Languages Around the World

hello: helo, hylo
how are things? Sut mae? (shwmai in SW, s'mai in NW)
how are you? Sut rydych chi? (Shwt 'ych chi in SW, Sut 'dach chi in NW)
good morning: bore da
good afternoon: p'nawn da
good evening: noswaith dda
goodnight: nos da
goodbye: hwyl (fawr), da boch chi
alright, ok: iawn
very well: da iawn
quite well: eitha(f) da
fine: gweddol
thanks (very much) diolch (yn fawr [iawn])
and you? a chi?
isn't it? on'd ydy?

-adjectives follow nouns
-to say how are the children or Elena etc write Sut mae'r (plural) or Sut mae (singular).
-there is no word for it in welsh, to talk about the weather use the word for she - hi however hi is often left out
-after a vowel yn (links verb to subject) is shortened to 'n


How's Elena? Sue mae Elena?
How are things with the children? Sut mae'r plant?

More on Word Pairs

When word pairs are plural the first word is required to be in the plural but not the second word. The first word may have a shortened pronunciation. Also plural nouns ending in im/ים change to ey/י and adjectives will agree with the first word.

book - books - children's book - children' books
ספר – ספרים – ספר ילדים ספרי ילדים
sefer - sfarim - sefer yeladim - sifrey yeladim


More Group 1 Verbs

This final group consists of roots ending in kh/ח or ah/ע

Example: to forget - li'shko-akh - שכוח
root: ש–כ–ח

shokhe-akh - שוכח
shokhakhat - שוכחת
shokhekhim - שוכחים
shokhekhot - שוכחות

Impersonal Ones

To be impersonal use the plural form

What do you find in that store?
מה מוצאים בחנות ההיא
Mah mots-im ba'khanut ha'hi?

Have

There is no verb for have in Hungarian rather you use a rather formulaic expression of subject-dative + object-possessive + van/vannak (vannak is plural object ONLY. (never use a with the possessed object like in normal possessives)

The doctor has a big family.
Az Orvosnak nagy családja van.

They have an American car.
Nekik amerikai koscijuk van.

When you negate this sentiment change van/vannak for nincs-nincsen/nincsenek but the word order changes to subject-dative + nincs-nincsen/nincsenek + object-possesive

I don't have a girlfriend.
Nekem nincs barátnőm.

When asking this in a question the word order changes again and the verb comes first followed by the subject then object. It should be noted when using dative pronouns or when the person is clear it can be dropped.

Do you have a momm? I just have a dad.
Van anyád? Csak apám van.

Double Negatives

When using sehol (nowhere), senki (nobody), or semmi (nothing) you need to use a second negative word with it either nem or sem (sem can only be used as the second negative).

I'm not writing to anyone.
Nem írok senkinek. / Senkinek sem (or nem) írok.

The second negative may also be nins(en)/sincs(en) when appropriate.

Nothing is here.
Semmi nincs itt.

She's nowhere!
Sehol sincs ő.

Sem/Sincs are also used in neither/nor phrases.

I don't like water or lemonade.
Nem szeretek sem vízt, sem limonádét.

Neither do you.
Neked sincs.

Plural Possesives

my - im
your - id
his/her/its - i

our - ink
your - itok/itek
their - ik

If adding to a or e lengthen to á and é, for other vowels just add the endings. For consoannts you need a buffer (j)a/(j)e (j-use almost always the same as the singular possesive).

Noun Stems

There are three classes of nouns that add possesives, plurals, and accusative differently. You must learn this individually.

Low-Vowel Nouns

-linking vowel is a/e
-always require linking vowel in accusative
-never use j-possesives
-may show vowel loss in last syllable

(ház - house)
nominative: ház / házak
accusative: házat / házakat
my: házam / házaim
his: háza / házai
our: házunk / házaink

Fleeting Vowel Nouns

-omit last vowel of the noun
-linking vowel always required for accusative
-never use the j-possesive

(álom - dream)
nominative: álom / álmok
accusative: álmot / álmokat
my: álmom / álmaim
his: álma / álmai
our: álmunk / álmaink

-Alom and -Elem Nouns

-linking vowel always a/e
-last vowel omitted

(szerelem - love)
nominative: szerelem / szerelmek
accusative: szerelmet / szerelmeket
my: szerelmem / szerelmeim
his: szerelme / szerelmei
our: szerelmünk / szerelmeink

Possesion

There are two ways:

1 - someone's something or possesive pronouns

shel - של means of (must use ha - ה with the possessed.

