Product Description
This Basic program contains 5 hours of audio-only, effective language learning with real-life spoken practice sessions.

The Pimsleur Method provides the most effective language-learning program ever developed. The Pimsleur Method gives you quick command of Hungarian structure without tedious drills. Learning to speak Hungarian can actually be enjoyable and rewarding.

The key reason most people struggle with new languages is that they aren't given proper instruction, only bits and pieces of a language. Other language programs sell only pieces -- dictionaries; grammar books and instructions; lists of hundreds or thousands of words and definitions; audios containing useless drills. They leave it to you to assemble these pieces as you try to speak. Pimsleur enables you to spend your time learning to speak the language rather than just studying its parts.

When you were learning English, could you speak before you knew how to conjugate verbs? Of course you could. That same learning process is what Pimsleur replicates. Pimsleur presents the whole language as one integrated piece so you can succeed.

With Pimsleur you get:

• Grammar and vocabulary taught together in everyday conversation,
• Interactive audio-only instruction that teaches spoken language organically,
• The flexibility to learn anytime, anywhere,
• 30-minute lessons designed to optimize the amount of language you can learn in one sitting.

Millions of people have used Pimsleur to gain real conversational skills in new languages quickly and easily, wherever and whenever -- without textbooks, written exercises, or drills.

The 10 lessons in the Basic Hungarian are the same as the first 10 lessons in the Pimsleur Comprehensive Hungarian Level 1.

The 10 lessons in Basic Hungarian are also the first 10 lessons in the 16-lesson Conversational Hungarian edition.

Pimsleur learners progress from either the Basic or the Conversational to the Comprehensive Level 1, and not from Basic to Conversational edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Extremely Effective Learning Process
I just returned from 2 weeks in Budapest. What I was looking for with Pimsleur's Basic Hungarian was "survival" Hungarian, and I did, in fact, survive. What Hungarian phrases I learned (excuse me, thank you, I'm sorry, good afternoon, do you speak English?, ordering a glass of wine, etc.) were easily understood by Hungarians, and I understood some of what was said to me. (Of course, understanding native speakers of a foreign language is always much more difficult than speaking a few phrases, because the native speakers don't limit themselves to the small survival vocabulary I've learned.)

I found the learning process to be extremely effective. At the beginning of a lesson, you'd listen to a conversation in Hungarian, and by the end of the lesson you could actually understand it. You'd be reminded of phrases at just the right interval to reinforce them. So, what phrases I learned, I learned well. The next time I travel, I will definitely use Pimsleur's for whatever language I need.

My only reason for rating it a 4 instead of a 5 was that I wished it had a few more survival phrases. Would have liked phrases like, where is the restroom?, may I have the check?, and how to order red wine (as opposed to just wine). Thankfully, I was able to learn those phrases from the relatives we were visiting. Given that it was only 5 hours of lessons, I think the coverage was reasonable. Next time, I might try a longer Pimsleur program.

Hungarian Dictionary
Dear Friends <> For many and many years I was looking for a Dicitionary of Hungarian in order to learn a bit of this language for I'm stamps collector (philatelist) and also I do love to learn other languages/idioms, so I decided to buy this book after an indication of a friend of mine about your library Amazon and them the things happened very very well. I'm ver satisfyed for this purchase. Now I can read and learn what the hungarian stamps meaning and that's very good for me.
Thanks a lot.
Vittorio Esposito since Brazil/Ubá(MG)

excellent for pronunciation
This unit covers a very limited amount of vocabulary and grammar, but what's there is useful and presented very effectively so that you learn it and can use it. And the audio quality is excellent, so that if you have any ear for a language's sounds at all, you are going to get it right, which is a critical basis for any subsequent learning. If there is a downside to this, it's that Hungarians will think that you speak better or more than you do, but frankly, this entirely accomplishes the purpose of breaking the ice and creating a good first impression, from which cooperation makes getting things done possible. At the price, it would be hard to find a better first exposure to Hungarian.

great product, but...
these are great but if you do research you can find the entire set online for cheaper, hence the 4 stars. This part is good for some basic vocab, but not everyday conversation. If you want to learn Hungarian, and trust me it's a rather difficult language, get the whole set Pimsleur produces a great product.

beginner's Hungarian
This is a good cd for someone who knows no Hungarian or very little Hungarian. I listen to it in the car. ... Read more

Product Description

Hungarian: An Essential Grammar is a concise, user-friendly guide to the most important structures of this fascinating language.

All students of Hungarian, whether beginners or at intermediate and advanced levels, will welcome its clarity of presentation and jargon-free explanations. It is ideal for those studying independently or following a taught course.

Topics include:

• verbal prefixes
• aspect and tense
• word-formation mechanisms
• vowel harmony
• the case system and its uses
• word order
• appendices include the formation of irregular verbs, complete noun declensions and irregular noun patterns

With numerous language examples bringing grammar to life, this truly essential reference work will prove invaluable to all students looking to master the patterns and irregularities of modern Hungarian.

