Better Hungarian

This is the first post in a 3-part explanation of different conjunctions in Hungarian. This post focuses on conjunctions that connect, contrast, or compare clauses. The other posts will cover explanatory conjunctions and more literary/formal conjunctions.

Note that not all of these are technically considered ‘conjunctions’ in Hungarian, but they basically function the same way so that’s how I’m categorizing them.

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és – meg – pedig: AND

és

This is the default, standard “and”. It’s basically used the same way as in English, but there are some situations where another word might be more fitting.

You will sometimes see this written as ‘s (pronounced “sh”) – this is a shortened version mainly used in songs, poems, or other literature. (Alex notes: or if you’re from Transylvania, where it’s the standard. But this is just a fun tidbit)

meg

This cannot be used exactly the same as “és”. “Meg” is more like “plus” or “in addition to”, and you will see it used in math equations (i.e. három meg három, az hat – three plus three equals six)

It can be used synonymously with “és” when listing multiple items. Note that “meg” is typically considered less formal than “és”.

Sört meg kenyeret kérek (I want beer and bread)

Én meg Boldizsár elmentünk a boltba (Boldiszár and I went to the store)

When used in a subordinate clause, it does not come at the beginning but rather in the 2nd position.

Az anyám könyvet olvas, én meg TV-t nézek (My mom is reading a book, and I am watching TV)

While these sentences could also use “és”, “meg” can sort of emphasize the information in the 2nd clause in a way that “és” does not.

pedig

“pedig” is pretty much interchangeable with “meg” in subordinate clauses (it will not be used to list items or add numbers like ‘meg’ is).

While pedig doesn’t necessarily sound more official or formal, it can be a bit more literary than meg.

A macska bent van, a kutya meg/pedig kint (The cat is inside, and the dog is outside) – you could also phrase this as “the cat is inside, whereas the dog is outside”.

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is: TOO, ALSO

This conjunction is used similarly to English, however its position in a sentence can vary and depends on what is being emphasized. 

Regardless of the sentence structure, “is” will pretty much always come directly after the item that it is referring to.

Én is akarok játszani (I also want to play)

A matek is nagyon nehéz (Math is also very difficult)

To clarify how the positioning of “is” can change the sentence slightly, take these two sentences:

Az anyám egy almát is eszik (My mother is eating an apple also/as well) – meaning the mother is eating an apple as well as other food either mentioned previously or implied. This emphasizes the apple as the focus of “is”.

Az anyám is eszik egy almát (My mother is also eating an apple) – meaning another person/other people are also eating an apple, and the mother is eating one as well. It emphasizes the mother as the focus of “is”.

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Is…Is: BOTH…AND

This is used to directly compare two or more things that have something in common.

Magyarországra is szeretnék utazni, (és) Finnországba is (I would like to travel to Hungary, (and) to Finland also/as well)

Tomásnak kutyája is van, (és)¹ macskája is (Tomás has a dog, (and) a cat also/as well)

¹The “és” in is…is sentences is not necessary, but optional.

Note: If using just ONE “is“, and multiple clauses, you would replace “és” with “de“. For example: Tomásnak kutyája van, de macskája is (Tomás has a dog, but he has a cat also/as well). It’s basically “this first statement is true, BUT this additional information is also true”. Again, “is” will come after the word it modifies.

A sört is, a bort is szeretem (I like both beer and/as well as wine)

Anyám is, apám is nagyon kedves (Both my mom and/as well as my dad are very kind)

Nadrágot is, inget is vásároltam (I bought both pants and/as well as a shirt) 

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Mind…mind: BOTH…AND

This is similar to “is…is”, but typically refers specifically to the subject of each clause.

Mind a tanár, mind a diákok olvasták a könyvet (Both the teacher and/as well as the students read the book)

Mind a lányok, mind a fiúk mennek moziba (Both the girls and/as well as the boys are going to the cinema)

Mind a fák, mind a virágok nagyon szépek (Both the trees and/as well as the flowers are very beautiful)

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Nemcsak…hanem…is: NOT ONLY…BUT…ALSO

This is a pretty specific structure, and not too difficult.

A macskám nemcsak cuki, hanem nagyon vicces is (My cat is not only cute, but (it is) very funny too/also)

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Se(m)…se(m): NEITHER…NOR

Other than negative imperative sentences (where you will always use se), “sem” is usually interchangeable with “se” (“se” can be a bit more casual, but there isn’t a huge difference)

Ma nem¹ akarok iskolába menni, (és) Petra se(m) (Neither I nor Petra want to go to school today)

¹When focusing on the action, you will include “nem” before the verb (action). Otherwise, you can leave it out. Here, the “nem” (“nem akarok”) focuses on the action of (not) wanting to go to school in general, rather than the specific day.

