Learn Hungarian đŸ·

Szia, hogy vagy? 👋 ! Here’s our curated content for training your passive understanding of the language.

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⏰ Time spent here also counts towards your streak.

Language competency consists of active vocabulary, but also passive vocabulary and natural pattern recognition. Train essential listening skills, understand grammar and morphing patterns.

Knowing Basic Phrases allows you to stay in the language instead of switching to English. Listening-Reading videos is a comfortable yet intense training of your listening skills. It also allows you to explore the country through videos.

If you want to really be comfortable, have lessons. What makes Lingophant unique is that you can create your 100% personalised vocabulary from conversations. 45 minutes per week with a friend or a teacher is already enough input for a constant stream of engaging sentences to practice between lessons.

📔 Basic Phrases

These phrases are the perfect point of departure for serious learners. They help you stay in the language, without needing to switch to English. And you internalize patterns.

Unlock them one-by-one in the app, and memorize them from the “Practice” tab.

This is just to get you started. For personalized phrases, we recommend sessions of 45 minutes with a native speaker.

  • Know 300 phrases and you can make jokes and impress people
  • Know 600 phrases and you can hold basic conversations
  • Know 1000 phrases and you start communicating effortlessly

And because of working with audio, you’ll get compliments on your pronunciation a lot. We promise!

🎧 Train your listening skills with proper documentaries

We have selected enjoyable documentaries and reportage channels. Watch them, listen to the language, and build a natural intuition. Some polyglots swear by this method — 30 minutes a day builds working proficiency.

Szabad EurĂłpa (79k subs)

Szabad EurĂłpa (view channel) – Ez a Szabad EurĂłpa YouTube csatornĂĄja, ahol politikai Ă©s gazdasĂĄgi befolyĂĄstĂłl fĂŒggetlen, objektĂ­v Ă©s hiteles videĂłkat kĂ­nĂĄlunk. LejĂĄtszĂĄsi listĂĄink között talĂĄlod a Szabadon cĂ­mƱ, Ășj oknyomozĂł sorozatunk epizĂłdjait, az EgyszerƱent, amelyben a cĂ­mben is szereplƑ mĂłdon prĂłbĂĄlunk elmagyarĂĄzni aktuĂĄlis kĂ©rdĂ©seket, de Ukrajna orosz megszĂĄllĂĄsĂĄrĂłl is exkluzĂ­v videĂłkat lĂĄthatsz.

ATV MagyarorszĂĄg (503k subs)

ATV MagyarorszĂĄg (view channel) – Az ATV az elsƑ magĂĄntelevĂ­ziĂł hazĂĄnkban. A minƑsĂ©gi, szĂ­nvonalas, magas Ă©rtĂ©krendƱ mƱsorok kĂ©szĂ­tĂ©sĂ©t Ă©s sugĂĄrzĂĄsĂĄt cĂ©lul kitƱzƑ kereskedelmi csatorna. AktuĂĄl politikĂĄval Ă©s közĂ©lettel foglakozĂł mƱsorokkal jelentkezĂŒnk, ahol politikusokat, neves közĂ©leti szereplƑket, szakĂ©rtƑket szĂłlaltatunk meg.

HĂ­r TV (286k subs)

HĂ­r TV (view channel) – A HĂ­r TV elsƑdleges feladatĂĄnak tekinti, hogy a nĂ©zƑk szĂĄmĂĄra hiteles Ă©s jĂłl befogadhatĂł mĂłdon tegye lehetƑvĂ© azt a szĂ©leskörƱ tĂĄjĂ©kozĂłdĂĄst, amelyre mindenkinek szĂŒksĂ©ge van a mindennapok döntĂ©shozatalai sorĂĄn. NĂĄlunk nem a hĂ­rek idomulnak a mƱsorfolyamhoz, hanem a mƱsor idomul a legaktuĂĄlisabb hĂ­rekhez, nagy horderejƱ esemĂ©nyekhez Ă©s a nĂ©zƑk igĂ©nyeihez: egy-egy vĂĄratlan törtĂ©nĂ©srƑl akĂĄr az adĂĄst megszakĂ­tva – breaking news bejelentkezĂ©ssel – tudĂłsĂ­tunk.