Customer Reviews (10)

Very good indeed, but could still do with some improvements
This is certainly the best and most accessible concise grammar of Hungarian in English currently available, and the new (2009) edition is a noteworthy improvement on the first (2001). It is usually clear, avoids jargon when it can, and has a wealth of examples. Users should, however, be warned that for a work of reference it still contains far too many misprints and editing flaws, some straightforward errors, and -- althoughmost of the sentence examples are fresh, useful and idiomatic -- some are grammatically incorrect and/or not accurately or felicitously glossed.

Comprehensive and understandable
This book is an essential reference for anyone studying Hungarian. It covers grammar with understandable explanations and examples making all elements of the language approachable.The index is sufficiently detailed to be able to find the desired explanation without having to leaf through the book in search of answers.

High End Learning
The book is very well structured and is aimed at a level where the details of linguistics are fairly well understood. It is not a book from which you could learn how to converse in Hungarian but details how the sentences and syntax form and vary to elicit subtleties and variations of the language. Probably aimed at a level where the user is already capable of speaking and understanding Hungarian to an average degree.

Masterly work (ki Ugric, as they say)
I have a bookcase full of language books: French, Italian, Hebrew, German and even several English grammar books. I read them regularly. This book is one of the best language books I have ever read. The clarity with which the almost impossibly difficult Hungarian grammar is explained is astonishing. At the price, this has to be the best buy you can get.

A quick word to the prospective reader: You belong to one of four groups. You are a scholar - get the book for sure. You are a native speaker who wants to formalize their knowledge of the language - get the book. You are an interested amateur linguist who wants to find out what makes the language tick - highly recommended.

You are someone who want's to learn the language. Possibly you have already picked up some other languages like French or Spanish and you feel adventurous or you want to travel to the banks of the Danube - forget it! Hungarian is one of the most difficult languages to learn. As I said, the grammar is impossible, the pronunciation is even worse and the language resembles nothing that a Western speaker has ever come across.

I am warning you with some sadness. Spending a few hours with this book has convinced me that after fifty plus years of speaking and reading the language I still know less than nothing about it. A great book does that to you sometimes.

Hungarian: An Essential Grammar (Routledge Grammars)
Excellent! Perfect for the Hungarian speaker who wants to learn, or refresh their language skills, especially while using the Hungarian TV shows online. This book is great for easy quick reference. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Just enough hungarian
It is very practical, for tourists and for everyone, who just wants to be able to speak a few words, or just wants to please some Hungarian friends. You can find pretty much everything you need to say, without learning the extremely complex and difficult Hungarian grammar. It's basically a dictionary with useful sentences.
The only weakness is, that the pronounciation is sometimes somewhat off, at least when pronounced by American.

Grat help!
I had a business trip to Hungary in June 2005. I was there for 2 weeks and Just Enough Hungarian was a huge help.I used it in conjunction with another guide and was able to have a great and successful trip.

Title Says It All!
I must agree with the other reviews that while this book is adequate for survival, it is no more than that.
It has no notes on Hungarian grammar (which is VERY different from English) and only a minimal dictionary and hints on pronounciation.
Ditto the phrases themselves - they do cover the essentials, but nothing more than that. That said, at least they are all correct, free of mistakes!

Still, if you just go for a short trip to Budapest, you'll probably find this book adequate.
But if you want something better, I recommend Lonely Planet's Hungarian phrasebook, published in March 2005.

But do bring a phrasebook if you want to explore Hungary in any depth - apart from those working in the tourism industry, few Hungarians speak English, especially out in the rural areas.

"Just Enough" is right.
Well, it does what it sets out to do. If you're looking for a quick, rough and very practical guide to speaking Hungarian, this is it. It is, above all, practical. You won't be able to chat with anyone, butyou will be able to ask about the location of just about anywhere or when things are open or closed or just about any other travel-related issue. Each of the chapters is divided up by when you are likely to need certain phrases. So there's a hotel/accomadations section, a restaurant/market section, etc. And, very useful, the book also gives possible answers and translations. With this book, if you encounter someone who doesn't speak English, you'll be able to get your questions answered.

But if you're trying to learn Hungarian at all, this is not the book for you. The pronounciation is very, very rough - although to its credit, the book doesn't pretend to reflect the exact way a word is pronounced. Still, I think it could mention a few more points about how to pronounce some of the letters or letter combinations.

It's "just enough" - but no more.

