Learn how to compare qualities with adjectives
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Simone: Hi everyone, and welcome to HungarianPod101.com. This is Lower Beginner, season 2, lesson 20, Don’t Try to Feed a Hungarian Peanut Butter! I’m Simone. |
| Csaba: Sziasztok, I’m Csaba. |
| Simone:In this lesson we’re going to learn to compare things using adjectives. |
| Csaba:The conversation takes place in a car. |
| Simone:It’s between Anne and Balázs. |
| Csaba:And they use informal language. |
| Simone:Let’s listen to the conversation. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Simone:I sense some personal involvement in this whole peanut butter thing. |
| Csaba:Really?? Well, you’re right, actually. It is very far from Hungarian taste. When my English teacher made my class try it, we had to run to the bathroom to throw it up. |
| Simone:Eww, what? |
| Csaba:I’m serious. And it wasn’t just me, but a considerable percentage of my class. |
| Simone:Do you think it's really that bad? |
| Csaba:Well, my problem was that I expected something sweet, and I think the rest of the class did too. |
| Simone:Well, if you expect something sweet, then you might be in for a shock, I guess. |
| Csaba:Imagine that you're expecting something sweet and chocolatey, but then peanut butter hits your tongue for the first time in your life. |
| Simone:I can almost see it. |
| Csaba:The teacher never expected such a reaction. |
| Simone:Alright, let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| The first word we shall see is, |
| Dicsekedik. |
| Bragg. |
| Next, |
| Benzin, gas. |
| Petrol. |
| Next, |
| Kivéve. |
| Except. |
| Next, |
| Tuti. |
| For sure. |
| Next, |
| Mogyoróvaj. |
| Peanut butter. |
| Next, |
| Gusztustalan. |
| Disgusting. |
| Next, |
| Valaha. |
| Ever. |
| And last, |
| Kóstolni. |
| Taste. |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Simone: Let's have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Csaba: The first phrase is Ne dicsekedj. It means “stop bragging.” Dicsekedj is the imperative form of “brag,” or dicsekedik. |
| Simone: Alright, that sounds easy enough. Is it formal or informal? |
| Csaba: Of course, it is informal. When do you ever tell your boss not to brag? |
| Simone: Good point. Let’s move on. |
| Csaba: Tuti is a slang-ish word which means “surely” or “for sure.” |
| Simone: Can you use it in a sentence? |
| Csaba: Tuti megyek este. |
| Simone: “I am going tonight, for sure.” |
| Csaba:Tuti megyek este. |
| Simone: Let’s hear one more, which is “it will be good for sure.” |
| Csaba: Tuti jó lesz. |
| Simone: “It’ll be good for sure.” The next word is going to be “except for.” |
| Csaba: Kivéve. |
| Simone: Let's use it in a sentence. “I like all beverages but coke.” |
| Csaba: A kólát kivéve minden üdítőt szeretek. |
| Simone: Alright. Let's go to grammar now. |
| GRAMMAR POINT |
| Simone:In this lesson you're going to learn comparative and superlative adjectives. |
| Csaba:Right. First, we will learn to attach the comparative ending. Basically you grab an adjective that ends in a vowel and add double "b," or in Hungarian -bb. |
| Simone:Let’s see one. |
| Csaba:Olcsó. |
| Simone: This means “Cheap.” |
| Csaba:Olcsóbb. |
| Simone: and this means “Cheaper.” Use it in a sentence please. |
| Csaba:Az én telefonom olcsóbb. |
| Simone:“My phone is cheaper.” |
| Csaba: Az én telefonom olcsóbb. |
| Simone:What if the adjective doesn’t end in a vowel? |
| Csaba:Than you add -ebb or -abb, depending on the vowel setup. |
| Simone:Let’s hear an example. |
| Csaba:Öreg. |
| Simone:“Old.” |
| Csaba: Öregebb. |
