At some point in your learning journey, you might raise the question of how to improve Hungarian conversation skills. Well, you came to the right place for that. We know how crucial it is to be able to have a comeback, so to say, in every possible situation when in Hungary. That is why we created this Hungarian conversation skills guide for you to master the language.
Below, you will find phrases and lines as well as tips to improve Hungarian conversation skills. Not only that, but we will show you how easy it is to engage in a conversation with a Hungarian local. We will show you basic and easy phrases, but you will see that these are very useful and common in Hungary.
Before we start, let’s quickly outline what we will learn about today. We collected Hungarian reaction phrases, filler words, as well as common questions and answers that you might encounter during your visit to the country. In the end, we will even give you a few easy tips on how you can improve your Hungarian conversation skills in the best and easiest way.
Ready? Let’s jump into it then!
Table of Contents
- Learn Hungarian Conversation Starters
- Make Your Own Language Profile
- Learn Hungarian Reactions
- Learn Hungarian Filler Words
- Learn Common Questions and Answers
- How to Improve Speaking Skills
- How HungarianPod101.com Helps You Reach Your Goals in Learning Hungarian
1. Learn Hungarian Conversation Starters
How to improve your Hungarian speaking skills? Well, the first step is to start a conversation. It does not matter if it is someone you know or a person with whom you have not interacted, you have to walk up to them with some kind of meaning. For this, we gathered a few phrases for you to improve your Hungarian conversation skills by learning how to address a person and start a dialogue with them.
How to start a conversation with a stranger?
“Hi. Do I know you?” – Szia! Ismerlek (téged)?
“I don’t think so.” – Nem hiszem.
“We have a nice, sunny weather, no?” – Szép, napos időnk van, nem?
“Yes, absolutely.” – De, abszolút!
“You look familiar. Where have we might met?” – Ismerősnek tűnsz. Hol találkozhattunk?
“It must have been at Peter’s New Year’s Eve party.” – Péter szilveszteri buliján lehetett.
“Can I ask for your help with the preparation for the exam?” – Kérhetném a segítséged a vizsgára való felkészülésben?
“Sure, happy to help.” – Persze, szívesen segítek.
“Could you tell me where I can find the sales department?” – Meg tudná mondani, mere találom az értékesítési osztályt?
“Sure, I’m going there too, let’s go together.” – Persze, én is oda megyek. Menjünk együtt!
See a discussion about a sales report.
2. Make Your Own Language Profile
After having started the conversation, you need to keep it going somehow. So, make your own language profile, kind of like a mini autobiography of you. This way, you would be ready for any introductory situation where you have to tell something about yourself to people you have never met before. It is much easier to have a ready-made template in your head already, to avoid awkward situations of silence because nothing comes to your mind due to nervousness.
Here are some examples of what you could say about yourself in just one sentence. However, if you are bold, you can come up with additional sentences and share more information about yourself.
Here are a few tips on what else you could add to your introduction.
Just do not forget to practice speaking Hungarian before a real-life situation.
“Hi, guys! My name is Peter, I’m a 30-year-old male, and I work as an accountant.” – Sziasztok! A nevem Péter, egy harmincéves férfi vagyok, és könyvelőként dolgozom.
“Hi, everyone! I’m Maria, a 26-year-old mother-of-two. I work in the hospital and I love being in the nature.” – Üdv mindenkinek! Mária vagyok, egy 26 éves kétgyermekes anya. A kórházban dolgozom, és szeretek a természetben lenni.
“Hello! I’m Valeria, I am 54 years old. I have two kids and a grandchild. I love knitting and teasing my husband.” – Helló! Valéria vagyok, 54 éves. Két gyermekem és egy unokám van. Imádok kötni és a férjemmel szórakozni.
Here is a short Hungarian conversation about introduction.
3. Learn Hungarian Reactions
Another major and, thus, must-to-learn part of Hungarian conversations (be it with a person you do or do not know) is being able to react to what Hungarian people say to you. For this reason, we present to you… Hungarian conversation skills for reactions to certain situations.
When you want someone to know you have copied and understood what they told you or are surprised and want to express this, developing speaking skills in Hungarian is very important.
You can see the Hungarian reaction phrases in bold below:
“I told you… I can’t go to the party tonight because I’m having dinner with my family.” – Mondtam neked… Nem tudok a buliba menni, mert a családommal vacsorázom.
“I see…” – Értem…
See a few funny example sentences regarding a family reunion.
“Whatever you do, just please don’t tell them this embarrassing story.” – Bármit csinálsz, csak el ne mondd nekik ezt a kínos sztorit!
“Gotcha!” – Vettem!
“I’ve never been to the Parisian Disney Land. And I’m almost 50 years old.” – Még sosem voltam a párizsi Disney Land-ben. Pedig majdnem 50 éves vagyok.
“Seriously? Are you kidding me? We have to go!” – (Most) komolyan? Szórakozol velem? El kell mennünk!
“I have a date tonight with that cute girl from work.” – Randim van ma este azzal az aranyos lánnyal a melóból.
“That’s awesome!” – Király!