You shouldn't have to make much effort speaking Hungarian...
...So we won't make much effort writing a book.This guide to the Hungarian language begins with an explanation that locals will "feel gratified" that you're making an attempt at Hungarian and will "probably go out of their way to understand you."The editors' view is that Hungarian is very difficult to pronounce, so why bother with much of a pronunciation guide, so "just wing it."Hmm, well.To be fair, they do offer phonetic transliterations beneath each phrase that approximate the proper pronciation while still being pronounceable by English speakers. Still, since they offer three (whoo! three!) pronunciation hints in the pronunciation guide, they might have made a point of also mentioning something pretty major such as "J' apparently is pronounced as a "Y".However, they let you figure that out as you go along.Again, to be fair, the book is very economical and should be sufficient for a short trip. ... Read more

Product Description
Hungarian, or Magyar, is spoken by 15 million people worldwide. This dictionary, the first of its kind to be based entirely on present-day Hungarian and American English, offers a wide range of business, medical, and technical vocabulary words. Expressions, illustrative examples, and essential phrases are included throughout, making it an ideal companion for English speakers working or studying in Hungary, as well as for Hungarian speakers in the U.S.

Over 31,000 entries
Comprehensive pronunciation guide
Concise introduction to Hungarian Grammar
Appendices featuring irregular verbs in English and Hungarian ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Excellent Hungarian Dictionary
It's not too easy to find a Hungarian dictionary, let alone a good one, but I was very pleased with this book.If you are looking for a Hungarian-English/English-Hungarian dictionary that's more substantive than the typical tourist pocket guide, this fits the bill.I've found it useful for both research and translation work because of the decent number of entries.There is also useful information including grammar guides, verb conjugation charts, and so forth, and the book has a number of modern word entries included.Some word entries also contain related phrases (although this is not a phrase book).Although nearly 1,000 pages in length, the book stows easily in a backpack or carrying bag.Great resource for the price.

Hungarian Practical Dictionary
Hungarian Practical Dictionary: Hungarian-English English-Hungarian (Hippocrene Practical Dictionaries) (Hungarian Edition)

The dictionary is concise and easy to use with thousands of entries.

Excellent source, best dictionary we've found
We recently moved to Hungary and purchased this dictionary before we moved.It's bulky but it still goes with us on all of our shopping trips, especially for grocery shopping.We have two small children so knowing ingredients is very important to me.There is very little english spoken or written in our part of the country so this has become our "go to" book.The Hungarian language has such a large amount of words, you really need this larger dictionary.The small travel dictionaries aren't enough. Helpful hint:Hungarians use lots of suffixes when you can't find a word break up the syllables and look for them and put them together.This usually is the key for the hard to find words!
Viszlat!

Hippocrene won me over on this one.
Now, normally Hippocrene publishes these concise (less than 10,000 translations) and commercial (New Times Font, no idiom markings) dictionaries, surprisingly about many of the world's less-commonly-studied languages.This dictionary has to be one of the better reference books published by Hippocrene which I have ever come across.

A good, handy dictionary and very recommended!

Hungarian Practical Dictionary: Hungarian-English English-Hungarian (Hippocrene Practical Dictionaries)
Excellent! Perfect for the Hungarian speaker who wants to learn, or refresh their language skills, especially while using the Hungarian TV shows online. This book is great for easy,quick,complete,reference. ... Read more

Product Description

Comprehensive Hungarian I includes 30 lessons of essential grammar and vocabulary -- 16 hours of real-life spoken practice sessions -- plus an introduction to reading.

Upon completion of this Level I program, you will have functional spoken proficiency with the most-frequently-used vocabulary and grammatical structures. You will be able to:

* initiate and maintain face-to-face conversations,

* deal with every day situations -- ask for information, directions, and give basic information about yourself and family,

* communicate basic information on informal topics and participate in casual conversations,

* avoid basic cultural errors and handle minimum courtesy and travel requirements,

* satisfy personal needs and limited social demands,

* establish rapport with strangers in foreign countries,

* begin reading and sounding out items with native-like pronunciation. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Better retention than you'd think!
I love the Pimsleur method of language learning. You do have to have patience with yourself - I repeated each lesson an average of four times before moving on to the next. But I found that when I got to the end of the series, then went back to earlier ones for review, I had no problem at all remembering every single thing that had been taught. It's kind of like, you don't think you're learning a lot, but what you do learn you learn *so* well that it absolutely sticks. The lessons get progressively harder, but if you don't "get" a lesson the first time, just play it over again until you do get most of it. Before moving on. It really does stick if you do this.

I found the fact that they only want you to do the "reading lessons" after unit 11 or later very odd at first - but then when I finally got to that point, I realized why. You had to get used to the way things were pronounced enough so your brain isn't "prejudiced" by subconsciously "Americanizing" the written words.

I only wish they would continue the series - apparently there is not enough demand to go past Comprehensive I at this time, and it's so hard to find Hungarian instruction. I would absolutely buy a Comprehensive II if they came out with one.

