What Is Your Favourite Hungarian Word?
Did you know that the Hungarian Language Day ( 13th of November ) has been celebrated for more than 10 years? We searched and collected the 10 most beautiful Hungarian words. This list was not compiled by anyone, but by one of the greatest Hungarian poet and writer, Dezső Kosztolányi.
It is a difficult task to choose the ten most beautiful flowers from the sea of native language. Dezső Kosztolányi wrote about this in the Pesti Hírlap on November 19, 1933:
"This cannot be answered seriously. It's like asking us which is the most beautiful sound on the piano. Everything depends on the relationship of the sounds and our momentary state of mind. However, if we take the question as a game, then we can answer it playfully."
Among the words of the native language, he preferred the following: láng (flame), gyöngy (pearl), anya (mother), ősz (autumn), szűz (virgin), kard (sword), csók (kiss), vér (blood), szív (heart), sír (crying).
What makes a word beautiful?
Dezső Kosztolányi probably considered its length to be one of the most important factors, because the words he chose are quite short.
The 10 most beautiful Hungarian words
Láng - flame
Gyöngy -Pearl
Anya – mother
Ősz - autumn
Szűz - virgin
Kard - sword
Csók - kiss
Vér - blood
Szív - heart
Sír - crying
At the beginning of the 2000s, a survey was conducted in which foreigners were also asked which was their favourite Hungarian word. The answer may be a bit surprising, as the tourists' choice fell on cipőfűző - shoelaces.
Which one is your favourite Hungarian word? How is your language learning journey going? Share your experiences!
Nora, OLS Community Manager – Hungarian