Here is the whole Hungarian alphabet on one page, in dictionary order. Print it out and keep it handy for the first few lessons. The "Guide" notes show how the sound is written in this course's pronunciation guides, where that is not obvious.
All 44 letters
Letter
Sound
Example
A a
Like the "o" in British hot, with rounded lips. Guide: "aw".
alma (apple)
Á á
Like the "a" in father, held long. Guide: "aa".
kávé (coffee)
B b
Like "b" in bed.
bor (wine)
C c
Like the "ts" in cats.
cukor (sugar)
Cs cs
Like the "ch" in church.
csak (only)
D d
Like "d" in dog.
dél (noon)
Dz dz
Like the "ds" in beds. Rare.
bodza (elderflower)
Dzs dzs
Like the "j" in jam. Mostly in borrowed words.
dzsem (jam)
E e
Like the "e" in bed, but a little more open.
egy (one)
É é
Like the "ay" in day, held long, without sliding into "ee". Guide: "ay".
kép (picture)
F f
Like "f" in fun.
fa (tree)
G g
Always hard, like "g" in go.
gomb (button)
Gy gy
Like the "d" in British duke ("dyook"). Guide: "dy".
magyar (Hungarian)
H h
Like "h" in hat.
ház (house)
I i
Like the "ee" in see, but short.
itt (here)
Í í
Like the "ee" in see, held long. Guide: "ee".
víz (water)
J j
Like the "y" in yes. Never like English "j".
jó (good)
K k
Like "k" in skate, with no puff of air.
kert (garden)
L l
Like "l" in light.
lány (girl)
Ly ly
Exactly the same as j: the "y" in yes.
hely (place)
M m
Like "m" in map.
meleg (warm)
N n
Like "n" in net.
nem (no, not)
Ny ny
Like the "ny" in canyon.
nyár (summer)
O o
Like the "o" in more (without the "r"), but short.
bor (wine)
Ó ó
The same sound as o, held long. Guide: "oh".
jó (good)
Ö ö
Like the "u" in fur, with rounded lips. Short.
öt (five)
Ő ő
The same sound as ö, held long. Guide: "öö".
ő (he, she)
P p
Like "p" in spot, with no puff of air.
piros (red)
Q q
Only in foreign names. Said "k" or "kv".
–
R r
A rolled "r", made with the tip of the tongue.
rossz (bad)
S s
Like the "sh" in ship. Never like English "s"!
sör (beer)
Sz sz
Like the "s" in sun.
szép (beautiful)
T t
Like "t" in stay, with no puff of air.
tíz (ten)
Ty ty
Like the "t" in British tune ("tyoon"). Guide: "ty".
kutya (dog)
U u
Like the "u" in put. Short.
busz (bus)
Ú ú
Like the "oo" in food, held long. Guide: "oo".
új (new)
Ü ü
Say "ee" with your lips rounded as for "oo". Short.
üveg (glass, bottle)
Ű ű
The same sound as ü, held long. Guide: "üü".
fű (grass)
V v
Like "v" in van.
vonat (train)
W w
Only in foreign names. Said like "v".
–
X x
Only in foreign words and names. Said "ks".
taxi (taxi)
Y y
Alone, only in old family names, where it is said like "i".