Jan 01 2023
Hungarian is a great language - and in this guide we'll signpost all the resources you need to help you learn it.
What is the Hungarian language?
The The Hungarian language is a Uralic language, which means it comes from the Eastern Europe region.
It's hard to pinpoint exactly when the Hungarian language began. Some linguists believe it came from an early form of Khanty, while others think there are connections with Magyar tribes in present-day Ukraine and Romania that migrated westward around 1400 AD.
You can delve more into the history of the Hungarian language here:
Understanding How Modern Hungarian Came to Be | Teacher Finder
Have you ever tried memorising a text you don't comprehend? It's difficult, isn't it? This holds equally true for language learning. Understanding where languages come from and the way they have developed is a great way of making the learning process a lot easier for yourself.
What language group in Hungarian in?
Like Finnish, Estonian and Saami languages, it belongs to Finno-Ugric subgroup of the Uralic family. It's also related as an Indo-European Language with its own distinct alphabet that was first developed in 1537 before adopting Latin script in 1844 under pressure from other European powers like Austria-Hungary.
Where is Hungarian spoken?
Hungarian is spoken by Hungarians in Hungary and neighbouring countries - including Slovakia, Romania and Serbia. With only minor differences in vocabulary and pronunciation, they are mutually intelligible.
Despite being distant relations to Finnish and Estonian, they are not mutually intelligible.
The Hungarian alphabet
The Hungarian alphabet contains 40 natural letters, including 14 vowels.
Here are some interesting facts about the Hungarian alphabet:
- Four letters are borrowed from English/Latin. They are Q (ku), W (dupla vé), X (iksz) and Y (ipszilon).
- Some letters are just around to help spell out words adapted from other languages - like dzs in dszungel (jungle).
If you want to know how to pronounce the letters of the Hungarian alphabet, check out this guide:
And you can learn more about the Hungarian alphabet in this guide:
Finding a Hungarian language school
Finding a private Hungarian teacher
Language reference websites
Hungarian audio guides and podcasts
Hungarian language textbooks
Hungarian Youtube channels
Apps to help you learn and practice Hungarian
Ling App: You can discover the easy path to Hungarian language with a gamification platform to help you to learn Hungarian with the Ling app.
Language meetups where you can speak Hungarian
Hungarian language exams and qualifications
Citizenship language exam
How to immerse in Hungarian culture to practice your Hungarian
Learn a language in 60 hours, with Hungarian as example
Three months ago, I decided to apply for Hungarian citizenship. I qualified because some of my ancestors were Hungarian. The passport would come in handy for living and working in the EU, as well as in Switzerland, where I reside.
Julie Sparks | Learning Something New: Magyar Nyelv
At the start of 2021, I told myself that my year goal was to become conversational in Hungarian. Of course many other notable things in my personal life and career happened but this was still my driving focus every day.
The pressure was on. I had about two months. A short eight weeks before I'd be in Budapest, Hungary at a work meeting. My mission? To learn Hungarian. But here was the catch, I hadn't studied Hungarian before at all. Not a word. I was starting from absolute zero.
Can you learn to speak Hungarian online, for free? Yes, you can! Hungarian is a unique language, there's no other language like it in the world! It's the official language of Hungary and it's spoken by around 13 million native speakers.
From finding a job, to a place to live, help setting up a business or just advice for your next vacation - tell us what you need and we'll connect you with an expert.