
HUNGARIAN KNOWLEDGE
SATISFY YOUR THIRST FOR
THE HUNGARIAN LANGUAGE: GATEWAY TO YOUR FUTURE
Hungarian, known as "Magyar" in its native form, is a language that stands out as a fascinating anomaly in Europe. It belongs to the Uralic language family, a rare classification that sets it apart from the Indo-European languages dominating the continent.
Hungarian is primarily spoken in Hungary, where it is the official language, but it also has speakers in neighboring countries such as Romania, Slovakia, Serbia, and Ukraine, as well as in diaspora communities worldwide. With approximately 13 million speakers, Hungarian is the largest and most widely spoken Uralic language.
Unlike its Indo-European neighbors, Hungarian shares linguistic roots with Finnish and Estonian. However, these languages are not mutually intelligible due to significant divergences over thousands of years. Hungarian’s distinctive features can be found in its vocabulary, grammar and phonetics, which have evolved independently while incorporating influences from Turkish, German, Slavic, and Latin over centuries.
Hungarian is deeply tied to the culture and history of Hungary, helping to preserve the nation's identity during the many invasions it has suffered during its history. Of particular note is its rich literature, made up of poetic and philosophical works, with renowned writers such as Sándor Petőfi and Imre Kertész, the latter of whom won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Here are 5 Unique Features of the Hungarian Language:
Agglutinative Grammar: meaning it forms words and expresses grammatical relationships through the addition of prefixes and suffixes. For instance, a single Hungarian word can encapsulate what would require an entire sentence in English. For example the word “házunkban,” means “in our house.”
Vowel Harmony: Hungarian employs vowel harmony, a phonological system where the vowels within a word must belong to one of two groups: front vowels or back vowels. This feature governs the selection of suffixes, ensuring a harmonious sound to the language.
Rich Case System: With 18 grammatical cases, Hungarian is a language of great precision. Cases define the roles of nouns in sentences, such as possession, direction, or location, replacing prepositions commonly used in English.
Flexible Word Order: While Hungarian has a subject-verb-object (SVO) structure, its word order is highly flexible, often determined by emphasis rather than strict grammatical rules. This flexibility allows speakers to highlight specific elements of a sentence dynamically.
Pronunciation: Hungarian pronunciation is consistent, with words pronounced as they are spelled. Stress is always placed on the first syllable, and the language has unique letters, such as ő and ű, which represent long vowels.

NATURAL METHOD TO LEARN HUNGARIAN
Our language courses are based on the Natural Method, also known as the Natural Approach, developed by linguist Stephen Krashen and language educator Tracy Terrell. This approach focuses on creating an environment that mimics how individuals naturally acquire their first language, emphasizing comprehension, communication, and a stress-free learning experience.
While other language courses rely on rote memorization and drills, a heavy academic approach to grammar, repetitive exercises, expensive and time-consuming formal tutoring sessions or ineffective and shallow phone apps, we will have you gradually build your language skills like a child learning his/her mother tongue.
There are essentially 5 Core Principles in the Natural Method:
Comprehensible Input (i+1)
Learners acquire a language when they are exposed to materials slightly beyond their current level of understanding (represented as i+1). By hearing or reading content they mostly understand, learners can gradually internalize new vocabulary and grammar structures.Focus on Communication
The Natural Method prioritizes fluency and the ability to communicate over grammatical perfection. Errors are seen as a natural part of the learning process and are not heavily penalised, reducing anxiety and encouraging learners to express themselves.Emotional Element
Emotional factors like anxiety, motivation and enjoyment greatly influence language acquisition. When learners are in a relaxed state, achieved by removing the anxiety linked to the pressure to produce perfect grammar, it is easier for them to get through the initial phase which is arguably the hardest and where most give up. It is also proven to be easier for the brain to absorb and retain new information if the learner is actually interested in the language and its underlying culture, which is why he have included extensive cultural insights, historical and modern pop culture elements in our language course.Stages of Language Acquisition
Scholars have identified the following stages in the language acquisition process of young children:Pre-production: The "silent period," where learners focus on listening and understanding without speaking.
Early Production: Learners begin using simple words and phrases.
Speech Emergence: Learners can construct longer sentences and express ideas more freely.
Intermediate Fluency: Learners develop more complex language skills and can engage in meaningful conversations.
Advanced Fluency: Learners achieve near-native proficiency.
The goal of our courses is thus to mimic the natural language acquisition process without overwhelming the learner with long and tedious lessons but ensuring gradual gains so that he/she remains committed to his/her fluency goal.
Meaningful Interaction
Instead of rote memorization of single words and grammar rules over and over, the Natural Method encourages activities that involve real-world communication to help retain information. This is why we have included storytelling and role-playing scenarios that simulate everyday situations, with exercises that allow the learner to understand his/her current level and thus improve upon specific elements.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
The top five reasons to learn this language are...
It's fun!
By learning Hungarian, one can get a deeper understanding of European history and culture. Throughout the centuries, the Kingdom of Hungary had an often ignored pivotal role in the shaping of Europe, being on the border of Roman and Greek Catholicism and the Turkish expansion. When not an empire itself, it's been on the border of empires, cultures and civilizations for a millennium and stood in the sea of Slavic, German and Turkish languages, without losing his identity.
Hungarians are extremely grateful when they see other people try to speak Hungarian. Make sure you pick up a few words, even if you only have a short visit in the country.
To know Hungarian is to be a member of a very unique club.
If you want an inexpensive vacation, go to Hungary!