Difficult to know what is being said.
I find this teaching Hungarian lessons quite good - a hundred times better than just a book. Because they don't have a printed set of new words for each of the lessons, I find that it takes me listening & practicing each lesson once a day for about a week before I can catch on to what a word is. [It could take less time to do a lesson more than once a day, but each lesson is ½ hour & it is difficult to find the extra time.] I have to use a Hungarian-English dictionary. Though, spelled words don't help the pronunciation, I have found that what is being said & what I'm trying to repeat becomes more & more difficult as sentences with the new words gets me lost. Life would be a lot easier if the lessons had a vocabulary for the new words. The lessons do an excellent job of building pronounciation of words and do a very good way of building vocabularly when new lessons bring into play elements of previous lessons. I would really recommend this product!!! Part of the problem with catching onto new words is my lifelong difficulty with languages & their longer sentences are a little too fast for the words to register. No matter what I have said that is somewhat negative, by all means - BUY THIS PRODUCT!! A good dictionary is a learning aid which I personally need whereas others can get by w/o one.

Pimsleur method for beginning Hungarian
This is a terrific product. My wife is Hungarian, she lived in Hungary until the age of 16, and she thinks it is excellent. The Pimsleur method is definitely an excellent method. ... Read more

Product Description
If you thought Rubik's cube was difficult, imagine travelling in Hungary without this phrasebook!Take the confusion out of your travels and invent your own Hungarian experience.

Our phrasebooks give you a comprehensive mix of practical and social words and phrases in more than 120 languages.Chat with the locals and discover their culture - a guaranteed way to enrich your travel experience. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Great little phrase book but...
This phrasebook is filled with loads of well-organized information and superb vocab words - I thouroughly enjoyed reading it from cover to cover while on the plane to Budapest. However, once I arrived in Hungary I was a bit disappointed to find that everyone spoke English (at least in the Budapest area). The phrases I tried got a few smiles, but the only truly useful part of the book was the dictionary. It was quite helpful in reading signs, ads, posters, menus etc.
In spite of the little use I got out of it, I would still recommend taking this phrasebook to Hungary. It provides a bit of security for the short-term traveler and would become more useful the longer you stayed (especially for those who can speak a bit of Hungarian already or those who are studying the language).

Love it
I love this book. It's small enough to just throw in your bag and go when you are exploring a new city. Since moving to Budapest, it has come in handy several times over - and the pronunciation is superb! It has every helpful phrase you need when traveling abroad!

I think this book could be used for travelers of any age - though the "romance" section may be limited to the younger population.

One thing I would like to see in future publications though is maybe a map of the city - or at least a map of the metro.

I would buy this book - and others from the series - without hesitation in the future. I am a huge fan of Lonely Planet products so having this book in my library is just the icing on the cake!

Pronunciation guide good -- Phrases not so accurate
With help from this guidebook I was able to pronounce words off of menus well enough to where servers were pleased with me and eager to help me out.My last phrasebook left people in Poland laughing at me as the phonetic guides led me astray.The problem with this guide is that it was not correct with some of the basic words a traveller would want.Our hotel staff told us that we were using antiquated, formal versions for certain greetings and interactive words, and gave a lesson on what to say (and when) instead.We also found that we got blank stares when we asked about dinner at a resturant.We pointed out the word in the book and the server looked very confused.I guess this book fails to even provide a correct translation for "dinner"...and who knows what else?I was glad to have this book along -- it is basically useful -- but I've got to assume other guides do a better job with getting some of the basics right.If you book at a big hotel you can save a few dollars by getting a free, accurate lesson from the staffers, and forgetting this guide.

A Gem
This pocket book is a must-have for anyone who, like me, has an interest in learning Hungarian or who plans to visit Hungary. Concise & comprehensive, it's a winner. The only drawback is that the 'pronunciation' provided seems to be geared to travelers from the UK &, as such, can cause difficulties for No. Americans. This ancient, beautifully soft, & richly vocalic language is certainly complicated for an English speaker. Along with a Törkenczy grammar any traveler should be speedily humming along in party town Budapest. These people are warm, friendly, & openly admire most anyone willing to tackle their tongue, not to mention the cuisine & the wines!

A good way to brush up on Hungarian
I took one term of Hungarian in college, and I've been to Hungary a few times (but only for a few days each time).So I tried getting this book to relearn some of the language before going back to Hungary this year.It helped me do just that, and I was able to converse with plenty of non-English speaking Hungarians.This is a well-written book.

But how much will this book help you if you don't know Hungarian at all?I'm not so sure.To communicate in a language, I think you really need to hear it spoken and painstakingly learn a bunch of vocabulary words (I like using flashcards to do this).I think it will be more of a help to those who already know something about the language, or at least have access to someone who can help them practice it.

