; so, sok szerencsét, which means "good luck" in Hungarian.
"I'd like to make a reservation." - Szeretnék asztalt foglalni ma estére.
Szeretnék asztalt foglalni ma estére.
Szeretnék asztalt foglalni ma estére.
"How many people are you?" - Hány főre?
Hány főre?
Hány főre?
"For two." - Kettőre.
Kettőre.
Kettőre.
"For what time do you want to reserve?" - Hány órára?
Hány órára?
Hány órára?
"At eight o'clock, please." - Nyolc órára kérem.
Nyolc órára kérem.
Nyolc órára kérem.
All right. That’s is going to do it for today. Remember to stop by HungarianPod101.com and pick up the accompanying PDF. If you stop by, be sure to leave us a comment. Sziasztok!

Comments

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11 Comments
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HungarianPod101.com
2011-09-19 18:30:00

Have you ever visited Hungarian restaurants? If not, what would you like to have there?

HungarianPod101.com
2018-12-02 18:01:57

Hi Charles,

Thank you for your positive feedback!

Please stay tuned, as we'll have new lessons for you every week! And if you have any questions, feel free to ask us.

Sincerely,

Cristiane

Team HungarianPod101.com

Charles
2018-11-23 16:22:04

Very innovative and simple to follow and understand

Sofia
2018-03-05 10:43:56

Sziasztok,

I remember going to different restaurants and not having any clue of how the dishes may taste like. I fell in love with the Kelkáposzta ❤️️ and I can't wait to go back to Hungary and eat it.

This lessons are reminding me of the beautiful language I learned once but somehow forgotten.

Köszi szépen mindenkinek,

Sofi.

HungarianPod101.com
2015-10-13 00:43:19

Szia Lily,

As you said, Hány fő? (literally translated by how many heads?) is used in a large variety of context, but usually in a polite conversation including clients, customers or visitors of a reception, events, restaurant, mariage etc. simply because "fő" is very polite.

Hány főre? is mostly used for a reservation.

Hány főre lesz a foglalás? - The reservation will be for how many people?

Another use can be in cooking recipes.

Hány kiló hús kell 5 főre? - How many kg of meat is needed for 5 person?

If you have other questions, please don't hesitate to send a comment!

Dorottya

Team HungarianPod101.com

lily
2015-10-06 20:45:25

Wow Robin asked what I'm confused XD

Gergő, Köszönöm szépen:smile:

And may I ask Hány fő? can use in most of condition,but Hány főre use to reserve a table usually?

Köszönöm~

:heart:

Lily

HungarianPod101.com
2014-11-13 16:47:01

Hi Rene!

Haha, Robin asked great questions, right? :innocent:

And don't worry! I'm sure you will be able to remember more than you think!

But it's true, it's a lot easier with sign language :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

If you have any questions, please let us know!

Engla

Team HungarianPod101.com

Rene
2014-11-09 08:25:33

Sziastok,

This sentence is completely impossible for me to remember:

Szeretnék asztalt foglalni ma estére. :disappointed:

If I ever make it to Hungary, I may have a friend make the phone call, because even if I can memorize all that, I won't understand what they reply. :open_mouth:

At least in person, I can use sign language. :laughing:

Rene
2014-11-09 07:57:57

Sziastok!

Wow, Robin asked all the questions I had been thinking of but didn't dare to ask. :smile:

I have learned a lot.

HungarianPod101.com
2013-07-31 23:57:25

Szia Robin!

I am very happy that you find Hungarian language so interesting! :wink: (And you make me think about the secrets of Hungarian...)

Answering your question:

Hány fő? - How many people?

Hány főre? - (Table) For how many people?

So it is nothing to do with tenses.

Hányan vannak? - How many people is in your party? (formal question)

Informal would be - Hányan vagytok?

Hope I could help!:wink:

Várom a további kérdéseidet!

Gergő

HungarianPod101.com

Robin
2013-07-22 10:47:42

Szia Gergő, In lesson 11 we learned "Hány fő" for how many people, and the number suffix -en or -an. In lesson 12 the suffix was őre. Is that because we're talking about a future event and lesson 11 was in the present? Köszönöm szépen. Also, in another restaurant scenario, Hányan vannak is used. If the question word different because in the first it's asking for a 3rd person headcount and the second it's asking for "you"? Am I thinking too much? :smile: Robin

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