Hungarian Lesson 1 · A1

Hungarian Alphabet and Pronunciation

You may be surprised how many Hungarian words you can already read. Say each word out loud first, then type what you think it means in English and press Enter.

Exercise 1: Cities and countries

All of these are places. Read them aloud, then write the English name. Hint: ország means "country".

  1. Magyarország Hungary
  2. Ausztria Austria
  3. Németország Germany
  4. Olaszország Italy
  5. Franciaország France
  6. Spanyolország Spain
  7. Anglia England
  8. Kanada Canada
  9. Japán Japan
  10. BĂ©cs Vienna (the capital of Austria)
  11. Párizs Paris
  12. RĂłma Rome

Exercise 2: Words you already know

Hungarian has borrowed lots of international words. Read them out loud and the meaning should jump out.

  1. kávé coffee
  2. tea tea
  3. csokoládé chocolate
  4. banán banana
  5. hotel hotel
  6. taxi taxi
  7. busz bus
  8. mĂşzeum museum
  9. telefon telephone
  10. futball football
  11. posta post office
  12. rádió radio

Exercise 3: Short or long?

Type short or long for the first vowel of each word.

  1. hal short
  2. ház long
  3. szĂł long
  4. kor short
  5. öt short
  6. fű long
  7. vĂ­z long
  8. busz short

Exercise 4: S or SH?

Is the sound named in brackets an English "s" or an English "sh"? Type s or sh.

  1. sör (the first letter) sh
  2. szép (the first sound) s
  3. sĂł (the first letter) sh
  4. szia (the first sound) s
  5. Budapest (the s) sh
  6. busz (the last sound) s
  7. piros (the last letter) sh

Exercise 5: Signs

These are signs you will see all over Hungary. Read them aloud, then reveal the meaning.

  1. Nyitva Open
  2. Zárva Closed
  3. Bejárat Entrance
  4. Kijárat Exit
  5. HĂşzni Pull
  6. Tolni Push
  7. Gyógyszertár Pharmacy
  8. Pénztár Till / cash desk
  9. FĂ©rfi Men
  10. NĹ‘i Women

When you are happy with these, move on to Lesson 2: Numbers.