Counting to ten in Hungarian
One to ten, for prices, platforms, rooms and how many beers. Play the ten Hungarian words against the clock, with a note on how locals really use each one after every answer. All ten are written out below.
All 10 Hungarian phrases in this lesson
- Egyedj
- One
- KettőKET-tuh
- Two
- HáromHAH-rohm
- Three
- NégyNAYDJ
- Four
- Ötuht
- Five
- Hathot
- Six
- Héthayt
- Seven
- Nyolcnyolts
- Eight
- KilencKEE-lents
- Nine
- Tízteez
- Ten
Pronounced like "edge" without the final e sound. Hungarian numbers are regular and logical. One through ten: egy, kettő, három, négy, öt, hat, hét, nyolc, kilenc, tíz. No irregular forms.
The standalone two. When used in counting objects in speech, it often becomes "két" (kayt) before the noun: "két kávé" (two coffees). The difference between kettő and két is one of position, not meaning.
The á is long, like the a in "father" held longer.
The gy combination, unique to Hungarian, sounds like a soft "dj" or the "d" in "due". It appears in many common words: nagy (big), hogy (how/that), egy (one). Getting this right impresses Hungarians immediately.
The ö sound: round your lips as for "o" and say "e". It is distinct from o, and Hungarian considers them completely different letters. Ten is tíz, twenty is húsz, thirty harminc, forty negyven, fifty ötven, hundred száz.
Also means week.
Twenty is húsz (hoos), thirty harminc (HOR-mints), forty negyven (NEDJ-ven), fifty ötven (UHT-ven), hundred száz (sahz). Compound numbers above twenty follow the pattern: huszonegy (21), harminckettő (32). Regular throughout.