I like the restaurant's trout.
אני אוהבה את הפורל של המסעדח
Ani ohevet et ha'forel shel ha'mis-adah.

But shel can with pronoun endings too

my - sheli - שלי
your (m) - shelkha - שלך
your (f) - shelakh - שלך
his - shelo - שלו
her - shelah - שלה
our - shelanu - שלנו
your (m) - shelakhem - שלכם
your (f) - shelaken - שלכן
their (m) - shelahem - שלהם
their (f) - shelahen - שלהן

My family lives in America.
המשפחה שלי גרח באמריקה
Ha'mispakhah sheli garah b'amerikah.

there is no verb that means to have instead you say to (person) there is (not)

to me - li - לי
to you - lekha / lakh - לך
to him - lo - לו
to her - lah - לה
to us - lanu - לנו
to you - lakhem / lakhen - לכם / לכן
to them - lahem / lahen - להם / להן

We have the tickets.
יש לנו הכרטיסים
Yesh lanu ha'kartisim.

Sarah doesn't have house.
לשׂרה אין בית
L'Sarah eyn bayit.

Can also switch position of eyn/yesh and person/pronoun.

More Group 1 Verbs

those with a middle letter of ו or י drop that letter

to live/dwell
infinitive: la'gur - לגור
root: gur – גור
conjugation:

gar - גר
garah - גרה
garim - גרים
garot - גרות

Yakhol is a verb that means can/able to and like in English it has no infinitive and verbs that follow it take the infinitive.

Can you come to my office?
אתח יכול לפגוש להמשׂרד שלי
Atah yakhol l'fgosh la'ha'misrad sheli/

Questions

Preposition+which+noun+subject+verb..

What university are you studying at?
באיזו אוניורסיטה את לומדת
B'eyzo universitah at lomedet?

*Hebrew colloquially uses איזה for the plural which instead of אילו

Word Pairs

Word pairs are word that when put together make a new word that in english often needs a preposition. If the first word ends in ah - ה it changes to ת. Also when it is definite only the second word is preceded by the. Some nouns also change vowels, such as house "bayit" changing to beyt.

glass of water
כוס מימ

the school
בית הספר

the weekend
סופ השבוע

Dative Case

Dative is an ending that takes the places of for or to (IOP).

If noun ends in a or e lengthen to á and é and add nak or nek

anya: anyának
cseresznye: cseresznyének

Otherwise no other change but adding nak or nak

ember: embernek
kolbász: kolbásznak
bőrönd: bőröndnek
szomszédok: szomszédoknak

Pronouns do not attach to word endings and have seperate forms:

nekem
neked
neki

nekünk
nektek
nekik

Az and ex have irregular singular dative forms which are ennek and annok though their plurals are regular and are ezeknek and azoknak.

Dative Examples:

Indirect Object:

She is writing to the historian.
ők írsz történésznek.

Hungarian Verb Requisite:

telefonál

I am calling them.
Telefonálok nekik.

örül

I am happy about the trip.
Örülök az utazásnak.

Tetsik (gustar verb)

Do you like that woman?
Tetszik neked az nő?

Irregular Verbs

jön and megy never have a direct object, are irregular and do not have definite forms:

megyek
mész
megy

megyünk
mentek
mennek

--

jövök
jössz
jön

jövünk
jöttök
jönnek

Mikor jön Tamás?
Mikor jöttök?
Merre jössz?
Mikor jönnek a szülők?
Mikor jön Lilla a repülőtérre?
Megyünk?

Possesive

Attach endings instead of seperate words and precede by definite article

If it ends in a or e lengthen to á and é, other vowels add:

m
d
ja-je

nk
tok-tek-tök
juk-jük

If it ends in a consonant add:

om-em-öm
od-ed-öd
(j)a-(j)e

unk-ünk
otok-etek-ötök
(j)uk-(j)ük

3rd person j endings are unpredictable but words ending in c, cs, gy, j, ly, ny, s, sz, ty, z, and zs never allow j-endings.

A strong tendancy is for back words ending in b, d, g, p, t, and k to take the back ending.

When comparing contrasting or putting emphasis use pronouns in between articles and the noun but ők does not exist, just ő

When adding endings add possesives before cases. To add the accusative you need a linking vowel (except for 3rd person singular) a or e. For 3rd person lengthen a and e to á and é and add t. Most other cases don not need a linking vowel though e and a still have to be lengthened.

Family

To have a more respecful and formal name add édes so mother would be édesanya

Definite Conjugation

In hungarian there are two types of conjugation. The indefinite we already learned but the definite is used for a definite direct object.

