Hungarian language

Alphabet, including ő ű and
cs dz dzs gy ly ny sz ty zs

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Phonetics and phonology
Vowel harmony
Grammar
(Noun phrases · Verbs)
T-V distinction
Regulatory body
Hungarian names
Language history
(Sound correspondences)
Tongue-twisters

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Hungarian pronunciation of English
Old Hungarian script
English words from Hungarian

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The Hungarian alphabet is an extension of the Latin alphabet.

One sometimes speaks of the smaller and greater Hungarian alphabet, depending on whether the letters Q, W, X, Y which can only be found in foreign words and traditional orthography of names are listed, or not.

The 44 letters of the (greater) Hungarian alphabet are:

A Á B C Cs D Dz Dzs E É F
G Gy H I Í J K L Ly M N
Ny O Ó Ö Ő P (Q) R S Sz T
Ty U Ú Ü Ű V (W) (X) (Y) Z Zs

Description

Each sign shown above counts as a letter in its own right in Hungarian. Some, such as the letter ó and ő, are interfiled with the letter preceding it; whereas others, such as ö have their own place in collation rather than also being interfiled with o.

While long vowels count as different letters, long (or geminate) consonants don't. Long consonants are marked by duplication: e.g. <tt>, <gg>, <zz> (ette 'he ate (det.obj.)', függ 'it hangs', azzal 'with that'). For the di- and tri-graphs a simplification rule normally applies (but not when the compound is split at the end of a line of text due to hyphenation): only the first letter is duplicated: e.g. <sz>+<sz>→<ssz> (asszony 'woman'), <ty>+<ty>→<tty> (hattyú 'swan'), <dzs>+<dzs>→<ddzs> (briddzsel 'with bridge (card game)').
An exception is made at the joining points of compound words, for example: jegygyűrű 'engagement ring' (jegy + gyűrű) not *jeggyűrű.

Pronunciation

Further information: Hungarian phonology

Hungarian orthography's principles include being phonetic along with being traditional, etymological and simplifying. Therefore most words can be read out correctly, if one knows the pronunciation of the letters.

The pronunciation of Hungarian letters which follows is that of standard Hungarian.

(You might want to increase your browser's display font size to see the IPA symbols more correctly).

Letter Name Phoneme (IPA) Complementary allophones (IPA)[1] Approx. English pronunciation Notes
A a /ɒ/ (help·info) bod [ɑ̝̹] might describe it better (raised, more rounded; sign rendered probably incorrectly, containing two diacritical marks below). Still definitely not [ɔ]
Á á /aː/ (help·info) as the first sound of 'i' in file, line; how
B bé /b/ (help·info) as by, absence etc.
C cé /ts/ (help·info) like tsunami
Cs csé /tʃ/ as check,cheek, etching etc.
D dé /d/ (help·info) deck, wide etc.
Dz dzé /dz/ (help·info) like in Hudson does not occur at the beginning of words. When neither post- nor preconsonantic, always realised as a geminate.
Dzs dzsé /dʒ/ jam, george, bridge, edge, fridge when final or intervocalic, usually realised as a geminate: maharadzsa /mɑhɑrɑdʒɑ/ [mɑhɑrɑd͡ʒːɑ] 'maharajah', bridzs /bridʒ/ [brid͡ʒː] 'bridge (card game)', but dzsungel /dʒuŋgɛl/ [d͡ʒuŋgɛl] 'jungle', fridzsider /fridʒidɛr/ [frid͡ʒidɛr]] coll. 'refrigerator'
E e /ɛ/ (help·info) like less, cheque, edge, bed about 40-50% of speakers also have a phoneme /e/ (see below at Ë). /e/ is not considered part of standard Hungarian, wherein /ɛ/ or /æ/ takes the place of /e/.
(Ë) ë /e/ like in "same", without the /ɪ/ part of the diphthong /eɪ/ Although not part of the alphabet, this symbol is sometimes used to denote the phoneme /e/, e.g. when noting down texts spoken or sung in a dialect where this sound is present.
É é /eː/ (help·info) café, hey
F ef /f/ (help·info) find, euphoria
G gé /g/ (help·info) get, leg, go etc.
Gy gyé /ɟ/ (help·info) (not used in English) similar to: duke, dew, due (British, not American, pronunciation) denoting /ɟ/ by <gy> is a remnant of (probably) Italian scribes who tried to render the Hungarian sound. <dy> would be a more consistent notation in scope of <ty>, <ny>, <ly> (see there), as the <y> part of digraphs show palatalisation in the Hungarian writing system.
H há /h/ 1. [ɦ] (help·info)

2. ∅
3. [x] (help·info)
4. [ç] (help·info)

Basic: hi
1. behind
2. <mute>
3. loch, Chanukah
4. human 1. when in intervocalic position.
2. not rendered usually when in final position méh /meː/ 'bee', cseh /tʃɛ/ 'Czech (noun/adj.)'
3. seldom in final position, such as in doh 'dampness', MÉH 'metal recycling facility'
4. seldom, such as in ihlet 'inspiration'
I i /i/ thick, thin Pronounced the same as Í, only shorter
Í í /iː/ (help·info) lead, leave, seed, sea Vowel length is phonemically distinctive in Hungarian: irt 'he eradicates' ∼ írt 'he wrote'
J jé /j/ (help·info) [ç], [ʝ] you, yes, faith allophones occur when /j/ occurs after a consonant; (voiceless after voiceless, voiced after voiced consonants). e.g. férj 'husband', kapj 'get! (imperative)'
K ká /k/ (help·info) key, kiss, weak
L el /l/ (help·info) leave, list, whole
Ly ely, el ipszilon /j/ (help·info) hey, ray Orthographic tradition. Once /ʎ/, now /j/ in standard Hungarian.
M em /m/ (help·info) mind, assume, might,
N en /n/ [ŋ] (help·info)

[n] (help·info)