Your Daily Routine
Hungarian Basic Conversation 2
Chapter 1 · Your Daily Routine
🕖 Your Daily Routine — A napirendem
Welcome to Hungarian Basic Conversation 2. Course 1 gave you phrases for single situations. This course moves to describing your life: routines, plans, opinions and the past. We start with an ordinary day: when you get up, what you eat, when you work and when you go to bed. You will also meet one of Hungarian's trickiest and most typical features, the verb prefix that moves. Every dialog line has a respelling beneath it.
① Getting Up — Hánykor kelsz fel?
A:
Hánykor kelsz fel?
HAHNY-kor KEHLS FEHL?
What time do you get up?
B:
Hétkor kelek fel. És te?
HAYT-kor KEH-lehk FEHL. AYSH TEH?
I get up at seven. And you?
A:
Én fél nyolckor.
AYN FAYL NYOLTS-kor.
At half past seven.
② A Working Day (Philip's) — Hétköznap
A:
Mit csinálsz hétköznap?
MIT CHIH-nahls HAYT-keuz-nawp?
What do you do on weekdays?
B:
Reggel hétkor felkelek, nyolckor már dolgozom.
REHG-gehl HAYT-kor FEHL-keh-lehk, NYOLTS-kor MAHR DOL-go-zom.
In the morning I get up at seven, and by eight I'm working.
A:
Meddig dolgozol?
MEHD-dig DOL-go-zol?
Until when do you work?
B:
Ötig.
EU-tig.
Until five.
③ Meals (Nagymama's day) — Ebéd és vacsora
A:
Mikor ebédelsz?
MIH-kor EH-bay-dehls?
When do you have lunch?
B:
Délben ebédelek, és este hétkor vacsorázom.
DAYL-behn EH-bay-deh-lehk, AYSH EHSH-teh HAYT-kor VAW-chaw-rah-zom.
I have lunch at noon, and dinner at seven in the evening.
④ Always Early? — Mindig korán?
A:
Mindig korán kelsz fel?
MIN-dig KO-rahn KEHLS FEHL?
Do you always get up early?
B:
Nem, hétvégén általában későn kelek fel.
NEHM, HAYT-vay-gayn AHL-taw-lah-bawn KAY-sheuun KEH-lehk FEHL.
No, at weekends I usually get up late.
A:
Én is.
AYN IHSH.
Me too.
⑤ Evenings (Philip's) — Este
A:
Mit csinálsz este?
MIT CHIH-nahls EHSH-teh?
What do you do in the evening?
B:
Tévét nézek, vagy olvasok.
TAY-vayt NAY-zehk, VAWDY OL-vaw-shok.
I watch TV, or I read.
A:
Hánykor fekszel le?
HAHNY-kor FEHK-sehl LEH?
What time do you go to bed?
B:
Tizenegykor.
TIH-zehn-ehdy-kor.
At eleven.
⑥ A Day Off — Szabadnap
A:
Hétfőn dolgozol?
HAYT-feuun DOL-go-zol?
Do you work on Monday?
B:
Igen, hétfőtől péntekig. Hétvégén pihenek.
IH-gehn, HAYT-feuu-teuul PAYN-teh-kig. HAYT-vay-gayn PIH-heh-nehk.
Yes, Monday to Friday. At weekends I rest.
A:
Szerencsés vagy!
SEH-rehn-chaysh VAWDY!
You're lucky!
🗝️ Key Phrases — Fontos kifejezések
| Situation | Formal (Ön) | Informal (te) |
|---|---|---|
| What time do you get up? | Hánykor kel fel? HAHNY-kor KEHL FEHL | Hánykor kelsz fel? HAHNY-kor KEHLS FEHL |
| What do you do on weekdays? | Mit csinál hétköznap? MIT CHIH-nahl HAYT-keuz-nawp | Mit csinálsz hétköznap? MIT CHIH-nahls HAYT-keuz-nawp |
| When do you have lunch? | Mikor ebédel? MIH-kor EH-bay-dehl | Mikor ebédelsz? MIH-kor EH-bay-dehls |
| Until when do you work? | Meddig dolgozik? MEHD-dig DOL-go-zihk | Meddig dolgozol? MEHD-dig DOL-go-zol |
| I get up at seven | Hétkor kelek fel. HAYT-kor KEH-lehk FEHL | (same) |
| I usually … | Általában … AHL-taw-lah-bawn | (same) |
| I never … | Soha nem … SHO-haw NEHM | (same) |
🕖 A Day in Verbs — Egy nap igékben
The activities of an ordinary day, in the infinitive and in the "I" form. Several are -ik verbs (reggelizem, vacsorázom, lefekszem, alszom), whose "I" form ends in -om / -em / -öm instead of -ok / -ek / -ök.
