Hungarian for a weekend in Budapest
Try a useful Hungarian greeting, then keep the phrases you’ll actually use for your Budapest city break close at hand.
Course coming soon●No signup●6 lesson outline
Basic Hungarian phrases for travellers
Find the English phrase first, then practise saying it.
| You want to say | In Hungarian | Say it like |
|---|---|---|
| Hello & manners | ||
| Hi! / Bye! (casual) | Szia! | SEE-ah |
| Good day (polite) | Jó napot! | yoh NAH-poht |
| Thank you. | Köszönöm. | KUH-suh-num |
| You're welcome. | Szívesen. | SEE-veh-shen |
| Sorry / Excuse me. | Bocsánat! | BOH-chah-naht |
| Yes. | Igen. | EE-gen |
| No. | Nem. | nem |
| Café & food | ||
| One coffee, please. | Egy kávét kérek. | edj KAH-vayt KAY-rek |
| Cheers! | Egészségedre! | EH-gays-shay-ged-reh |
| The bill, please. | A számlát, kérem. | ah SAHM-laht KAY-rem |
| Getting around & paying | ||
| Where is the tram? | Hol van a villamos? | hohl vahn ah VIL-lah-mosh |
| How much is it? | Mennyibe kerül? | MEN-nyee-beh KEH-rul |
| Can I pay by card? | Kártyával fizethetek? | KAR-tyah-vahl FEE-zet-heh-tek |
| If you need help | ||
| Do you speak English? | Beszél angolul? | BEH-sayl AHN-goh-lool |
| Help! | Segítség! | SHEH-geet-shayg |
Hungarian can feel unfamiliar at first, but a few phrases go a long way on a city break. This quick sheet puts the English phrase first, with a Hungarian version and a simple pronunciation guide.
Pronunciation spellings are rough guides. Have a native Hungarian speaker check the wording before publication.
Hungarian pronunciation in 60 seconds.
- 01
Stress the first syllable. Always.
Every Hungarian word is stressed at the start. Get that right and you'll sound surprisingly natural.
- 02
s sounds like “sh”, sz like “s”.
Which is why locals say BOO-dah-pesht. Read the signs with that in mind.
- 03
cs is “ch”, gy is roughly “dj”.
So egy (one) is edj. Once you know a handful of letter pairs, the spelling is very consistent.
- 04
Jó napot is your safe bet.
A polite all-purpose hello for shops, cafés and anyone you don’t know. Save szia for friendlier moments.
Budapest questions, answered.
How much Hungarian do I need for a weekend in Budapest?
Not much. Greetings, thank you, ordering, paying and asking for help cover most of a city break.
Isn’t Hungarian really hard?
As a whole language, it has a reputation. For a weekend you only need a handful of phrases, and the spelling is consistent once you know a few letter rules.
Is the Budapest course really free?
Weekend Essentials is planned as a free course. The optional Stay a Little Longer pack is planned at €1.99, once.
Do I need to sign up or download an app?
No download or account is needed to try the preview here. TripYapper lessons run in your browser.
What if I switch phones?
This preview does not save course progress. App progress can be saved on the device; account sync is available in the app.