Why learn Hungarian?
Is Hungarian hard to learn?
Honestly speaking, Hungarian is definitively not an easy language to learn! Knowledge of other languages (even Finnish or Estonian) doesn't really make it much easier. The main problem however is the lack of good resources that brigde the gap between beginner materials and advanced native media. Since Hungarian culture and media contents haven't propagated throughout the world, unlike Japanese anime or Korean dramas for example, which means that there aren't as many people interested in learning the language. This in turn means less books and contents are creatd, posing a serious challenge to anyone interested in going beyond the beginner level.
These factors aren't unique to Hungarian, but they are relevant because for the average English-speaking learner, since this makes Hungarian even harder to learn compared to Japanese! This lack of resources is also made worse by the fact that Hungarian isn't widely spoken and the Hungarian-speaking diaspora is small and geographically concentrated around Hungary itself. We hope to solve the lack of resources by creating constantly new contents that will allow learners to complete their fluency goals. If you have any suggestions about future lessons or articles send them to info@learnhungarian.net


How long does it take to learn Hungarian?
The Foreign Service Institute (FSI) of the United States Department of State has classified Hungarian as a Category IV language, meaning it is considered one of the most challenging languages for native English speakers to learn. The FSI estimates that it takes approximately 1,100 hours of study to achieve a general proficiency in Hungarian. This is 137 days or 4 and half months assuming you study 8 hours a day, every single day including on weekends and when you are at work.
It is important to note that this estimate may vary significantly depending on the individual's language learning abilities, previous language learning experiences, and immersion in a Hungarian-speaking environment. Our course enables learners to reach conversational fluency in 30 days by optimising their study time and gradually expanding their language skills to cover every possible topic.


Is Hungarian related to any other languages?
Hungarian is a member of the Uralic language family, which includes Finnish, Estonian, and several smaller languages spoken across northern Eurasia, such as Sami and Udmurt. Despite its geographic location in Central Europe, Hungarian is not an Indo-European language and therefore has no linguistic relation to its neighboring languages like German, Slovak, or Romanian. Its closest linguistic relatives are Mansi and Khanty, two minority languages spoken in western Siberia, although these are so distant in time and geography that their similarities to Hungarian are not immediately obvious.
Hungarian shares structural features with other Uralic languages, such as vowel harmony, agglutination (the use of suffixes to modify word meaning or grammatical function), and a rich case system. However, over centuries of contact with Indo-European-speaking populations, Hungarian has absorbed a significant number of loanwords from Slavic languages, Turkish, German, and Latin, influencing its vocabulary while its core grammar has remained distinct. This unique combination of features makes Hungarian stand out as one of the most linguistically fascinating languages in Europe.
What’s the fastest way to become fluent in Hungarian?
These are 5 proven methods that we have developed as language learners (not only as teachers!) that will help you achieve complete mastery of any language:
1. Immerse Yourself Completely
Surround Yourself: Change the language of your phone, computer, tv, console, news sources, radio stations, song playlists and streaming apps to the language you want to learn.
Engaging Content: Listen to native music, watch original movies, learn about the culture and history of the country on Youtube. This will help you stay motivated and reduce the initial frustration.
Make Mistakes: Travel to the country where the language is spoken and don't be afraid to engage with the locals. People will be amazed at your efforts to learn their language.
2. Focus on the Most Useful Words and Phrases
Study Efficiency: Learn the top 2,000 words in the language, as they often cover 80-90% of everyday conversations. Learning takes time but that doesn't mean it has to take very long to see results.
Real Conversations: Start by practising with common phrases you'll actually use in real-life situations, like greetings, ordering food, asking for directions, etc.
3. Use Memorization Techniques
Spaced Repetition: Our Courses are based on spaced spaced repetition systems (SRS) to help you memorize words and grammar in the long term and with miminal effort by showing them to you in progression.
Mnemonic Devices: trick your brain and speed up the learning process by trying to think of an example or "story" for each new word / expression you struggle to remember.
4. Learn the Language based on the Context
Practice Makes Perfect: Remember that your grammar doesn't have to be perfect as long as you can be understood! There is no shame in using simple phrases to get you point across.
Shadowing Technique: Repeat in your head after native speakers in real-time while listening or watching videos with original subtitles to improve your comprehension.
5. Consistency is Everything
Daily Practice: Even just 30 minutes a day is more effective than sporadic, long day study sessions. Take breaks often when reading and always have fun to increase productivity.
Compound Results: Small, achievable goals like reading 5 pages daily, or even just watching a movie or playing a videogame every evening produce results over time if you don't see them immediately.


EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE
If you are interested in learning more about Hungarian culture and history as well as the language, we recommend that you download our complete Hungarian language course!
You will not only receive all the contents available on our website in convenient pdf or epub formats but also additional contents, including bonus vocabulary, more grammar structures and exclusive cultural insights with additional Hungarian vocabulary that you won't find anywhere else.
The additional articles include specific words or expressions related to the culture of the Hungarian people. Not only will you be able to speak the Hungarian language with confidence but you will amaze your listeners thanks to your knowledge of their country and history.
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Have you already mastered Hungarian?
Congratulations on your achievement! We'd love to hear your feedback to help us improve our lessons and continue providing fresh, engaging content. Feel free to share your thoughts at info@learnhungarian.net.
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