| Meaning | Hungarian | Say it | "I …" | Say it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| to get up | felkelni | FEHL-kehl-nih | felkelek | FEHL-keh-lehk |
| to have breakfast | reggelizni | REHG-geh-liz-nih | reggelizem | REHG-geh-lih-zehm |
| to have lunch | ebédelni | EH-bay-dehl-nih | ebédelek | EH-bay-deh-lehk |
| to go home | hazamenni | HAW-zaw-mehn-nih | hazamegyek | HAW-zaw-meh-dyehk |
| to have dinner | vacsorázni | VAW-chaw-rahz-nih | vacsorázom | VAW-chaw-rah-zom |
| to watch TV | tévét nézni | TAY-vayt NAYZ-nih | tévét nézek | TAY-vayt NAY-zehk |
| to read | olvasni | OL-vawsh-nih | olvasok | OL-vaw-shok |
| to go to bed | lefeküdni | LEH-feh-kued-nih | lefekszem | LEH-fehk-sehm |
| to sleep | aludni | AW-lud-nih | alszom | AWL-som |
🔗 Verbs with Prefixes — Igekötős igék
Many Hungarian verbs begin with a little prefix (fel- "up", le- "down", haza- "home", meg- a completing prefix). It sits in front of the verb in a plain sentence, but jumps behind the verb when something else is stressed, such as a time word, a question word or nem.
| Sentence type | Hungarian | Say it | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neutral: prefix + verb together | Felkelek. | FEHL-keh-lehk | the prefix fel- sits in front of the verb |
| A time word comes first: prefix goes after the verb | Hétkor kelek fel. | HAYT-kor KEH-lehk FEHL | "at seven (is when) I get up" |
| A question word comes first | Hánykor kelsz fel? | HAHNY-kor KEHLS FEHL | |
| Negative: nem + verb + prefix | Nem kelek fel korán. | NEHM KEH-lehk FEHL KO-rahn | "I don't get up early" |
| Going home | Hazamegyek. / Ötkor megyek haza. | HAW-zaw-meh-dyehk / EUT-kor MEH-dyehk HAW-zaw | haza is a prefix too |
The Rule of Thumb
Neutral sentence → prefix first (Felkelek.). Time word, question word or nem in front → prefix after the verb (Hétkor kelek fel., Nem kelek fel.). This also explains the questions you will hear all the time: Hánykor kelsz fel? and Mikor mész haza?
🕐 When — Mikor?
| Part of the day | Hungarian | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| in the morning | reggel | REHG-gehl |
| before noon | délelőtt | DAY-leh-leuut |
| at noon | délben | DAYL-behn |
| in the afternoon | délután | DAYL-oo-tahn |
| in the evening | este | EHSH-teh |
| at night | éjjel | AY-yehl |
| On … | Hungarian | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | hétfőn | HAYT-feuun |
| Tuesday | kedden | KEHD-dehn |
| Wednesday | szerdán | SEHR-dahn |
| Thursday | csütörtökön | CHUE-teur-teu-keun |
| Friday | pénteken | PAYN-teh-kehn |
| Saturday | szombaton | SOM-baw-ton |
| Sunday | vasárnap | VAW-shahr-nawp |
Times and Days: -kor, -tól … -ig and -n
-kor gives a time (hétkor, fél nyolckor), -tól … -ig gives a range (nyolctól ötig, "from eight to five"), and the days take -n / -on / -en / -ön (hétfőn), except vasárnap, which takes nothing. Remember from Basic 1: fél nyolc is 7:30, so fél nyolckor is "at half past seven".
🔁 How Often — Milyen gyakran?
| Frequency | Hungarian | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| always | mindig | MIN-dig |
| usually | általában | AHL-taw-lah-bawn |
| often | gyakran | DYAWK-rawn |
| sometimes | néha | NAY-haw |
| rarely | ritkán | RIT-kahn |
| never | soha nem | SHO-haw NEHM |
| early / late | korán / későn | KO-rahn / KAY-sheuun |
| every day | naponta | NAW-pon-taw |
🔤 Three More Verbs — Igék
Notice that reggelizni and aludni are -ik verbs: their "I" forms are reggelizem and alszom, and their "you" forms end in -el / -ol, not -sz. (Kelni is perfectly regular.)