“I shouldn’t have come in just a jacket when it’s snowing outside.” – Nem kellett volna csak egy dzsekiben jönnöm, amikor odakint esik a hó.
“That’s right.” – Így van!
Here you can always check the current, accurate weather in Hungary.
“I got the job!” – Megkaptam az állást!
“Amazing!” – Csodás!
“Nobody wants to leave their bed on winter mornings.” – Senki sem akar kikelni az ágyból téli reggeleken.
“How true…” – Milyen igaz…
“I just saw the two of them kissing in the mall! Finally!” – Épp az imént láttam őket smárolni a plázában! Végre!
“This cannot be true!” – Ez nem lehet igaz!
How to improve your Hungarian speaking skills even more? Click for 7 ways to improve your speaking skills.
4. Learn Hungarian Filler Words
Hungarian filler words are another crucial component of Hungarian conversations, especially when you want to avoid long pauses in the discussion or when you simply just cannot find the right words right away. For such situations, filler words come into place and to the rescue. A great way to improve your Hungarian conversation skills is to learn to manage such situations when silence needs to be filled.
Check out what the most common Hungarian filler words are:
“Thingy” – Izé
“I mean, I think I’m gonna take off.” – Izé, azt hiszem, most elhúzok.
“Well” – Nos
“What’s it called…” – Hogy is hívják…
“I mean” – Úgy értem…
“So-called” – Úgynevezett
“I was like…” – Én meg így…
“He didn’t want to lend me his PS, and I was like, dude, are you serious?” – Nem akarta kölcsönadni a PS-ét, én meg így, haver, most komolyan?
See our article about the topic for more Hungarian filler words.
5. Learn Common Questions and Answers
A powerful skill in every language is knowing how to ask questions. They are essential for Hungarian as well because, especially at the beginning of your language learning journey, there will be times when you do not understand something completely and need re-iteration or reassurance on a given matter. And that is okay! Do not be afraid to ask, that is how you learn and evolve!
However, you need to know how to answer a question as well in case someone directs a question to you. So, the best way to improve your Hungarian conversation skills is to be ready for both scenarios.
See how Hungarian questions are built.
Below, you will find mini conversations where you can see and learn the roles of both parties.
“Where are you from?” – Hová valósi vagy?
“I’m from Hungary.” – Magyarországról származom.
“I was born in Budapest.” – Budapesten születtem.
“How are you?” – Hogy vagy?
“I’m great, thanks. And you?” – Én nagyszerűen vagyok, köszi. És te?
“Fine. What about you?” – Megvagyok. Veled mi újság?
“How did you learn this language?” – Hogy tanultad meg ezt a nyelvet?
“My dad is German, but my mom is Hungarian, so she thought me when I was little.” – Apukám német, de anyukám magyar, szóval ő tanított meg, amikor kicsi voltam.
“Why are you learning this language?” – Miért tanulod ezt a nyelvet?
“I wanted to challenge myself.” – Szerettem volna próbára tenni magam.
“My partner is Hungarian, so I’m learning it because of her.” – A párom magyar, szóval miatta tanulom.
“What do you do?” – Mit dolgozol?
“I’m a firefighter. And you?” – Tűzoltó vagyok. És te?
“I don’t work currently, I’m unemployed.” – Most épp nem dolgozom. Munkanélküli vagyok.
6. How to Improve Speaking Skills
Finally, we would like to give you some tips to improve your Hungarian conversation skills. Because it is nice to have example sentences and templates, but you have to memorize them somehow and also come up with your own sentences. Not to mention that you have to practice speaking in Hungarian too, to make sure your conversations will go as smoothly as possible.
So, without further ado, here are the 5 best ways to improve Hungarian conversation skills:
1) Think of an everyday scenario and write down a few words that come to your mind in connection with it
2) Practice speaking Hungarian with a native friend
3) Act out scenes by yourself and play the role of all parties
4) Listen to audio files about everyday conversations. When you level up, you can try conversations on more advanced topics
5) Practice with and learn from a personal tutor whose focus is only on you
Here are a few other tips on how you can improve your speaking skills. The article talks about the English language, but you can apply the tips to Hungarian and your own language learning journey as well.
7. How HungarianPod101.com Helps You Reach Your Goals in Learning Hungarian
Awesome! Now you must have lots of impeccable Hungarian conversation skills! Let’s recap what kind of phrases and lines we have learned in this article. First, we advised you to make your own language profile for an easier introduction to new people and even showed you a few introductory sentences you could use as templates. Then, we covered Hungarian reactions and filler words, as well as common questions and possible answers to them. We have also learned about conversation starters that you could use with someone you have not met before, and lastly, we listed a few tips to improve your Hungarian conversation skills.
Do not forget, however, that you need to practice speaking Hungarian to truly master these phrases and to speak out loud with confidence.
You can further improve your language skills and practice Hungarian with our many free vocabulary lists, or you could sign up even to be a family member and gain access to many useful study materials that could help you along your learning journey. These include audio recordings of casual – or specific-topic – conversations in Hungarian with transcription, as well as the help of a personal tutor, and many more.
Sign up today!
Let’s see how you improved your Hungarian conversation skills. How would you introduce yourself in Hungarian? Comment below!