I'm glad I got this book.I recommend it. ... Read more

Product Description
Colloquial Hungarian is a user-friendly guide to the basic grammar of contemporary Hungarian. Through dialogues and narratives of modern, every-day situations, the novice learner of Hungarian is led step-by-step through the intricacies of this very different and exciting language. Students will learn to speak about a variety of topics-including travel, shopping, sight-seeing, family, business, free-time, illness, love-as well as learn the different social registers of communication. The dialogues and situations are fresh, lively and realistic; the presentation of grammar is clear and direct. Each chapter presents approximately three dialogues (or the equivalent) that systematically introduce new situations with appropriate necessary vocabulary in both formal and informal settings. New grammatical constructions are introduced incrementally with each new dialogue, while at the same time re-enforcing the material learned previously. An introduction to life in Hungary is simultaneously provided through both the dialogues and cultural notes provided in each chapter. Thus while learning the language, the student is exposed to some exemplary Hungarian poetry and prose as well as historical notes and information on other cultural specialties of Hungary: dance, music, cuisine. The appendices containing irregular verb forms, noun classes and full noun paradigms also serve as a handy reference guide. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Good at first!
I've been using this book as my main language learning vehicle for over two years.
After losing my first instructor and a several month delay I started over again.
The first 100 pages or so goes pretty fast and then the book seems to both change
gears and become increasingly difficult. You really have to want to learn Hungarian
to get much past this point. I have found it useful but I also find myself looking for another solution. I find no excuse for the many spelling errors in a language
book.

only half the book is good
Up until chapter 8 the book is actually very good, which is why I don't give it just one star, so half the book usable.

However, as from chapter 8 it suddenly becomes a completely different book:

- the grammar is dreadfully and lazily explained as they just list a whole bunch of cases, pronoun changes etc. for you to memorize from lists, usually without examples and exercises

- each chapter suddenly wants the learner to memorize around 80 new words, which completely changes the reader's learning pace, as it is significantly slowed down and you have spend weeks on a single 20 page chapter, whereas before you could complete a chapter in one week

It is as if the authors realized they were running out of time and decided to cram as much as possible into the reminding chapters of the book. Absolutely shameful.

I have enough experience with languages to make the claim that, with Hungarian, the crucial part is getting a grip on the grammar - everything else, vocabulary and pronunciation, is simple in comparison.
So when you start with Hungarian it is crucial that you get a book that explains the grammar very clearly and at a decent pace so that you can assimilate it well.

If you have alot of time on your hands and alot of patience, by all means, get Colloquial, it is very thorough in what it covers.
But if you want to learn basic Hungarian in a more reasonable time-frame and avoid frustration, then don't get this book.

A book I can recommend if you want to learn the grammar more clearly, and the basics of the language in a decent time-range, is Hungarian Basic Course (Hippocrene Language Studies), it will make you grasp of Hungarian grammar very solid.

Good, but not for a total novice.

This is a great beginner's book, but not a novice's book.Its teaching is clear and the examples are excellent.Despite claiming to be for beginners, it starts at a little higher level than does Pontifex's book, and goes a little further.As a complete novice you may, therefore, wish to read Pentifex's book first.For example, this book goes as far as detailing the hat/het and the at/tat/et/tet grammars.The grammar does not go as far as Whitney's 1964 gem.

The book gives complete translations for the readings in the first 3 or 4 chapters, after which the pace is stepped-up considerably and no translations are given.The exercises are not as many or as varied in style as Pontifex's.

The quality of the explanation of concepts is second-to-none, but like many other books this suffers from giving a reading that introduces a new concept before that concept is explained.I personally don't like this style, as it may leave the read going around in circles trying to understand (or trying to remember their non-existent understanding of) the grammar. It also suffers from introducing words that exemplify a concept but are not particularly useful in everyday (NB. "Colloquial Hungarian") conversation, such as "parrot".

After the readings a useful, alphabetical glossary is given, but like so many other books it assumes that the reader has a perfect memory and does not remind him of words mentioned in previous glossaries.This means that lots of flicking to the dictionary is necessary for those with imperfect (or otherwise full) minds.

At the end is a good dictionary (but unlike Whitney's dictionary it is not integrated with an index), full conjugation tables of the big seven irregular verbs, tables of examples of irregular (e.g. vowel-dropping) nouns in various cases, etc.

The book has optional audio CDs but I do not own these.

A legjóbb könyv magyarul!
This book, as I said earlier, is the best small, self study book to learn Hungarian from. My grandparents are from Hungary, and my mother speaks it, so I had the advantage of having a native speaker to practice what I learned with. The grammar in this book is given in very simple, bitesized, easily digestible tidbits. They are small enough to tuck into your memory and then remember it at the needed moment.

This book also has many real life example, such as poems, songs etc. These help, because they give a sense of how the language REALLY is, outside the context of obviously artificial dialouges.

I would like to be fair and put one drawback to this book. The the truth is I can't think of one. This book is a truly marvelous addition to the effort to learn such a unique and sometimes difficult language.