Definite if:

-preceded by definite article
-modified by or just demonstrative
-proper noun
-possessive ending
-3rd person pronoun (even unstated)
-uses each other
-has melyik
-when used to introduce a subordinate "that" clause which may or may not use hogy

Examples:

Does she know when the plane will land?
Tudja mikor érkezik a gép?

Conjugation:

én: om-em-öm
te: od-ed-öd
ő: ja-i

mi: juk-jük
ti: játok-itek
ők: ják-ik

When adding j endings the following change occurs:


sj: ss
szj: ssz
zj; zz
dzj: ddz

Want

To say you would like something in hebrew usually you can just say אני רוצה however you can say הייתי רוצה in more formal settings.

Throaty Five

When one of the throaty five sounds - ר, ע, ח, ה, א appear in a verb they change the pronunciation. In the verb ohev an a is added in the plural versions - ohavim, ohavot

Et

את is a particle that must be used before definite direct objects.

I'm writing the letter.
אני כותבת את המכתב

I see a waitress.
אני רואה מלצרית

When using this/that as adjectives you need et as well.

Plural Nouns

Masculine nouns pluralize with ים and feminine nouns with ות.

Adjectives

Adjectives follow their nouns. They must agree in gender and number. Most singular feminine adjectives end in ה/ית. The plurals are the same for nouns, ים and ות. If a noun has a definite article the adjective must take one too. Many adjectives have the f/mpl/fpl with a shortened vowel to ease pronunciation.

the soft pear
האגס הרך

the pear is soft
האגס רך

There Is(n't)

These words are יש and אין and unlike most things in hebrew are indeclinable

Accusative

The ending for the accusative is -t, which is for direct objects.

I would like an egg.
Kérek tojást.

-noun ends in a or e lengthen to á or é and add a t

anya, anyát
csésze, csészét

-for nouns ending in other vowels add -t

hajó, hajót
fiú, fiút

-nouns ending in r, l, ny, n, j, ly, s, sz, z, zs add -t

papír, papírt
lany, lanyt

-nouns eending in other consonants add o-e-ö

nap, napot
bőrönd, bőröndöt
zöldség, zöldséget

Quantity

Use the singular after all expressions of quantity. Fruits and vegetable normally take the singular too.

Future

Thee future version of van is lesz and the infinitive is lenni.

Two and Small

Two and small have two forms. If they precede thee noun use két or kis, if not use kettő or kicsi.

This car is small.
Ez a kocsi kicsi.

This is a small car.
Ez kis kocsi.

Inseperable Prepositions + The

When you combine the with in or to the "the" gets dropped by the pronunciation of l changes to la and b to ba.

in a room
בחדר
b'kheder

in the room
בחדר
ba'kheder

from the room
מחדר
m'kheder

Time Words

To say this+time you instead say the+time so this morning is הבוקר ו and today is היום

Can/Need

To say can+verb you say is it possible+to+verb

Is it possible to meet tonight?
אפשׁר להיפגשׁ הלילה

To negate you add i/איו before is it possible.

*Note: The hebrew infinitive like english includes to before it.

Now the word for need is tsarikh/צריך and it is technically an adjective but works just like can.

You need a taxi.
אתה צריך מונית
Atah tsarikh monit.

To negate precede tsarikh with lo. The feminine form is tsarikhah.

That/Who/Which

שׁ / she means that, which, and who. It joins seperate parts of a sentence. There is also the word asher/אשׁר but it is more formal. She is inseperable just like and, to, etc.


Roots

Hebrew consists of roots which give you a hint to the meaning. The root of li'khtov is k-t-k. It is also a group 1 verb, and all verbs in the same class conjugate the same.

Verbs are conjugated by masculine singular, masculine plural, feminine singular, and feminine plural.

ms: kotev/כותב
fs: kotevet/כותבת
mpl: kotvim/כותבים
fpl: kotvot/כותבות

Another group 1 verb is to want - li'rtsot/לרצות whose root is r-ts-h. Since it's root ends in an h it is a slightly different pattern.

ms: rotseh/רוצה
fs: rotsah/רוצה
mpl: rotsim/רוצים
fpl: rotsot/רוצות

Present Tense

The 3rd person singular determines how to conjugate, not the infinitive. Like plurals there are different endings depending on vowel harmony. The exception to this are the ik verbs, where you have to drop ik and then add the endings. Also in the én form the endings are om - em - öm but colloquially ok - ek - ök are often used.

