The Hungarian Alphabet
with Phonetic equivalents
Part 1 - Vowels
Let- Phonet Example(s)
ter Name Sounds Like ic (Numerals/numbers are in blue)
a aw aw as in ʻawl [aw] gaz [GAWZ] weed, nap [NAWP] day, hat [HAWT] six
á ah aa as in ʻbaaʼ [ah] gáz [GAHZ] gas, három [HAH-rohm] three
e eh between a in ʻbatʼ and e in ʻbetʼ [eh] reggel [REHG-gehl*] morning, egy [EHDG] one
é ay ay as in ʻsayʼ without the ʻyhʼ [ay] kérem [KAY-rehm] please, négy [NAYDG] four
i e e as in ʻheʼ [ee] igen [EE-gehn] yes, kilenc [KEE-lehnts] nine
í e-> longer i as the ee in ʻgreenʼ [eee] tíz [TEEEZ] ten, víz [VEEEZ] water
o oh oh as in ʻnoteʼ [oh] orvos [OHR-vohsh] doctor,
kívánok [KEE-vah-nohk] I wish
ó oh-> longer o as in ʻnoʼ [ō] óra [Ō-raw] hour/clock, jól [JŌL] well
ö uh i as in ʻgirlʼ (without the “r”) [ir] öt [IRT] five, köszönöm [KIR-sir-nirm] thank you
ő uh-> longer version of ö [iir] hétfő [HAYT-fiir] Monday, kettő [KEHT-tiir] two
u oo between oo as in ʻfootʼ and [oo] utca [OOT-tsaw] street, nulla [NOOL-law*] zero,
ʻoʼ as in ʻwhoʼ uborka [OO-bohr-kaw] cucumber
ú oo-> oo as in ʻfoodʼ [ooo] hús [HOOOSH] meat, húsz [HOOOS] twenty
ü euh u as in french ʻsûrʼ, ʻrueʼ [euh] üveg [EUH-vehg] bottle, ügyes [EUH-dgehsh] skilled
ű euh-> u as in french ʻdebutʼ [euuh] tű [TEUUH] needle, tűz [TEUUHZ] fire
(y) eepsi- obsolete - pronounced as i [ee]
same as “i”
lon
*double consonants are both pronounced, the 1st at the end of
one syllable, the 2nd at the start of the next syllable.
Key to the Columns:
% Letter% as written in Hungarian. The “compound”, multi-character letters have evolved from the old runic script.
See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Hungarian_script
% Name% The “name” the Hungarians pronounce when saying their “abcʼs”.
“->” denotes lengthening the sound, i.e. the “long” version: “u - oo” = short, “ú - oo->” = long
#Sounds Like% a description and example of an equivalent phonetic sound familiar to English speakers
# Phonetic% a set of characters used to represent the letterʼs “sounds like” pronunciation in the phonetic
representation of the words in the “Examples” column.
Note: these phonetics ARE NOT IDENTICAL to those used in “In Flight Hungarian” or any other source
that I know of (RAM*).
# Examples% Hungarian words, each with its “phonetic” equivalent in brackets […] and one of its English meanings.
NOTE: The accent is ALWAYS on the first syllable in Hungarian words. This is denoted by the
UPPERCASE LETTERS in the examplesʼ phonetic equivalents.
For a good overview of the language, see the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungarian_language page.
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Hear pronunciations @ http://www.hungarotips.com/hungarian/b/ABC.html
*RAM = Rodger A. Mattlage V.08 - Oct 2, 2010 [email protected]
The Hungarian Alphabet
with Phonetic equivalents
Part 2 - Consonants
Phon Example(s)
Letter Name Sounds like etic (Numerals/numbers are in blue)
b beh same as English [b] béke [BAY-keh] peace, béka [BAY-kaw] frog
c tsay ts as in ʻratsʼ [ts] cukor [TSOO-kohr] sugar, cica [TSEE-tsaw] kitty
cs chay ch as in ʻchurchʼ [ch] bocsánat [BOH-chah-nawt] excuse me,
csók [CHŌK] kiss
d day same as English [d] dal [DAWL] song, dél [DAYL] noon
dz dzay ds as in ʻroadsʼ [dz] edző [EHDZ-iir] coach, bodza [BOH-dzaw] elderberry
dzs djay ge as in ʻpageʼ [dj] bridzs [BREEDJ] bridge, dzsem [DJEHM] jam
f ef same as English [f] fent [FEHNT] up, férfi [FEHR-fee] man
g gay as in ʻgoʼ [g] galamb [GAW-lawmb] pigeon, igen [EE-gehn] yes
gy dgee like du in ʻduringʼ [dg] magyar [MAW-dgawr] Hungarian, gyors [DGOHRSH] fast
h ha h as in ʻhipʼ. ʻheʼ [h] ház [HAHZ] house, hét [HAYT] seven
j yay y as in ʻyetʼ, ʻyouʼ [y] jó [YŌ] good, juhar [JOO-hawr] maple
k ka ck as in ʻkickʼ [k] kert [kehrt] garden, kar [KAWR] arm
l el same as English [l] labda [LAWB-daw] ball, lány [LAHNY] girl
ly ay y as in ʻyetʼ, ʻyouʼ [y] gólya [GŌ-yaw] stork, gulyás [GOO-yahsh] gulash
m em same as English [m] macska [MAWCH-kaw] cat, mell [MEHLL] chest
n en same as English [n] nő [NIIr] woman, nem [NEHM] no, név [NAYV] name
ny eny as in ʻnewʼ [ny] nyak [NYAWK] neck, nyolc [NYOHLTS] eight
p pey same as English [p] pap [PAWP] minister, pohár [POH-hahr] glass
(q) cou in foreign words [q] same as English
r airr always rolled as in Scottish ʻruleʼ [r] régi [RAY-gee] old, rizs [REEZS] rice
s esh sh as in ʻshipʼ, ʻsheʼ [sh] só [SHŌ] salt, és [AYSH] and
sz s s as in ʻseeʼ or ʻslowʼ [s] szép [SAYP] nice, szíves [SEE-vehsh] kind
t tay same as English [t] tea [TEH-aw] tea, tó [TŌ] lake
ty tyay tu as in ʻstudentʼ [ty] tyúk [TYOOOK] hen, kártya [KAHR-tyaw] card
v vay same as English [v] város [VAH-rohsh] city, világ [VEE-lahg] world
(w) dupla- same as “v” [v]
same as “v”
vay in foreign words
(x) eex same as English [x]
same as English
in foreign words
(y) eepsi- obsolete - pronounced as i [ee]
same as “i”
lon in foreign words
z zay same as English [z] zárva [ZAHR-vaw] closed, zene [ZEHN-eh] music
zs zhay s as in ʻpleasureʼ [zs] zseb [zsehb] pocket, zselé [ZSEHL-ay] jelly
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Hear pronunciations @ http://www.hungarotips.com/hungarian/b/ABC.html
*RAM = Rodger A. Mattlage V.08 - Oct 2, 2010 [email protected]