Goooood, but could be a little more practical
I've got to admit, the book is great, the text is follow-able after listening to the dialogs a couple of times, but it could have been a little more conversational, implementing more basic expressions, and the grammar could be more thoroughly organized.

As with the Routledge series, they're not very big on extra dialog material (those without previous knowledge of the language are somewhat at a loss) as for two CD's could hold a lot more spoken dialog than they do.

The conversations were fun and upbeat and the book itself is very well written, only flaw is that it could have been a little more "basic". ... Read more

Product Description
Conversational Hungarian includes the first 16 lessons from the Pimsleur Comprehensive Hungarian Level I program. This Conversational program contains 8 hours of interactive audio-only instruction, effective language learning with real-life spoken practice sessions.

The Pimsleur Method provides the most effective language-learning program ever developed. The Pimsleur Method gives you quick command of Hungarian structure without tedious drills. Learning to speak Hungarian can actually be enjoyable and rewarding.

The key reason most people struggle with new languages is that they aren't given proper instruction, only bits and pieces of a language. Other language programs sell only these pieces -- dictionaries; grammar books and instructions; lists of hundreds or thousands words and definitions; audios containing useless drills. They leave it to you to assemble these pieces as you try to speak. Pimsleur enables you to spend your time learning to speak the language rather than just studying its parts.

When you were learning English, could you speak before you knew how to conjugate verbs? Of course you could. That learning process is what Pimsleur replicates. Pimsleur presents the whole language as one integrated piece so you can succeed.

With Pimsleur you get:

• Grammar and vocabulary taught together in everyday conversation,
• Interactive audio-only instruction that teaches spoken language organically,
• The flexibility to learn anytime, anywhere,
• 30-minute lessons designed to optimize the amount of language you can learn in one sitting.

Millions of people have used Pimsleur to gain real conversational skills in new languages quickly and easily, wherever and whenever -- without textbooks, written exercises, or drills.

Conversational Hungarian includes the 10 lessons from Pimsleur's Basic Hungarian plus an additional 6 lessons.

The 16 lessons in Conversational Hungarian are the same first 16 lessons in the Pimsleur Comprehensive Hungarian Level 1. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

waste of money
These CDs are a ridiculous waste of money.The rate is so slow that with any normal language program you would have learned all this in the first few hours. I am on the third-to-last CD and they finally introduced the number 20.Until now only a handful of phrases have been introduced and repeated ad nauseum. I will certainly not be able to "converse" with anyone after completing these CDs.

a very good introduction and more!
If you are new to hungarian this is an excellent way to start and keep going , pimsleurs method is absolutely genius you hear it and remember it better than almost any other products i have tried buy this if you wanna learn another language you won't regret it. it was easier for me since i already knew quite a bit of hungarian beforehand from my gfs family but anyone can do good with this program. tanulak magyarul nagyon jol, en egy kicsit beszelek magyarul de nem beszelek nagyon jol :-0 ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

best way to learn Hungarian
This is an excellent book to learn Hungarian from, especially formal/respectful, Hungarian. In Hungary formal language is used more often than in the US and the UK, so knowing it is very important, especially if you are going there for professional reasons (business, diplomacy etc).

The structure of each chapter is:
1. dialogue text where new vocabulary is introduced
2. grammar and pronunciation information
3. exercises: grammar, vocabulary, translation, reading
4. reading text

The majority of space in each chapter is taken up by the exercises.
The book uses many types of exercises:
> substitution drills
> variation drills
> transformation drills
> intonation drills
> translation drills
> response drills
> narrative readings
> question-practice exercises
> improvisational situation excercises

The sheer number of exercises in this book dwarf those of Teach Yourself and Colloquial, but is it not just their number that makes this book superior, it is the combined effectiveness off them: they train you in all aspects of grammar, every angle is tackled.

I have used around 50 books on different languages, and this book has the most intense training in grammar than any other book I have come across.

I have used both Teach Yourself Hungarian and Colloquial Hungarian.
This Hippocrene is by far the best book for understanding and getting a solid grasp of the grammar.
Understanding the grammar is the most crucial part of learning Hungarian, pronunciation and vocabulary are your secondary priority.

If all language books had as many, and as varied, excercises as this book, learning languages would be easy.

An excellent book to continue with after this Hippocrene-book is Hungarian volume 2 (Hungarian Edition), it is the second part of this first book.
There are actually three parts in total, all written by Koski: the one you are looking at, Hungarian Volume 2, and Foreign Service institute Hungarian Graded Reader (Foreign Service Institute Eastern European Language Series, Volume 1).

Expensive, but one of the best.
From the introduction:"...follows the tradition of the Spoken Language Series, prepared under the auspices of the American Council of Learned Societies during World War II, but it also takes advantage of more recent pedagogic theory."The original series was developed to teach languages to soldiers fast.This course is designed for speaking Hungarian, not for reading.