Magyar Hang (139k subs)

Magyar Hang (view channel) – Ez a Magyar Hang fĂŒggetlen politikai, tĂĄrsadalmi Ă©s kulturĂĄlis hetilap Ă©s portĂĄl hivatalos YouTube-csatornĂĄja. A lap alapĂ­tĂłi a 80 Ă©vet Ă©lt Magyar Nemzet egykori munkatĂĄrsai, akik elkötelezettek, hogy a korĂĄbbi szerkesztƑsĂ©g szellemisĂ©ge tovĂĄbb Ă©ljen. Kifejezett cĂ©lunk a magyar valĂłsĂĄg bemutatĂĄsa, nem csak a „NagykörĂșton belĂŒlrƑl”.

Ljasuk Dimitry (43k subs)

Ljasuk Dimitry (view channel) – AzĂ©rt kezdtem el filmezni, hogy Ășjra összehozzam az embert a termĂ©szettel Ă©s meprĂłbĂĄljam ĂĄtadni az Ă©let szeretetĂ©t.

🎧 Train listening with weird popular YouTube videos

It’s like zapping TV through another linguistic and cultural universe. Watch what native speakers watch. We hope you find something interesting.

đŸ§‘â€đŸ« Grammar overview in 9 chapters

Below is an overview of the most important grammar topics. Each chapter has a short explanation and recommended videos.

While memorizing phrases, you’ll likely recognize patterns from grammar. You can add a note or question to a card and get it answered next time you’re with a teacher.

Vowel Harmony A1

Vowel harmony is the single most important pattern in Hungarian: every suffix you attach to a word must use vowels that match the vowels in the root word. Words containing front vowels (e, Ă©, i, Ă­, ö, Ƒ, ĂŒ, Ʊ) take front-vowel suffixes, while words with back vowels (a, ĂĄ, o, Ăł, u, Ăș) take back-vowel suffixes. For example, the suffix meaning ‘in’ is -ban after back-vowel words (hĂĄzban – in the house) but -ben after front-vowel words (kertben – in the garden). Almost every suffix in Hungarian has two or three vowel-harmony variants.

The best way to internalise this is to learn each new word together with a sample suffix — treat ‘hĂĄz → hĂĄzban’ as a single chunk rather than memorising the rule abstractly. When you encounter a new word in the app, notice whether its main vowel feels ‘back’ (open, rounded: a, o, u) or ‘front’ (brighter: e, i, ö, ĂŒ) and predict which suffix form fits. Once this clicks, you will correctly inflect nouns, attach verb endings, and form postpositional phrases automatically, which means nearly every sentence you produce will sound natural rather than jarring.

Core Noun Cases (Accusative, Dative & Key Locatives) A1

Hungarian uses suffixes called cases instead of prepositions to show a noun’s role in a sentence. The most essential ones for early conversation are: the accusative (-t / -at / -et / -öt), which marks the direct object of a verb (lĂĄtom a hĂĄzat – I see the house); the dative (-nak / -nek), which marks the indirect object or recipient (adok PĂ©ternek – I give to PĂ©ter); and the three basic location cases — inessive (-ban/-ben, inside), illative (-ba/-be, into), and superessive (-n/-on/-en/-ön, on top of). Together these six case endings cover the vast majority of locative and relational needs in everyday speech.

Learn cases as labelled slots: ‘accusative = the thing I’m doing something to,’ ‘inessive = inside a container.’ Practise by taking five familiar nouns and writing each in all six forms until the endings feel automatic. Once you control these cases, you can build real sentences — ordering food (kĂ©rek egy kĂĄvĂ©t), giving directions (menj a parkba), and describing locations (a könyvek az asztalon vannak) — without constantly reaching for a dictionary or a preposition that Hungarian simply does not use.