| Simone:“Older.” Let’s hear another one, which gets the -abb ending. |
| Csaba: Magas. |
| Simone:“Tall.” |
| Csaba:Magasabb. |
| Simone:“Taller.” |
| Csaba:The usual vowel harmony rules apply here. You can go check out our lesson notes for more examples, but now we turn to superlatives. |
| Simone:All right, how do you say: “the oldest?” |
| Csaba:A legöregebb. You need the definite article, just like in English, and a prefix to the adjective, leg-. The adjective already had the comparative ending. |
| Simone: Ok. Let’s pick another adjective now. |
| Csaba:All right. Gyors. |
| Simone:“Fast.” |
| Csaba:Gyorsabb. |
| Simone:“Faster.” |
| Csaba:A leggyorsabb. |
| Simone:“The fastest.” |
| Csaba:Finally, we have to warn of two exceptions that in turn are very important. |
| Simone:The first one is “big.” |
| Csaba:Nagy. |
| Simone: and “Bigger.” |
| Csaba:Nagyobb. This one gets -obb as an ending. |
| Simone:Well, why not? |
| Csaba:(laughs) And the other exception is kicsi. |
| Simone:Which means “small.” |
| Csaba:The comparative form of that one is kisebb. Now, when you want to compare two things, you very often use this formula: the comparative adjective plus the word mint or “than.” |
| Simone:Let’s give the listeners an example. |
| Csaba:Péter magasabb, mint Tamás. |
| Simone:“Peter is taller than Thomas.” |
| Csaba:Péter magasabb, mint Tamás. |
| Simone: Ok, one last one for the road. |
| Csaba:A kutya nagyobb, mint a macska. |
| Simone:“Dogs are bigger than cats.” |
| Csaba:A kutya nagyobb, mint a macska. |
Outro |
|---|
| Simone: OK, that's it for this lesson. Make sure you check the lesson notes and we'll see you next time. |
| Csaba: Sziasztok. |
Comments
HideDo you like "mogyoróvaj" (peanut butter)? What else do you like? Tell us in Hungarian!
Szia Zuzanna!
Látom, ismered a híres Túró Rudinkat! 😎 Én egyszer kóstoltam a Marmite-ot, nem is olyan rég, de nekem nem ízlett.😇
Szép napot!
Erika
Team HungarianPod101.com
A mogyoróvaj a mézzel vagy lekvárral elmegy. Kostóltad már a "Marmite"?
Túró Rudi a legjobb!
Szia Efrat,
You're right! "A kutyák nagyobbak, mint a macskák." is a better translation of "dogs are bigger then cats", but
I think in this sentence "A kutya nagyobb, mint a macska. " "kutya" and "macska" (singulars) refer to the animal species in general, that's why they are singular.
I hope I could help. 😇
Thanks for your comment,
Zsuzsanna
Team HungarianPod101.com
Hello,
In the grammar section: "A kutya nagyobb, mint a macska" translated as: "dogs are bigger then cats".
Isn't "kutya" and "macska" - singular forms?
Without seeing the provided English translation, I would have translated it as: "The dog is bigger then the cat".
My questions therefore:
1. Why not use pluralized form in the sentence?
(A kutyák nagyobbak, mint a macskák - or something like that..)
2. If "A kutya nagyobb, mint a macska" refers to dogs VS cats (plural), how would you compare one specific dog to one specific cat (singular)? How would this sentence - "The dog is bigger then the cat" - be translated to Hungarian?
Thanks in advance,
Best regards!
Efrat.
Hi Amy!
Thanks for pointing that out. That is an exception, actually!
Good catch!
Csaba
Team HungarianPod101.com
In the lesson they don't explain why "prettier" is "szebb" instead of "szépebb". Is this just another exception?
Szia Lisa!
Thanks for posting!
Erica
Team HungarianPod101.com
Szeretem a Forgács Fank ; a Krémest és a Diós vagy Mákos beigli.
(i like forgacs fank; kremes and walnut or poppyseed beigli).
Szia Vera!
Miert sajnos? ;)
Csak nem a "kaloriak" miatt? :))
Gergő
Team HungarianPod101.com
Én imádom a sajtos-tejfölös lángost!