én: ok - ek - ök
te: sz
ő: -

mi: unk - ünk
ti: tok - tek - tök
ők: nak - nek

Examples:

tud: knows how

én tudok
te tudsz
ő tud

mi tudunk
ti tudtok
ők tudnak

Alterations

To ease pronunciation if you have a verb ending in 2 consonants or ít then you need a linking vowel before attaching the ending, but only for te, ti, and ők.

te: a - e
ti: o - e - ö
ők: a - e

A second alteration happens when the verb ends in s, sz, or z. For the te ending only it is ol - el - öl.

Examples:

főz: cooks

főzök
főzöl
főz

főzünk
főztök
főznek

dohányzik: smokes

dohányzom
dohányzol
dohanyzik

dohányzunk
dohányztok
dohányznak

tanít: teaches

tanítok
tanítasz
tanít

tanítunk
tanítotok
tanítanak

ért: understands

értek
értesz
ért

értünk
értetek
értenek

Infinitives

There are infinitives, and they are easy to form. Add ni to the 3rd person and if an ítt or double consonant verb then link with a or e.

I like to play the piano.
Szeretek zongorázikni.

Languages

To say you express yourself in a language you need to use the case ending ul-ül. If adding to an a or e lengthen to á and é.

I like to talk in German.
Szeretek németül beszélni.

I can read French and speak Spanish well too.
Tudok franciául olvasni és jó beszélek spanyolul is.

Showing Prefereces

There is no verb meaning to prefer. Instead you use the adverb inkább.

She doesn't like to sing. She prefers to play the piano.
Nem szeret énekelni. Inkább zongorázik szeret.

I prefer to speak Hungarian.
Inkább magyarul beszélek.

I prefer speaking French over Japanese.
Inkább franciául beszélek, mint japánul beszélek.

Mint is a word meaning than you use when saying you prefer one thing over another.

This/That

If instead of saying "This is a black table" you want to say "This black table" or "this black one" or "those red ones" or "Those red windows" you say ez/az/ezek/azok + a/az + noun.

This is a black table.
Ez fekete asztal.

This black table
Ez a fekete asztal

This black one
Ez a fekete

Those red ones
Azok a piros

Those red windows
Azok a piros ablakak.

Note on colours: When saying dark (sötét) or light (világos) they form one word so light blue is világoskék.

Israel

An alternative name for Israel is בארץ ba'aretz meaning in the land.

Nominative Pronouns

אני
אתה – את
הוא – היא

אנחנו
אתם – אתן
הם – הן

ani
atah - at
hu - hi

anakhnu
atem - aten
hem - hen

The

Just like the inseparable pronouns the article the, ה ha is attached to the noun.

the taxi driver
הנהג מונית
the'driver taxi

And

The word and, ו v works like the. You can also use multiple pre-fixes.

you and me
אתה ואני
ani v'atah

the flower and the king
הפרח וחמלך
ha'perakh v'ha'melekh

Where

When asking where someone is from the correct term is where, מאין me'ayin but many Israelis incorrectly use מאיפה me'eyfoh meaning from where.

Gender

Nouns are masculine or feminine. Feminine singular nouns end in ah/it/et most often. Counntries and cities are always feminine.

Hi

To greet you can say shalom/שׁלום which literally means peace. It is also said to mean goodbye. Other greetings like good morning are often used with shalom.

שׁלום! בוקר תוב
Shalom! Boker Tov
Peace! Morning good

To Be

Hebrew doesn't use the verb to be in the present tense. You just say the noun/pronoun followed by the predicate.

I'm Stacey.
אני סטיטי
Ani Stacey.

Questions

For yes-no questions word-order doesn't change, only intonation.

You are from London. Are you from London?
אתה מלונדין. אתה לונדון
Atah mi'london? Atah mi'london?

Negation

Put the word lo/לא after the negated word.

I am not a profesor.
אני לא פרופסור
Ani lo profesor.

Inseperable Prepositions

These are prepositions that aren't seperate words but attach to the word, like mi/מ, b/ב, l/ל

The hebrew alphabet is called the alefbet.

Letters in Order

א ב ג ד ה ו ז ח ט י כ ל מ נ ס ע פ צ ק ר שׁ ש ת

Sounds/Transcription

א none (glottal stop)
ב b/v
ג g
ד d
ה h
ו v/o/u
ז z
ח kh
ט t
י y/i
כ k/kh
ל l
מ m
נ n
ס s
ע none (glottal stop)
פ p/f
צ ts
ק k
ר r
ש sh
שׂ s

A

In hungarian you usually leave out the indefinite article unless you're specifying. This is also the word for one and it is egy.

