Asking for Directions

Hungarian Basic Conversation 1

Chapter 10 · Asking for Directions

🧭 Asking for Directions — Útbaigazítás

This is one of the most practical chapters of the course. You'll learn to ask where something is, to understand simple directions, to describe where things are with next to, behind and between, and to say that you are lost. You will also use the three-way -hoz / -hez / -höz ending from the alphabet course. Every line has a respelling beneath it.

① Where Is the Station? — Hol van …?

A: Elnézést, hol van a vasútállomás? EHL-nay-zaysht, HOL VAWN aw VAW-shoot-ahl-lo-mahsh? Excuse me, where is the railway station?

B: Ott van. OTT VAWN. It's over there.

A: Köszönöm szépen. KEU-seu-neum SAY-pehn. Thank you very much.

② Straight, Then Right — Egyenesen, jobbra

A: Elnézést, hol van a posta? EHL-nay-zaysht, HOL VAWN aw POSH-taw? Excuse me, where is the post office?

B: Menjen egyenesen, aztán forduljon jobbra. MEHN-yehn EH-dyeh-neh-shehn, AWZ-tahn FOR-dul-yon YOB-braw. Go straight on, then turn right.

A: Egyenesen, aztán jobbra. Értem, köszönöm. EH-dyeh-neh-shehn, AWZ-tahn YOB-braw. AYR-tehm, KEU-seu-neum. Straight on, then right. I understand, thank you.

③ Near or Far? — Messze van?

A: Messze van? MEHS-seh VAWN? Is it far?

B: Nem, közel van. Öt perc gyalog. NEHM, KEU-zehl VAWN. EUT PEHRTS DYAW-log. No, it's near. Five minutes on foot.

④ Next To — Mellett

A: Hol van a mosdó? HOL VAWN aw MOSH-doh? Where is the toilet?

B: A bank mellett. AW BAWNK MEHL-leht. Next to the bank.

A: Köszönöm. KEU-seu-neum. Thank you.

⑤ I'm Lost — Eltévedtem

A: Elnézést, eltévedtem. Egy szállodát keresek. EHL-nay-zaysht, EHL-tay-vehd-tehm. EHDY SAHL-lo-daht KEH-reh-shehk. Excuse me, I'm lost. I'm looking for a hotel.

B: Melyik szállodát? MEH-yihk SAHL-lo-daht? Which hotel?

A: A Duna Szállodát. AW DU-naw SAHL-lo-daht. The Duna Hotel.

B: Menjen egyenesen a hídig. MEHN-yehn EH-dyeh-neh-shehn aw HEE-dig. Go straight on as far as the bridge.

⑥ Asking a Friend (informal) — Hogy jutok el?

A: Szia! Hogy jutok el a bankhoz? SIH-aw! HODY YU-tok EHL aw BAWNK-hoz? Hi! How do I get to the bank?

B: Menj egyenesen, aztán fordulj balra. MEHNY EH-dyeh-neh-shehn, AWZ-tahn FOR-duly BAWL-raw. Go straight on, then turn left.

A: Köszi! KEU-sih! Thanks!

🗝️ Key Phrases — Fontos kifejezések

Situation	Formal (Ön)	Informal (te)
Where is …?	Hol van a …? HOL VAWN aw	Hol van a …? HOL VAWN aw
Which way is …?	Merre van a …? MEHR-reh VAWN aw	Merre van a …? MEHR-reh VAWN aw
Go straight on	Menjen egyenesen! MEHN-yehn EH-dyeh-neh-shehn	Menj egyenesen! MEHNY EH-dyeh-neh-shehn
Turn left / right	Forduljon balra / jobbra! FOR-dul-yon BAWL-raw / YOB-braw	Fordulj balra / jobbra! FOR-duly BAWL-raw / YOB-braw
Is it far?	Messze van? MEHS-seh VAWN	Messze van? MEHS-seh VAWN
It's near	Közel van. KEU-zehl VAWN	Közel van. KEU-zehl VAWN
Five minutes on foot	Öt perc gyalog. EUT PEHRTS DYAW-log	Öt perc gyalog. EUT PEHRTS DYAW-log
I'm lost	Eltévedtem. EHL-tay-vehd-tehm	Eltévedtem. EHL-tay-vehd-tehm
I'm looking for …	… keresek. KEH-reh-shehk	… keresek. KEH-reh-shehk

↔️ Directions — Irányok

The four words you need most: balra (left), jobbra (right), egyenesen (straight on) and ott (there). Instructions use the imperative: Menjen! (formal) and Menj! (informal). Learn these as set phrases: the full system comes later.

🏙️ Places You Will Look For — Helyek

Place	Hungarian	Say it
railway station	vasútállomás / pályaudvar	VAW-shoot-ahl-lo-mahsh / PAHY-yaw-ud-vawr
bus / tram stop	megálló	MEHG-ahl-loh
metro	metró	MEHT-roh
tram	villamos	VIHL-law-mosh
post office	posta	POSH-taw
bank	bank	BAWNK
pharmacy	patika	PAW-tih-kaw
toilet	mosdó / WC	MOSH-doh / VAY-tsay
street	utca	UT-tsaw
square	tér	TAYR
bridge	híd	HEED
corner	sarok	SHAW-rok
church	templom	TEHM-plom

📍 Position Words — Helyviszonyok

Hungarian says "next to the bank" as a bank mellett: the position word comes after the noun, like a preposition in reverse.