Definite vs. Indefinite Verb Conjugation A2

Hungarian verbs conjugate in two completely different paradigms depending on whether the object is definite or indefinite — a distinction that exists in very few other European languages. With an indefinite object (or no object at all) you use the indefinite conjugation: lĂĄtok egy hĂĄzat (I see a house). With a definite object — one referred to with ‘a/az’ or a specific person — you switch to the definite conjugation: lĂĄtom a hĂĄzat (I see the house). The endings are entirely different sets, and mixing them is one of the most noticeable errors a learner can make.

A reliable trick is to look for the definite article ‘a’ or ‘az’ before the object: if it’s there, flip to the definite verb form. Also memorise a short anchor phrase in each paradigm — for example ‘lĂĄtok’ (indefinite, I see something) vs. ‘lĂĄtom’ (definite, I see it/the thing) — so your brain has a concrete model to copy. Mastering this distinction lets you sound immediately more fluent; native speakers will notice the correct switch instantly, and you will be able to discuss specific things (‘I want the coffee’) versus general ones (‘I want coffee’) with precision.

Possessive Suffixes A2

Instead of separate possessive pronouns like ‘my’ or ‘your,’ Hungarian attaches suffixes directly to the possessed noun. The forms agree with both the owner (1st, 2nd, or 3rd person, singular or plural) and with the number of things owned. For example, hĂĄz (house) becomes hĂĄzam (my house), hĂĄzad (your house), hĂĄza (his/her house), and hĂĄzaim (my houses). The suffix also triggers vowel harmony, so the front-vowel equivalent of -am is -em (kertem – my garden). An additional definite article is generally not needed because the possessive suffix already marks definiteness.

The most effective study habit is to pick one high-frequency noun — ember (person), barĂĄt (friend), telefon (phone) — and drill all six ownership forms until they feel like a single rhythmic pattern. Notice that 3rd-person singular (-a / -e / -ja / -je) appears constantly in natural speech whenever Hungarians refer to someone’s belonging (‘PĂ©ter autĂłja’ = PĂ©ter’s car). Once you internalise possessive suffixes, you can talk about family, belongings, and relationships naturally — ‘a barĂĄtom’ (my friend), ‘az anyĂĄm’ (my mother) — which unlocks a huge range of personal conversation.

Present Tense Verb Conjugation A1

Hungarian present tense is used both for ongoing actions and for habitual facts (like English ‘I am eating’ and ‘I eat’), so it carries a heavy workload in everyday conversation. Each verb takes a personal ending for all six persons (Ă©n, te, Ƒ, mi, ti, Ƒk) in both the indefinite and definite paradigms covered separately, and these endings are largely regular once vowel harmony is applied. The infinitive ends in -ni (menni – to go, enni – to eat), and the stem is usually found by removing -ni. A small but frequent group of verbs (van – to be, megy – to go, eszik – to eat, iszik – to drink) have irregular stems worth memorising immediately.

Focus first on the four most useful persons — Ă©n (I), te (you informal), Ƒ (he/she), and mi (we) — rather than all six at once, since these cover around 80% of real conversational use. Group irregular verbs into a short rhyming list or learn them as stock phrases (‘megyek haza’ – I’m going home). Controlling present tense means you can describe your daily routine, state preferences, ask what someone is doing, and understand most of the dialogues you’ll encounter in the app — it is the absolute core engine of Hungarian conversation.

Postpositions A2

While Hungarian cases handle many locative meanings, a set of common postpositions handles spatial and abstract relationships that cases cannot, such as mellett (next to), elƑtt (in front of / before), mögött (behind), között (between), alatt (under), felett (above), and miatt (because of). Unlike English prepositions, these come after the noun: az asztal mellett (next to the table). When used with pronouns, postpositions take possessive-style suffixes: mellettem (next to me), melletted (next to you), mellette (next to him/her).

