You'll notice several verbs above end in -ik in their present tense dictionary form: dolgozik, érkezik, találkozik, alszik, iszik, eszik. These are called -ik verbs and they have a slightly different conjugation pattern. In the past tense, the key difference is the 3rd person singular indefinite:

Regular verb: lát → látott
-ik verb: dolgozik → dolgozott

They look similar, but in the present tense and conditional, -ik verbs behave differently. For now, just flag them when you learn them — you're already doing the right thing by noticing the pattern.

Here is a practical test you can do in real time when speaking:

Ask yourself: does the object of my verb have "the" in front of it?

— Ettem egy almát. → I ate an apple. → indefinite
— Megettem az almát. → I ate the apple. → definite

— Olvastam egy könyvet. → I read a book. → indefinite
— Olvastam a könyvet. → I read the book. → definite

— Dolgoztam egész nap. → I worked all day. (no object at all) → indefinite

The great news: the 1st person singular past (én … tam/tem) is identical in both conjugations. So every time you say ettem, ittam, láttam, csináltam — you are correct in both systems simultaneously. This makes talking about yourself in the past remarkably forgiving while you build confidence with the other forms.

When visiting family outside Budapest, conversations very naturally drift to the past — childhood memories, how the village used to be, what your grandparents did. The past indefinite tense is your tool for general storytelling: Dolgoztam, sétáltam, találkoztam barátokkal (I worked, I walked, I met friends). These are the kinds of sentences that will make your Hungarian relatives light up. Don't worry about getting definite vs. indefinite perfect every time — the meaning always comes through, and the effort alone earns enormous goodwill.