Hungarian sounds
Vowels
There are 14 vowels. They stand in short–long pairs. Long sounds are indicated by the acute accent (stroke above the letter).
a – as o in not (Brit.)
á – as a in father (here the accent marks not only the length, but also a different sound quality: while a is back rounded and short, á is front unrounded and long)
e – as e in let
é – as a in say (here the accent marks not only the length, but also a different sound quality: while e is open and short, é is closed and long)
i – as i in trip
í – as ee in see
o – as o in on (Brit.)
ó – as o in so (Am.)
ö – as ö in German schön, but shorter
ő – as ö in German schön
u – as u in look
ú – as oo in moon
ü – as ü in German über, but shorter
ű – as ü in German über
Note for pronunciation: stress always falls on the first syllable of words. Accent marks do not alter stress in any way.
The examples above only provide rough equivalents. You can listen to the Hungarian vowels in this video.
Examples
a
á
The accent makes the sound longer.
The á sound is not only longer, but also much more open than the sound a.
e
é
The accent makes the sound longer.
The é sound is not only longer, but also more closed than the e sound.
i
í
The accent makes the sound longer.
o
ó
The accent makes the sound longer.
ö
ő
The accent makes the sound longer.
u
ú
The accent makes the sound longer.
ü
ű
The accent makes the sound longer.
Consonants
Many consonants in Hungarian are the same as in English. Only a few of them are pronounced differently. Here they are:
There are 8 consonants that are two letters but one sound:
cs – as ch in chocolate
dzs – as dg in fudge
gy – as d in duty (Brit.) or de y in made your (when pronounced fast)
zs – as g in genre or as s in pleasure
sz – as s in see
ty – as t in tube (Brit.)
ly – same as j (used to be different, but no difference today)
ny – as in canyon or as n in Spanish señor
Examples
c
cs
dzs
gy
ny
ty
j and ly
r
s
sz
zs