More Plurals

In hungarian the question word has to be pluralized if the subject is plural.

Who? Ki? Kik?
What? Mi? Mik?
this. these. ez. ezek.
that. those. az. azok.

What are those?
Mik azok?

Pronouns

I - én
you (familiar) - te
he/she/it - ő
you (formal) - ön
you (familiar-formal) - maga

we - mi
you (familiar) - ti
they = ők
you (formal) önök
you (familiar-formal) - maguk

Maga and Maguk are somewhere between ön/önök and te/ti and can be offensive if used incorrectly and it is safer to use ön and önök. Also the plural you's are conjugated for the 3rd, not 2nd person.

Be

Present tense of to be

vagyok
vagy
van

vagunk
vagytok
vannak

It is required to use this verb when you are modifying it with an adverb.

The knife is on the left.
Balra van kés.

The knife is ugly.
Kés csúnya.

Negation

While nem does mean no or not, to negate van you replace it with nincs or nincsen and you replace vannak with nincsenek.

There are no pillows here.
Itt nincsenek parnák.

Here is a pillow.
Itt parnák van.

The girl is not at home.
A lány nincs otthon.

The girl is home.
A lány otthon van.

Word Order

Word order can be quite tricky in hungarian. Usually hungarian is SVO but the so-called focus wordss disrupt this. A focus word can be negation, questions, answers to questionss and emphasized words. When there is a focus word it must precede the verb and the kicked out word must come immediately after the verb.

I am a teacher.
Tanár vagyok.

I am not a teacher.
Nem vagyok tanár.

We are there.
Ott vagyunk.

Are we there?
Vagyunk ott?

We am there.
Mi vagyunk ott.

It is us who's there.
Mi vagyunk ott.

In addition questions asking is/are there almost always start with the verb.

Is there an American boy?
Van itt amerikai fiú?

If it is a yes-no question otherwise it has the same word order as a normal sentence.

Are you fat?
Kövérek vagy?

To Be

There is a verb for to be but it is not used when describing people.

Who is that?
Ki az?
Who that?

She's a teacher too.
Ő is tanár.
She also teacher.

Pronouns

There is one word for both he and she and it is ő. The word for they is ők.

He is American.
Ő amerikai.

Who are they?
Kik ők?

Notice for plurals, everything pluralizes, including question words (see below).

But if the subject is already clear you can even leave out this.

This is the mother.
Is she a muscician?
Ez az anya.
Zenész?
This mother.
Musician?

Adjective Place Names

To say someone is from a certain place zou add an i to the end to form an adjective

Budapesten
budapesti

London dweller
Londoni

However if the word does not end in an i, like angol or finn or magyar it is considered a noun and pluraliyes differently (see below).

Vowel Harmony

Back Vowels: a á o ó u ú
Front Unrounded Vowels: e é i í
Front Rounded Vowels: ö ő ü ű

Words contain only front or back vowels. The front unrounded vowels are considered neuttral vowels. If a word has back and neutral vowels it is a back word and if it contains neutral and/or front rounded vowels it is a front word.

Because of this vowel harmony when adding word endings there are two possible endings depending on if it is a front or back word.

Noun Plurals

For plurals you have an ending on the noun, so there are 3 possible endings, one for each category - while usuallz there are only 2 endings sometimes there are 3.

Back: ok
front unrounded: ek
front rounded: ök

An important note is that choosing between ek and ök is based on the last vowel in the front word, not on the overall definition.

The first set of plurals are those ending in a vowel. If the last vowel is an a then it becomes ák and if it is e then it becomees ék. Otherwise just add a k.

student - students
egyetemista - egyetemisták

cup - cups
csésze - csészék

boat - boats
hajó - hajók

Otherwise you use the previously described word endings.

notebook - notebooks
füzet - füzetek

lawyers - lawyers
jogász - jogászok

acquaintence - acquaintences
ismerős - ismerősök

Adjective Plurals

If it ends in -a or -e then you lengthen it to á and é and add k

black
fekete
feketék

dear
drága
drágák

If it ends in i, ú, or ű then an ak or ek is added.

bostonian
bostoni
bostoniak

simple
egyszerű
egyszerűek

long
hosszú
hosszúak

Adjectives ending in ó or ő are unpredictable.

good
jó
jók

comprehensible
érthető
érthetőek or érthetők

Adjectives ending in consonants add ak or ek.

Position of Is

Is means too, also and it usually comes right after what is being referred to.