| kelni (to get up) | reggelizni (to have breakfast) | aludni (to sleep) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| én (I) AYN | kelek KEH-lehk | reggelizem REHG-geh-lih-zehm | alszom AWL-som |
| te (you) TEH | kelsz KEHLS | reggelizel REHG-geh-lih-zehl | alszol AWL-sol |
| ő, Ön EUU, EUN | kel KEHL | reggelizik REHG-geh-lih-zihk | alszik AWL-sihk |
| mi (we) MIH | kelünk KEH-luenk | reggelizünk REHG-geh-lih-zuenk | alszunk AWL-sunk |
| ti (you, pl.) TIH | keltek KEHL-tehk | reggeliztek REHG-geh-lihs-tehk | alszotok AWL-so-tok |
| ők (they) EUUK | kelnek KEHL-nehk | reggeliznek REHG-geh-lihz-nehk | alszanak AWL-saw-nawk |
📖 Vocabulary — Szókincs
20 key words. Read the Hungarian first; the respelling is under every line (CAPITALS = the stressed first syllable).
| # | Hungarian | Say it | English | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | felkelni | FEHL-kehl-nih | to get up | verb |
| 2 | reggelizni | REHG-geh-liz-nih | to have breakfast | verb |
| 3 | ebédelni | EH-bay-dehl-nih | to have lunch | verb |
| 4 | vacsorázni | VAW-chaw-rahz-nih | to have dinner | verb |
| 5 | aludni | AW-lud-nih | to sleep | verb |
| 6 | lefeküdni | LEH-feh-kued-nih | to go to bed; to lie down | verb |
| 7 | hazamenni | HAW-zaw-mehn-nih | to go home | verb |
| 8 | olvasni | OL-vawsh-nih | to read | verb |
| 9 | tévé | TAY-vay | TV | noun |
| 10 | naponta | NAW-pon-taw | every day; daily | adj |
| 11 | hétköznap | HAYT-keuz-nawp | on weekdays | adj |
| 12 | mindig | MIN-dig | always | adj |
| 13 | általában | AHL-taw-lah-bawn | usually | adj |
| 14 | gyakran | DYAWK-rawn | often | adj |
| 15 | néha | NAY-haw | sometimes | adj |
| 16 | soha | SHO-haw | never | adj |
| 17 | korán | KO-rahn | early | adj |
| 18 | későn | KAY-sheuun | late | adj |
| 19 | már | MAHR | already; by now | adj |
| 20 | meddig | MEHD-dig | until when; how long | adj |
Real Hungarian Tip — Soha Nem: Double Negatives Are Normal
Hungarian happily uses two negatives: Soha nem iszom kávét ("I never drink coffee") literally says "never I don't drink coffee". That is correct, and nem must stay. The same goes for senki nem ("nobody") and semmi nem ("nothing"), which you will meet later.
Meals: Ebéd Is the Big One
Traditionally the main meal of the Hungarian day is ebéd (lunch), often with soup and a main course. Vacsora (dinner) is lighter, and many people have a small afternoon snack called uzsonna (U-zhon-naw). Breakfast, reggeli, is quick: bread, butter, cold meats or a roll.
Felkelek or Kelek Fel?
A beginner often worries about which order is right. The simplest guide: if your sentence starts with a time (Hétkor …), a question (Hánykor …?) or nem, the prefix goes after the verb. If it just starts with the verb or with én, keep the prefix in front: Én felkelek. Both orders are real Hungarian: the difference is where the emphasis lies.
Szabadnap and Hétköznap
Hétköznap (weekday) is built from hét (week) + köz (between) + nap (day): the days between weekends. A day off is a szabadnap ("free day"), and informally many Hungarians say szabi for time off.
✍️ Try It Yourself — Gyakorlatok
Say each answer out loud first, then click to check.
1. Say "I get up at seven." Which comes first, hétkor or kelek?
Show answer
Hétkor kelek fel. The time word comes first, so the prefix fel goes after the verb.
2. Ask a friend what time they go to bed.
Show answer
Hánykor fekszel le?
3. Say "I have lunch at noon and dinner at seven."
Show answer
Délben ebédelek, este hétkor vacsorázom.
4. Say "At weekends I usually get up late."
Show answer
Hétvégén általában későn kelek fel.
5. Say "I work from Monday to Friday."
Show answer
Hétfőtől péntekig dolgozom.
6. Say "I never watch TV." Does nem stay?
Show answer
Soha nem nézek tévét. Yes: nem stays after soha.
Coming Up in Chapter 2
Hobbies and free time: Szeretek úszni ("I like swimming") versus Szeretem a zenét ("I like the music"). This chapter introduces the second set of verb endings, the definite conjugation, which you have only used in set phrases such as Kérem so far.