Meaning	Hungarian	Say it	Example
next to	mellett	MEHL-leht	a bank mellett AW BAWNK MEHL-leht
in front of	előtt	EH-leuutt	a posta előtt AW POSH-taw EH-leuutt
behind	mögött	MEU-geutt	a templom mögött AW TEHM-plom MEU-geutt
between	között	KEU-zeutt	a bank és a posta között AW BAWNK AYSH AW POSH-taw KEU-zeutt
opposite	szemben	SEHM-behn	a bankkal szemben AW BAWNK-kawl SEHM-behn

🎯 "To" a Place: -hoz / -hez / -höz

To say how to get to a place, add the three-way ending you learned in Hungarian Alphabet 1 (Chapter 9): -hoz (back vowels), -hez (front unrounded) or -höz (front rounded). Hogy jutok el a bankhoz? means "How do I get to the bank?"

Place	…to it	Say it	Harmony
bank	bankhoz	BAWNK-hoz	back vowel: -hoz
posta	postához	POSH-tah-hoz	back; final a lengthens: -hoz
szálloda	szállodához	SAHL-lo-dah-hoz	back: -hoz
templom	templomhoz	TEHM-plom-hoz	back: -hoz
híd	hídhoz	HEED-hoz	híd is neutral: takes the back form
étterem	étteremhez	AYT-teh-rehm-hehz	front: -hez

As Far As: -ig The ending -ig means "as far as, up to" and has just one form: a hídig ("as far as the bridge"), a sarokig ("as far as the corner"). So Menjen egyenesen a hídig is "Go straight on as far as the bridge".

🔤 Three More Verbs — Igék

Menni is irregular (megyek, mész, megy …): you will need it every day, so learn it well.

	menni (to go)	fordulni (to turn)	keresni (to look for)
én (I) AYN	megyek MEH-dyehk	fordulok FOR-du-lok	keresek KEH-reh-shehk
te (you) TEH	mész MAYS	fordulsz FOR-duls	keresel KEH-reh-shehl
ő, Ön EUU, EUN	megy MEHDY	fordul FOR-dul	keres KEH-rehsh
mi (we) MIH	megyünk MEH-dyuenk	fordulunk FOR-du-lunk	keresünk KEH-reh-shuenk
ti (you, pl.) TIH	mentek MEHN-tehk	fordultok FOR-dul-tok	kerestek KEH-rehsh-tehk
ők (they) EUUK	mennek MEHN-nehk	fordulnak FOR-dul-nawk	keresnek KEH-rehsh-nehk

📖 Vocabulary — Szókincs

20 key words. Read the Hungarian first, then check the respelling (CAPITALS = the stressed first syllable).

#	Hungarian	Say it	English	Type
1	hol	HOL	where	adj
2	merre	MEHR-reh	which way; in which direction	adj
3	balra	BAWL-raw	to the left	adj
4	jobbra	YOB-braw	to the right	adj
5	egyenesen	EH-dyeh-neh-shehn	straight on	adj
6	messze	MEHS-seh	far	adj
7	közel	KEU-zehl	near	adj
8	mellett	MEHL-leht	next to	adj
9	előtt	EH-leuutt	in front of; before	adj
10	mögött	MEU-geutt	behind	adj
11	között	KEU-zeutt	between	adj
12	szemben	SEHM-behn	opposite	adj
13	utca	UT-tsaw	street	noun
14	tér	TAYR	square	noun
15	sarok	SHAW-rok	corner	noun
16	híd	HEED	bridge	noun
17	posta	POSH-taw	post office	noun
18	bank	BAWNK	bank	noun
19	megálló	MEHG-ahl-loh	stop (bus, tram)	noun
20	metró	MEHT-roh	metro; underground	noun

Real Hungarian Tip — Budapest's Metro and Trams Budapest has a famous transport system. The yellow M1 metro line, opened in 1896, was the first underground railway on the European continent, and the city's yellow villamos (trams) run along the Danube and over the bridges. Stops are called megálló, and the city's transport company is the BKK.

Budapest's Three Big Stations Budapest has three main railway stations named after their direction: Keleti (East), Nyugati (West) and Déli (South), each called a pályaudvar. If someone tells you to go to the Keleti pályaudvar, they mean the East station. You will meet the word again in Chapter 12.

How Hungarian Addresses Work In Hungarian addresses the street name comes first, then the house number: Váci utca 10 ("10 Váci Street"), and the postcode comes before the town: 1052 Budapest, Váci utca 10. Streets are called utca (street), út (road), tér (square) or körút (boulevard).

Start with Elnézést Whenever you stop a stranger to ask the way, begin with Elnézést! ("Excuse me!"), as in the first chapter, and finish with Köszönöm szépen! It is polite, and it signals that you are about to ask a question, so the other person is ready to help.

✍️ Try It Yourself — Gyakorlatok

Say each answer out loud first, then click to check.

1. Ask where the post office is.

Show answer

Hol van a posta?

2. Say "Go straight on, then turn right" (formal).

Show answer

Menjen egyenesen, aztán forduljon jobbra.

3. Say "The bank is next to the post office."

Show answer

A bank a posta mellett van.

4. Say you are lost and looking for a hotel.

Show answer

Eltévedtem. Egy szállodát keresek.

5. Ask how to get to the bank (informal).

Show answer

Hogy jutok el a bankhoz?

6. Which ending means "as far as"?

Show answer

-ig: a hídig, a sarokig.

Coming Up in Chapter 11 Booking a hotel: Szeretnék egy szobát foglalni ("I'd like to book a room"), egyágyas and kétágyas, counting nights, reggeli (breakfast) and Foglalásom van ("I have a reservation").