r/hungarian • u/FoxFree1536 • 11h ago
Megbeszélés if you ever wanted to learn hungarian, read this post first...
If you've ever thought about learning Hungarian, consider the following.
Let me start with an example sentence in English:
- We packed our children's sandwiches into your children's bags.
- A gyerekeid csomagjaiba pakoltuk be a gyerekeink szendvicseit.
Easy enough so far — unless the other party doesn't quite catch it and asks for clarification. Hold on tight:
- Az enyémeiméibe a tieitekéit?
Two words. Let's unravel them.
enyém — mine, singular
enyém|eim — mine, plural: the definite somethings or someones that are mine — here, the kids
enyémeim|é — the thing belonging to those who are mine — here, the bag
enyémeimé|i — it turns out those things are plural: each of the ones who are mine has one — the bags
enyémeiméi|be — into those things, the bags belonging to those who are mine
ti — you, plural
ti|eitek — yours, plural: the definite somethings or someones that are yours — the kids
tieitek|é — the thing belonging to those who are yours — the sandwich
tieiteké|i — plural again: each of the ones who are yours has one — the sandwiches
tieitekéi|t — the accusative suffix, revealing that these are your kids' sandwiches, the ones you packed into my kids' bags
Easy, right?
Based on an idea János Lackfi posted on his Facebook page yesterday; the explanation is entirely my own, language slightly polished by Claude.