Translate Hungarian to English
Hungarian text shows up in business emails from Budapest, product labels from Hungarian manufacturers, academic papers from Hungarian universities, EU documents, and personal messages. The long words with unfamiliar accented vowels can look intimidating, but the translator handles everything. Paste your text above.
Common Hungarian to English translations
| Hungarian | English | Pronunciation | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Szia | Hello | SEE-ah | ||
| Jó reggelt | Good morning | yoh REG-gelt | ||
| Köszönöm | Thank you | KUH-suh-nuhm | ||
| Kérem | Please | KEH-rem | ||
| Mennyibe kerül? | How much is this? | MEN-nyee-beh KEH-rool | ||
| Hol van a mosdó? | Where is the bathroom? | hol von ah MOSH-doh | ||
| Nem értem | I do not understand | nem EHR-tem | ||
| Tud segíteni? | Can you help me? | tood SHEH-gee-teh-nee | ||
| Kérek egy kávét | I would like coffee | KEH-rek edj KAH-veht | ||
| A számlát kérem | The bill, please | ah SAHM-laht KEH-rem | ||
| Örülök | Nice to meet you | UH-roo-luhk | ||
| Viszlát | Goodbye | VIS-laht | ||
| Orvosra van szükségem | I need a doctor | OR-vosh-rah von SOOk-sheh-gem | ||
| Elnézést | Excuse me | EL-neh-zehsht |
Tips for Hungarian to English translation
Hungarian words in running text can be very long because of stacked suffixes. Megállapíthatóság (determinability) is built from megállapít (determine) + ható (able) + ság (noun suffix). When a translation seems incomplete or oddly phrased, the translator may have misidentified where one suffix ends and another begins. Shorter input sentences reduce this risk.
Hungarian uses definite and indefinite verb conjugations. Látom means “I see it” (definite object), while látok means “I see” (no specific object or indefinite). Both translate to “I see” in English, but the distinction affects other parts of the sentence. If a translation seems to drop or add an object pronoun unexpectedly, this conjugation difference is likely the cause.
Hungarian has vowel harmony, similar to Turkish and Finnish. Back vowels (a, á, o, ó, u, ú) and front vowels (e, é, i, í, ö, ő, ü, ű) generally cannot mix within native words. This rule extends to suffixes: the locative ending is -ban for back-vowel words (házban) and -ben for front-vowel words (képben).
Hungarian names follow Eastern order: family name first, given name second. Kovács János is Mr. János Kovács (Kovács is the surname). When translating documents or business cards, verify the name order. Some translators flip the order to Western convention, others do not.
About the Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language that arrived in the Carpathian Basin around the 9th century with the Magyar tribes from the Ural Mountains region. Despite being surrounded by Slavic, Germanic, and Romance languages for over a thousand years, Hungarian has maintained its distinctive structure and vocabulary. It is one of the few non-Indo-European languages in the European Union.
Hungary has a rich cultural heritage in music (Liszt, Bartók, Kodály), literature (Nobel laureate Imre Kertész), mathematics, and science. Budapest, straddling the Danube, is one of Europe's most visited cities. Hungarian cuisine, particularly goulash and paprika-based dishes, has influenced cooking across Central Europe. The language reflects this cultural depth with extensive vocabulary for food, music, and folk traditions.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Unlimited, no registration.
Hungarian stacks suffixes for grammatical relationships (cases, possession, verb forms). A single word can carry as much information as a 4-5 word English phrase.
Yes. Click the speaker icon.
Yes. All nine Hungarian accented vowels are processed correctly.
Good for everyday use. For contracts and official documents, use a certified translator.
No. Hungarian is Uralic; its neighbors speak Slavic (Slovak, Croatian, Serbian), Germanic (German/Austrian), and Romance (Romanian) languages.
Visit our English to Hungarian page.
Hungarian uses Eastern name order: surname first, given name second. This is the opposite of English convention.
No. Everything processed in real time.
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