Lessons begin with a five to six page conversation, Hungarian on the left, English on the right. The recording speaks the Hungarian and gives pause for repetition.Sentences are built word by word or phrase by phrase, then the sentence is read at normal speed.Only when the student has mastered this, can cover the Hungarian and give the English and vice versa does the lesson procede to pronunciation exercises (many are needed for Hungarian).

There follows the meat of the course, the exercises that make the student fluent in each point of grammar covered.The speaker says sentences in the affirmaltive, the students says it back in the negative, the the speaker says the sentence correctly, and so one with each point of grammar covered.Only when the student can do these easily does the course pass on to "narratives," half-page all-hungarian lreadings using all prelvious material studied.

This is the audio-lingual method and is still used by the State Department to teach languages to its staff.

The price is high, and Amazon appears to offer only the first of two volumes-the second covers lessons thirteen to twenty-four.However, the second volume and tapes can be found through www.booksinder.com.

The Foreign Service Institute has also published an enormous Humgarian reader-more that 400 pages-, and the Army's original Spoken Hungarian may still be available from Spoken Language Services, although its language pre-dates the communist government and is therefore outdated.

My personal favorite is "Learn Hungarian," published in Hungary but available in this country, with cassettes.For thoroughness in every respect it is unrivaled.

The best ever language book
Very practical because it starts with conversation all in the present tense.Keeps incorporating what has been learned into each new lesson, thus helping learner retain the language.Conversation is practical,excellent for basic conversation.Find a Hungarian to read into a taperecorder so you can listen to the pronunciation.

This format should becopied by writers of other language books.

old-fashioned, but still one of the most useful textbooks
Originally published in 1962 by the US Foreign Service Institute to help Cold-War-era diplomats learn Hungarian (thus the emphasis in the reading selections on press conferences and embassy cocktail receptions), this is still rated by students as one of the best textbooks available. Although the topical content and the grammatical explanations are both quaintly old-fashioned, this is the only textbook currently in print that has enough drills and exercises to enable a student to learn Hungarian outside of a classroom setting.

For more thorough grammatical explanations, students can supplement this textbook with an up-to-date descriptive grammar of Hungarian: _Hungarian_ by I. Kenesei, R.M. Vago & A. Fenyvesi (Routledge, 1997). ... Read more

Product Description
*Over 7,000 entries

*Useful vocabulary and expressions for the traveler

*Common-sense pronunciation

*Introduction to Hungarian language

*Index of Hungarian Geographical Names

*A Practical Conversation Guide

*Appendices of Typical Hungarian Dishes, Original Hungarian First Names, and Holidays in Hungary ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Hungarian Pocket Dictionary
This little dictionary is very handy for me because I have a few Hungarian friends.I wouldn't suggest using it if you are trying to perfect the Hungarian language, however, because it obviously doesn't break down all of the important grammar facts, etc.It is perfect if you need a random word or something of that nature.It's handy and easy to use, but not the best!

Remembering Childhood
One day my 89-year-old mother lamented she could no longer remember many of the Hungarian words used in her youth by her own mother. The lightbulb went off! "Buy her a Hungarian dictionary," so I did. It took all of five minutes to find and order on Amazon.com. And she loves it! Arrived just a few days after placing the order in pristine condition. I am very pleased with my purchase and have turned to Amazon.com several times since. In fact, expecting a few books any day.

Nice pocket guide
Here's another pocket guide I will definitely pack on the next trip to Budapest. I'll have on hand something to quickly check the meanings of the strange, Finnish-like language I doubt I can ever learn.

I highly recommend this guide, particularly at the low used prices. My copy, supposedly used, came in clean, bright and new-looking condition.

I couldn't be happier.

Too limited for me
They could have put the text in 2 columns, and included 1/3 again as many words.There were so many words we looked up that were not there, it was very frustrating.

It's a handy size, and did a nice job of concisely explaining the structure of the Hungarian Language.

Plus it really needed a few pages of basic phrases.

Best Small Dictionary
This dictionary is the perfect size for traveling. It offers a wide array of words in both English and Hungarian, plus helpful information on pronunciation, basic grammar and conversions. Highly recommend it for beginners. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (1)

Ez tetszik!
Handy and concise. I've used it recently when I had to resolve a difficult dialogue set in a Budapest cafe. One of the characters tries to impress his fellows with his Hungarian and -embarasses himself! But, seriously, 2176 useful Hungarian phrases that fit in your trousers! ... Read more

Product Description
This dictionary & phrasebook offers travelers, students and businesspersons the essential vocabulary they need while visiting some of Hungary's 1,000 hot springs and 1,500 castles. The phrases are complemented by practical information such as why you should bring shopping bags to the supermarket or how to get in touch with the "Yellow Angel" (Hungarian equivalent to AAA).

