Language/Hungarian/Grammar/Give-your-Opinion

Hungarian Grammar - Give your Opinion

Hi Hungarian learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will learn how to give our opinions in Hungarian. It's always interesting to ask people what they think about various topics. So let's start!

After mastering this lesson, these related pages might interest you: Nouns & Possessor.

Vocabulary

Let's start by learning some vocabulary related to giving opinions:

Hungarian	Pronunciation	English
szerintem	[ˈsɛrɪntɛm]	in my opinion
úgy gondolom	[ˈuːɟ ˈɡondolom]	I think
szeretem	[sɛrɛtɛm]	I like
nem tetszik nekem	[nɛm ˈtɛtʃik ˈnɛkɛm]	I don't like it
jobban szeretem az ____, mint a ____	[ˈjobbɑn sɛrɛtɛm ɑz], [mɪnt ɑ]	I like ____ better than ____.

Grammar

To give our opinion using the expressions from the vocabulary list, we will use the verb "gondol" which means "to think". Let's see some examples:

Hungarian	Pronunciation	English
A film nagyon jó.	[ɑ ˈfilm ˈnɑɟɔɲ joː]	The movie is very good.
Úgy gondolom, hogy nagyon jó.	[ˈuːɟ ˈɡondolom], [kɑ ˈnɑɟɔɲ joː]	I think the movie is very good.
Szerintem a könyv rossz.	[ˈsɛrɪntɛm ɑ kœɲv rɔs],	In my opinion, the book is bad.
Nem tetszik nekem ez az étel.	[nɛm ˈtɛtʃik ˈnɛkɛm ɛz ɑz eːtɛl]	I don't like this food.

As you can see from the examples, the verb "gondol" is used after the expressions from our vocabulary list. "Gondol" is a transitive verb, which means it takes an object that is in the accusative case. In the examples above, "a könyv" and "ez az étel" are in the accusative case because they are the object of the verb.

Another useful expression for giving your opinion is "jobban szeretem" which means "I like ____ better than ____". Let's see some examples:

Hungarian	Pronunciation	English
Szeretem a teát, de jobban szeretem a kávét.	[sɛrɛtɛm ɑ teːɑt], [dɛ ˈjobbɑn sɛrɛtɛm ɑ kaːveːt]	I like tea, but I like coffee better.
Jobban szeretem a tavaszi időjárást, mint a téli időjárást.	[ˈjobbɑn sɛrɛtɛm ɑ ˈtɑvɑsi ˈidoːjaːrɑʃt], [mɪnt ɑ ˈteːli ˈidoːjaːrɑʃt]	I like spring weather better than winter weather.

In these examples, "teát" and "tavaszi időjárást" are in the accusative case because they are the object of the verb "szeretem".

Dialogue

Let's practice some dialogue with giving opinions:

• Person 1: Szerinted jó film lesz a Star Wars új része? (Do you think the new Star Wars movie will be good?)
• Person 2: Úgy gondolom, hogy igen. (I think so.)

• Person 1: Szereted a magyar nyelvet? (Do you like the Hungarian language?)
• Person 2: Szeretem, de nehéz tanulni. (I like it, but it's hard to learn.)

• Person 1: Szerinted melyik az a hely Magyarországon, amit mindenképpen meg kell látogatni? (Which is the place in Hungary that one must visit?)
• Person 2: Az én véleményem szerint a Balaton. (In my opinion, Lake Balaton.)

Culture

Hungarians are very patriotic and proud of their country. If you express admiration for Hungary or Hungarian culture, Hungarians will be very happy. It is also a good way to start a conversation with Hungarians.

Hungarian culture is very rich and diverse. Hungarian food is famous for its hearty, comforting dishes like goulash and stuffed cabbage. Hungarian wine is also well known, especially red wines like Egri Bikavér (Bull's Blood of Eger) and Villányi Franc.

Hungary is famous for its thermal baths and spas, and Budapest has many beautiful bathhouses. The Széchenyi bathhouse is one of the most famous and is a must-visit if you go to Budapest.

Practice

To practice giving your opinion, try to have conversations with native Hungarian speakers on Polyglot Club. Find native speakers and ask them any questions you have!

Conclusion

In this lesson, we learned vocabulary related to giving opinions, the grammar rules for using these expressions, and some cultural information. Remember to be respectful when giving your opinion and try to back up your opinions with reasons. Practice having conversations with native speakers to improve your Hungarian skills. Good luck!

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➡ If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments section below.
➡ Feel free to edit this wiki page if you think it can be improved. 😎

Having concluded this lesson, consider checking out these related pages: Cardinal Numbers & Adjectives and adverbs.

Other Lessons

• Plurals
• Plural
• Possessed object
• Negation
• Adjectives
• Gender
• Future Tense
• How to form the feminine
• How to Use Be
• Conditional Mood

Sources

• Hungarian Grammar - Give your Opinion
• Learn the Best Compliments in Hungarian for Any Occasion
• The Hungarian language, a grammatical guide [hungarianreference ...