Learn postpositions in spatial pairs — alatt/felett (under/above), elƑtt/mögött (in front of/behind), mellett (beside) — and visualise a simple scene like objects on a desk to anchor each one. The possessive pronoun forms (-em, -ed, -e etc.) mirror the noun possessive system you already know, so you are reusing a pattern rather than learning something new. Once you have postpositions, you can give and understand directions, describe where people and things are, and express time relationships (az ebĂ©d elƑtt – before lunch), all of which come up constantly in daily life and app dialogues.

Past Tense Formation A2

Hungarian has a single simple past tense formed by inserting the marker -t- or -tt between the verb stem and the personal ending: ment (he/she went), mentem (I went), mentĂ©l (you went), mentĂŒnk (we went). The same definite/indefinite distinction applies as in the present tense. Most verbs are regular, but the past tense can trigger a linking vowel (tanult – he studied, from tanul) or a stem change in irregular verbs (evett – he ate, from eszik; volt – was, from van). The verb van (to be) deserves special attention since its past form volt is used constantly.

A quick-win strategy is to master volt (was/were) and -t endings on five to ten high-frequency verbs before worrying about irregular patterns — this alone lets you narrate simple past events immediately. Notice that the -tt ending often appears on verbs whose stems end in a vowel or certain consonants, while -t appears elsewhere; exposure through the app’s example sentences will make this distinction feel natural faster than any rule table. With past tense secured, you can tell stories, describe what happened, ask ‘what did you do?’ (mit csinĂĄltĂĄl?), and understand a large portion of conversational Hungarian that refers to recent or past experience.

Verbal Prefixes (IgekötƑk) and Word Order B1

Hungarian verbs are frequently paired with short prefixes called igekötƑk — such as meg-, el-, be-, ki-, fel-, le- — that modify or complete the meaning of the verb, often turning an ongoing action into a completed one (Ă­r means ‘writes,’ megĂ­r means ‘writes it completely / finishes writing’). The critical catch is that these prefixes move around in the sentence depending on focus and tense: in a neutral affirmative sentence the prefix sits immediately before the verb (megĂ­rja a levelet – she writes the letter), but in negation or when another element is focused, the prefix detaches and moves to after the verb (nem Ă­rja meg – she doesn’t write it; holnap Ă­rja meg – she’ll write it tomorrow).

The most practical approach is to learn common verb+prefix combinations as fixed vocabulary chunks — megĂ©rt (understands), elmegy (goes away/leaves), bejön (comes in) — rather than trying to analyse every prefix productively from the start. Pay close attention to where the prefix sits in sentences you hear or read in the app: its position is a reliable signal of whether the sentence is neutral, negated, or focused. Mastering igekötƑk dramatically expands your verb vocabulary and lets you express completion, direction, and nuance (‘I finally understood it’, ‘she went away’, ‘come in!’) that is absolutely central to sounding natural in Hungarian.

Conditional Mood (Polite Requests & Hypotheticals) B1

The Hungarian conditional mood is formed by adding -na / -ne (or -nĂĄ / -nĂ© in the definite conjugation) to the verb stem, giving meanings equivalent to English ‘would.’ It is used for polite requests and offers (kĂ©rhetnĂ©m? – could I ask / may I have?), hypothetical statements (elmennĂ©k, ha tudnĂ©k – I would go if I could), and softened suggestions. The good news is that the conditional shares the same definite/indefinite distinction and the same personal endings as the present tense, so learning it is more about recognising the -na/-ne marker than mastering a new paradigm from scratch.

Prioritise a handful of high-frequency conditional phrases for immediate conversational use: szeretnĂ©k (I would like), tudna segĂ­teni? (could you help?), elmennĂ©l? (would you go?). These polite forms are used constantly in shops, restaurants, and social situations — far more than blunt present-tense requests. Once you recognise the -na/-ne marker in speech and can produce a few stock phrases, you will be able to make polite requests, discuss hypothetical plans, and understand a wide range of conditional sentences in dialogues, all of which marks a significant jump in conversational sophistication.