Ma se(m)² akarok iskolába menni, (és) Petra se(m)

²Se(m) functions like ‘is’, in that it modifies whichever word it comes AFTER. So in this sentence, the emphasis is on ‘ma’ (today), rather than the general action. It’s more like ‘I don’t want to go to school today EITHER, and neither does Petra’ (as in, ‘we didn’t want to go to school yesterday and we don’t want to go today EITHER’).

A barátom se(m) nem³ énekel, se(m) nem táncol (My (boy)friend neither sings nor dances)

³Alternatively, you can leave out the first “se(m)” and say “a barátom nem énekel, se(m) nem táncol”. 

Az apám nem szereti (sem)⁴ a rockot, sem a metált (My father likes neither rock nor metal)

⁴The “se(m)” in the first clause is essentially optional, but both versions are equally correct.

A szemetet se(m)⁵ vitted ki, és a kutyát se(m) etetted meg (You did not take out the trash, nor feed the dog)

⁵Here the focus is on the target of the action rather than the action itself, so you can simply use “se(m)” without the “nem”. As in previous examples, you could also replace the “se(m)” in the first clause with “nem”.

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ha: IF, WHEN

This can either go at the beginning of the first clause, or the beginning of a subsequent one (regardless of which clause begins with ha, there will be a comma between them).

Unlike in English, where “if” and “when” can mean different things, ha can be used to express both. However, in both cases “ha” expresses a possibility, rather than a concrete future. If you want to say “when” to mean someone is definitely going to do something, then you would want to use “mikor/amikor”.

Ha nem akarod, nem kell megtenned (If you don’t want to, you don’t have to do it)
or: Nem kell megtenned, ha nem akarod (You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to)

Ha anyám ezt látná, nagyon boldog lenne (If my mom were to see this, she would be really happy) 

Ha nem látod, közelebb jöhetsz (If you can’t see (it), you can come closer)

Mit tennél, ha macska lennél? (What would you do if you were a cat?)

Ha can also be used with akkor to express the result of a potential situation or action.

Ha rosszul viselkedsz, akkor a tanár meg fog büntetni (If you misbehave, then the teacher will punish you)

Ha komolyan tanulsz, akkor bármit meg tudsz tanulni (If you study earnestly, then you can learn anything)

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CONJUNCTIONS CONTRASTING CLAUSES

de: BUT

This is the standard “but”, just as “és” is the standard “and”. But just as with “és”, there are some situations where another term is better suited or required.

In most situations, you can use it just as you would use “but” in English.

Épp most mentem a boltba, de az sajnos zárva volt (I just went to the store, but unfortunately it was closed)

Moziba mentem, de minden jegy elkelt a filmre, amit meg akartam nézni (I went to the cinema, but the movie I wanted to see was sold-out)

Jobban szeretem a macskákat, de a kutyák sem rosszak (I prefer cats, but dogs aren’t bad)

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hanem: BUT, RATHER

This conjunction can only appear in the 2nd clause, and is used to contrast the targets in both sentences. 

One structure is “X is Y, but A is B”. However, this isn’t commonly used in regular speech anymore. To avoid sounding a bit stiff or archaic, you could also use “meg” or “pedig” in place of “hanem”.

Én tanár vagyok, hanem Emil diák (I am a teacher, but Emil is a student) – not incorrect, but pretty stiff and formal

Alternatively: Én tanár vagyok, Emil meg/pedig diák (I am a teacher, whereas Emil is a student)

Anna amerikai, hanem Greg angol (Anna is American, but Greg is English) – again, not really commonly used like this anymore

Alternatively: Anna amerikai, Greg meg/pedig angol (Anna is American, whereas Greg is English)

Another structure is “Nem X, hanem Y”, with “hanem” basically functioning like “instead” or “rather”. In these cases, ‘hanem’ will always be preceded by a negative clause.

Note that “nem” will always be followed by the object/thing that isn’t chosen/wanted (not the verb).

Nem Londonba megyek, hanem Párizsba (I am not going to London, but rather to Paris)

Nem a pirosat kérem, hanem a kéket (I do not want the red one, but rather the blue one)

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mégis: BUT STILL, EVEN SO, YET, DESPITE THAT

A combination of még and is, this will replace “de”, and emphasizes that regardless of what is said in the first clause, the second clause is still true. It can also come at the beginning of a sentence, depending on the context. 

Alex notes: especially at the beginning of a sentence, mégiscsak is pretty commonly used as an alternative.

