Learn how to say "need"
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Simone:Hi everyone and welcome back to HungarianPod101.com, this is Upper Beginner season 1 lesson 5 - Falling on Hard Times in Hungary. I’m Simone. |
| Gergő:And I am Gergő. Sziasztok! |
| Simone:In this lesson you’ll learn how to say “need” in a couple of simple ways. |
| Gergő:The conversation takes place at Uncle Béla's failing hairdresser shop. |
| Simone:The conversation is between Jenny and Uncle Béla. |
| Gergő:They use formal language. |
| Simone:Let’s listen to the conversation. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Simone:Another victim of the financial crisis. |
| Gergő:Or ruthless scriptwriting... But joking aside, it is indeed tough now in Hungary. |
| Simone:Just like in most of Europe, unfortunately. |
| Gergő:I think the crisis hit Hungary harder than most. |
| Simone:What might be the reason for that? |
| Gergő:There are many interpretations, and people will get political and agitated if you ask that question. |
| Simone:What do you say then? |
| Gergő:Well, you could argue that poor financial decisions, and the heritage of the communist past both contributed. |
| Simone:But it’s probably better not to mention it! Okay, now let’s move onto the vocab. |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Simone:Let’s take a closer look at some of the words and phrases from this lesson. What is the first expression? |
| Gergő:Elfogyott a... This means “ran out.” |
| Simone:Put it in a sentence, please. |
| Gergő:Elfogyott az erőm. |
| Simone:“I have lost all my power/strength.” |
| Gergő:Elfogyott az erőm. |
| Simone:Let's move on to the next one. |
| Gergő:The next one is a polite expression.Tehetek valamit? |
| Simone:It means “Can I do something?” The implied meaning is that you are willing to help someone in trouble. |
| Gergő:Right. Just like this, you could say Hallottam mi történt. Tehetek valamit? |
| Simone:“I heard what happened. Can I do something?” |
| Gergő:Hallottam mi történt. Tehetek valamit? You can also add érted, or “for you.” |
| Simone:Say the sentence, please. |
| Gergő:Tehetek valamit érted? |
| Simone:“Can I do something for you?” |
| Gergő:The other new word from this lesson is kong. This is actually a verb and an onomatopoeic expression, describing a huge bell ringing. KONG (imitates sound) |
| Simone:It describes a feeling of empty space. This verb is used when you are describing an empty room, store or other space. |
| Gergő:For example, kong az egész étterem. |
| Simone:“The whole restaurant is empty.”Or literally, “is KONGing.”) |
| Gergő:Here is a mild insult now…Annak az embernek kong a feje. |
| Simone:“That guy’s head is empty.” |
| Gergő:Finally, gazdaság means “economy.” You hear this very often nowadays. |
| Simone:Yes, and mostly in the not too heart-warming expression gazdasági válság, or “financial (economic) crisis.” What’s an example with this? |
| Gergő:A gazdasági válság mindenkit érint. |
| Simone:“The financial crisis has an impact on everyone.” |
| Gergő:A gazdasági válság mindenkit érint. |
| Simone:All right, now onto the grammar. |
| GRAMMAR POINT |
| Simone:In this lesson you’ll learn how to say “need” in a couple of simple ways. |
| Gergő:The first sentence we'll analyze is this -Jobb gazdaság kellene, több pénz. |
| Simone:“We need a better economy, more money.” |
| Gergő:Jobb gazdaság kellene, több pénz. Kellene is “need.”In most contexts, kéne and kellene are interchangeable. |
| Simone:We have covered kéne, but Gergő will give you another example. |
| Gergő:Kéne egy alkalmazott, meg egy ötlet is. |
| Simone:“I need an employee and an idea.” Right from the dialogue. |
| Gergő:Kéne egy alkalmazott, meg egy ötlet is. In this sentence, it is interchangeable with kellene. Kellene egy alkalmazott. |
| Simone:“I need an employee.” |
| Gergő:The latter, kellene, is a bit less direct and forward. Its tone carries a bit more humility towards whoever you’re asking, or just towards life in general. |
| Simone:So kellene communicates more humility. We have already covered kell in earlier lessons. That one can be thrown into the same lot, in declarative sentences. The difference is in negative sentences. |
| Gergő:That’s right. While kell, or “need”, put in the negative, expresses the intuitive “don’t need” translation, kéne and kellene are a bit different. |
| Simone:Some examples please! |
| Gergő:Nekem nem kell alkalmazott. |
| Simone:“I don’t need an employee.” Makes sense so far. |
| Gergő:Nekem nem kellene/kéne alkalmazott. |
| “I wouldn’t want/need an employee.” ‘Because I’d be able to do that job alone’ – is how I would expand this sentence. |
| Simone:Other examples include the following - “No tickets are needed here.” Gergő? |
| Gergő:Ide nem kell jegy. But if you say - Ide nem kellene/kéne jegy. |
| Simone:“No tickets should be needed/asked for here.” Because it is not a quality place or service, it is not worth the money. You should also know that while these are completely fine when you are just talking about general wishes or wants, you probably want to be more polite and use a more careful verb when you are actually asking for something from your bosses or other official places. |
| Gergő:This expression is szükségem lenne. |
| Simone:Put it in a sentence, please. |
| Gergő:Szükségem lenne egy számítógépre. |
| Simone:“I need a computer.” This sentence does not have any third person conjugation that normally implies a polite tone – also known as magázás – but the choice of verbs is less direct. Something like... “What I’d need is...” |
| Gergő:In the dialogue, Béla bácsi, “Uncle Béla” is not asking Jenny for anything, but expresses his wishes and is simply stating what he needs. On the other hand, if Jenny becomes his employer-- |
| Simone:Spoiler alert! |
| Gergő:…he will have to start speaking more carefully. |
Outro |
|---|
| Simone:Okay, that’s it for this lesson. As always, make sure you check the lesson notes to reinforce what you’ve learned in this lesson. Thanks everyone, bye! |
| Gergő:See you next time everyone. Sziasztok! |
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