Transcriber’s Note: In the original, Hungarian words were printed in
bold typeface. This has been removed to avoid visual distraction for
the reader (but preserved in the HTML version). Some words and parts
of words are marked =thus= where the authors intended special emphasis.
The reader should exercise caution if removing the equals signs for
readability, as there are some genuine equals signs in the text as well.
Italics are indicated by _underscores_.
HUNGARIAN GRAMMAR
TRÜBNER’S SIMPLIFIED GRAMMARS OF THE PRINCIPAL ASIATIC AND EUROPEAN
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HUNGARIAN
GRAMMAR
BY
C. ARTHUR AND ILONA GINEVER
LONDON
KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRÜBNER & CO. LTD
DRYDEN HOUSE, GERRARD STREET, W.
1909
_The rights of translation and of reproduction are reserved_
Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO.
At the Ballantyne Press, Edinburgh
PREFACE
Many people are under the wrong impression that Hungarian is a difficult
language to learn. It is true that it is quite unrelated to any other
European language, save the Finnish, being of oriental origin, and
brought with them by the invading Hungarians into the country now known
as Hungary, towards the end of the ninth century A.D.
Though the vocabulary, accordingly, may at first wear an air of
strangeness, this strangeness does not mean difficulty, and we venture
to say that Hungarian is easier for an English student than French or
German. The most striking characteristics of the language are its use
of suffixes, where in English pronouns and prepositions are employed,
and the law of harmony prevailing between the vowel-sounds of a word and
those of its suffixes.
When once these rules, and a few relating to the verb, are grasped,
Hungarian will be found to present no great difficulty, and the
impression that it is a hard language to learn must be regarded as due to
the bad and complicated exposition usually met with in grammars designed
to teach Hungarian.
A student who thoroughly masters this short and simple grammar will be
well on the way to speaking and reading Hungarian, and to unlocking for
himself the golden stores of Hungarian prose and poetry.
In the hope that this book may prove serviceable to any one visiting
Hungary, we have added a vocabulary and a number of phrases in common use.
C. ARTHUR GINEVER.
ILONA GINEVER
(_née_ DE GYŐRY, OF BUDAPEST).
ST. LADISLAS, CASTLE AVENUE, DOVER.
CONTENTS
CHAP. PAGE
I. THE ALPHABET 1
II. THE ARTICLE 4
III. THE NOUN 7
IV. PERSONAL SUFFIXES 18
V. SUFFIXES FOR PLACE, DIRECTION, &C. 22
VI. POSTPOSITIONS 26
VII. THE ADJECTIVE 30
VIII. THE PRONOUN 37
IX. THE VERB 43
X. THE ADVERB 62
XI. CONJUNCTIONS 66
XII. INTERJECTIONS 68
XIII. GENDER 70
XIV. ETYMOLOGY 72
XV. SYNTAX 75
XVI. DAYS, MONTHS, AND SEASONS 77
XVII. MONEY, WEIGHTS, AND MEASURES 78
XVIII. PHRASES 79
HUNGARIAN-ENGLISH VOCABULARY 88
ENGLISH-HUNGARIAN VOCABULARY 91
HUNGARIAN GRAMMAR
CHAPTER I
THE ALPHABET
VOWELS.
There are in Hungarian fourteen distinct vowel characters:— a, á; e, é;
i, í; o, ó, ö, ő; u, ú, ü, ű.
They are pronounced:—
=a= as _o_ in rod, _e.g._ fal, a wall
=á= ” _a_ ” far ” vár, a castle
=e=[1] ” _a_ ” man ” kerek, round
=é= ” _a_ ” pale ” pénz, money
=i= ” _i_ ” piqué ” piros, red
=í= ” _ee_ ” bee ” ív, an arch
=o= ” _o_ ” fort ” bor, wine
=ó= ” _o_ ” roll ” ló, a horse
=ö= ” French _eu_ ” neuf ” föld, earth
=ő= ” _u_ ” fur }
or French _œu_ ” sœur } ” bőr, skin
=u= ” _u_ ” bull ” futni, to run
=ú= ” _oo_ ” pool ” rút, ugly
=ü= ” French _u_ ” une ” fül, ear
=ű= ” ” _ue_ ” morue ” tűz, fire
a, e, i, o, ö, u, ü are short vowels.
á, é, í, ó, ő, ú, ű are long vowels.
_There are no Diphthongs._
Vowels are also divided into:—
(_a_) _Flats_: =a=, =á=, =o=, =ó=, =u=, =ú=;
(_b_) _Sharps_: =e=, =ö=, =ő=, =ü=, =ű=; and
(_c_) _Mediates_: =é=, =i=, =í=.
_Flats and Sharps never occur in the same word_, and according as the
vowels are of one or the other class the words are said to be sharp or
flat, and only take suffixes of their respective class.
kalap (hat), pl. kalapok.
kert (garden), ” kertek.
_Note._—This rule does not prevent the formation of compound
substantives of heterogeneous words, and applies only to
etymological derivatives. For example, selyemruha is a
compound of selyem (silk), and ruha (a dress).
The _Mediates_ may be found in the same word along with either flat or
sharp vowels. Such words are called mixed, and take suffixes of either
class.
piros (red), pl. pirosak.
hideg (cold), ” hidegek.
CONSONANTS.
The _simple consonants_ are: b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t,
v, z.
=c= (or =cz=) is pronounced like _ts_ in its, _e.g._ citrom, a lemon
=g= (hard) ” ” ” _g_ ” go ” galamb, a dove
=j= (soft) ” ” ” _y_ ” you ” jó, good
=s= ” ” ” _sh_ ” shoe ” sas, an eagle
=h= is always aspirated ” három, three
=r= is harder than in English, and is }
always vibrated, whether preceded } ” róka, a fox
or followed by a vowel } ” ár, price
The others are pronounced as in English.
The _compound consonants_ are: cs, ds, gy, ly, ny, sz, ty, zs.
They are pronounced as follows:—
=cs= as _ch_ in church, _e.g._ csirke, a chicken
=ds= ” _j_ ” joke ” findsa, a cup
=gy= ” _d_ ” dew ” gyöngy, a pearl
=ly= ” _y_ ” you ” ilyen, such
=ny= ” _n_ ” new ” nyúl, a hare
=sz= ” _s_ ” so ” szabó, a tailor
=ty= ” _t_ ” tune ” tyúk, a hen
=zs= ” _z_ ” azure } ” zsir, lard
or French _j_ in je }
These compound consonants must be looked upon as single letters, each
representing a single and distinct sound or articulation, and cannot be
divided in spelling or pronunciation.
If in a word the sound of a compound consonant is heard with greater
stress, that is, where these letters are to be written doubly, they are
thus abbreviated:—
For cscs, ccs; for gygy, ggy; &c.
But if these consonants meet only through the use of suffixes or the
formation of compound words, they must be written out in full. Also, when
a word is broken off at the end of a line, the missing letter is to be
replaced.
asszony (woman) is divided thus: asz-szony.
The Hungarian language has no mute letters. Every character is to be
pronounced distinctly and in full, always retaining the same sound, and
each word has as many syllables as it contains vowels.
fiaim has three syllables, and is pronounced fi-a-im.
leányaié ” five ” ” ” le-ány-a-i-é.
The _emphasis_ _always_ rests on the _first syllable_.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] This e is sometimes pronounced like _e_ in men, especially in the
case of words in which it occurs several times; _e.g._ engedelmes
(pronounced angedalmash).