Mégis moziba megyek, mert megígértem (I’m still going to the movies (despite the situation), because I promised) 

Alex notes: like here for example, often we’d say ‘Mégiscsak moziba megyek, mert megígértem’

Az anyám néha szigorú, mégis szeretem (Sometimes my mother is strict, but I still love her)

Esik az eső, mégis megyek a parkba (It’s raining, but I’m still going to the park)

Nem szeretem az almát, mégis eszem (I don’t like apples, yet I still eat them)

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mégsem: (BUT) STILL NOT

This works the same as mégis, but essentially means the opposite: despite what’s said or done in the first clause, what’s said in the second clause is still not happening.

Két éve tanulok magyarul, mégsem vagyok képes beszélni (I’ve been learning Hungarian for two years, yet I’m still not able to speak it)

Nagyon kedves vagyok hozzá, mégsem beszél velem (I’m really nice to xem, but xe still does not talk to me)

A városban mindenhová elküldtem az önéletrajzomat, mégsincs¹ munkám (I sent my resume to everywhere in town, but I still do not have a job)

¹mégsem + van has its own form since the negative of van is nincs.

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bár: YET, ALTHOUGH, HOWEVER

This is used commonly and isn’t overly formal or casual, it’s always a safe option along with “de”. 

Depending on the sentence, bár will either come at the beginning of the first clause, or at the beginning of the second clause. I’m sure there is more nuance than what I cover here, but Alex and I agreed this was a good way to explain it:

1. put at the beginning of the first clause if: “X is true, yet Y doesn’t happen“, OR “Y continues, despite X“

Bár mindenhol kerestem (X), nem találtam (Y) (Although/even though I looked everywhere, I didn’t find it)

Bár évek óta nyomom (X), a munkabérem még mindig nevetséges! (Y) (Although I’ve been busting my ass for years, my salary is still pathetic!) 

Bár a mája tönkremegy (X), mégis piál (Y) (Although xir liver is failing, xe still drinks)

2. put at the beginning of the second clause if: X is true, but Y is contrary to the statement or goal/makes the goal difficult

Tanár vagyok (X), bár nem szeretem a gyerekeket (Y) (I am a teacher, although/even though I don’t like children)

Szeretnék orvos lenni (X), bár rettegek a tűktől (Y) (I would like to be a doctor, although I’m terrified of needles) 

Az a férfi nagyon kedves (X), bár hagyja, hogy mindenki átgázoljon rajta (Y) (That man is very nice, although he lets everyone walk all over him.

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vagy: OR

Vagy functions pretty much the same as in English, and can be used to propose or express options for different things or possibilities.

Moziba szeretnél menni, vagy a parkba? (Would you like to go to the cinema, or to the park?)

Almát kérsz, vagy epret? (Do you want an apple, or a strawberry?)

Az iskolában tudok spanyolul vagy franciául tanulni (In school I can study Spanish or French)

Szeretnék Finnországba vagy Norvégiába utazni (I would like to travel to Finland or to Norway)

A macskákat vagy a kutyákat szereted jobban? (Do you prefer cats or dogs?) 

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CONJUNCTIONS COMPARING CLAUSES

mint: AS, LIKE, THAN

Mint is mostly used to contrast or compare, similar to how as and like are used in English for similes (are they still teaching those in school?) Anyway, it can be structured a few different ways. When comparing, there will always be a comma after the first clause (just like with mert).

Gyorsan futott, mint egy gepárd (Xe ran as fast as a cheetah)

Olyan szép a városom, mint a tiéd (My city is (just) as nice/pretty as yours)

A tanár magasabb, mint a diák (The teacher is taller than the student)

Azt szeretném, hogy cuki legyek, mint egy cica (I wish I was cute like a cat) 

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mintha: AS IF/AS THOUGH 

Combination of mint (as/like) and ha (if), it expresses a theoretical situation and is usually followed by a verb in the conditional tense (but not always).

It is possible to use it to express a real situation, but in those cases you would write it as “mint ha” (two separate words).

Olyan lassan mész, mintha egy teknősbéka lennél (You walk so slow, it’s as if you were¹ a turtle)

¹While the verb is conditional in Hungarian, in English we use either the present or past tense in these situations.

Úgy beszél hozzám, mintha barátok lennénk (Xe talks to me as if we were friends)

Úgy viselkedsz, mintha gyerek lennél (You’re acting as though you’re a child)

Olyan szépen beszélsz magyarul, mintha Magyarországról jöttél volna (You speak Hungarian so well it’s as if you came from Hungary)