• 4,500 total entries
• Basic grammar
• Essential phrases
• Cultural reference
• Pronunciation guide

Customer Reviews (8)

Don't waste your money
I showed this book to my Hungarian friends (whom I was visiting) and was advised that there were many mistakes.They were puzzled as to why some numbers appeared in words?Go figure.I am sorry I spent the money

Its a phrasebook much more than a dictionary
We mustn't have selected carefully enough but this was not appropriate for what we were after. Fabulous for someone wanting a better level of Hungarian than just the essential tourist phrases but we wanted a way more comprehensive dictionary for a Hungarian speaker.

Fabulous
Hungarian is so different from romance languages and English that one finds oneself literally out in the cold when listening to even the most basic conversation in Magyar. But on my next Hungarian sojourn, I will definitely bring it along.

An uneducated English speaker might think the commonly used Magyar word "jo," for example, to mean "I," or yes. It's neither. Yes is "igen," and "jo" means "good." So when you hear someone saying "Jo, jo, jo, jo," which is also very common in Hungarian exchanges, you'll at least understand that the people approve of whatever it is they are talking about.

This slim 148-page book contains a pronunciation guide and a short discussion of complex Magyar grammar, as well as a 40-page dictionary containing the most commonly used Hungarian words and a 70-page phrasebook, divided according to topics, i.e. transportation, personal data, hotels, restaurants, and the like.

I believe this neat little volume (less wide than Zagat's), could have been a lifesaver on my last trip to Hungary's gorgeous countryside. To be sure, next time I will not "leave home without it."

Highly recommended, especially at the amazingly low "used" prices.

Hungarian-English/English-Hungarian Dictionary and Phrasebook (Hippocrene Dictionary & Phrasebooks)
Excellent! Perfect for the Hungarian speaker who wants to learn, or refresh their language skills, especially while using the Hungarian TV shows online. This book is great for easy quick reference.

Missing the Pronunciation of Hungarian words
Because the Hungariqan alphabet and especially the pronunciation is different from English, it it a must to have next to each Hungarian word or phrase, its pronunciation - and this book it missing it!
Yes, they have pronunciation of letters in separate page, but you have to look back each time you want to learn how to prononuce a word.
If you're a beginner, stay away from this book.
... Read more

Product Description
This compact volume offers an integrated guide to both Hungarian verbs and the basics of grammar. All of the major verbal and grammatical concepts of the language are presented. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

technical but detailed
The coverage is very good - it is detailed with many examples - and it is easy to look things up in it. The book is also easy to bring with you wherever you go.
The levels covered are: Basic + Intermediate. If you want advanced stuff you have to look elsewhere (good luck with that...).

The only negative thing about the book is that the explanations are technical, as he uses terms from Linguistics. However you CAN understand what he means just by looking at the examples, so you need to have some degree of deductive intelligence to use this book.

The explanations in this book are not as easily explained as in Round's grammar book 'Hungarian: An Essential Grammar', however Round's book usually costs twice as much as Törkenczy's book, and the latter only requires a little bit of extra brain-work so I think Törkenczy is overall a better option.

Excellent, thorough, a must-have, though some English terms are hard to understand
I have been learning Hungarian for about 2 months now, and I have just read this book cover-to-cover.I wish I had read it 1 month ago.

It is an excellent book, designed as a reference rather than an ground-up book.Each section is self-contained and does not require previous section to have been read previously (so the reader could, for example, jump straight to chapter 10 or 20 for quick reference).

There are lots of examples, all of which have English translations (something not all books have).My only complaint about the examples is that I wish there were a few more, especially in whole sentences.Many of the examples are sentence fragments, which does not always give as must help as an full sentence.

I agree with the other reviewer that it would have been helpful to cover the various declined endings in more detail.Some are covered on depth, but others are simply listed with a very brief one-word explanation of the case.

There are several sections on how verbs and nouns form their stems from the base form - the way that some drop a vowel, add a "d", or how some letters change.
It is also careful to describe rules and to then list common exceptions to the rules.This is priceless.

As has already been mentioned, there are lots of linguistic terms that I did not know, even in English. On one hand, it would be helpful to have a brief explanation of some of these terms; on the other it's not the place of a Hungarian book to each an Englishman terms in English.

I thoroughly recommend this book for the beginner as well as for those who've been studying for a few months.

good
This book is good if you have studied hunagarian fo months. There are not to many examles and if you know and love grammer and thinks it is easy than you will understand it. But if you do not understand grammer you will be sitting with a dictionary the whole time and looking up what an indefinate verb and things like tha are. Over all it is good you just have to spend alot of time wih it to understand it

Best for Advanced Students
This is clearly advanced material and not for the faint of heart. It's also pretty dry - reminds me of old English grammar books that were quite rote and abstract. Not particularly helpful for beginning Hungarian students.

Absolutely essential for the serious Hungarian student
Torkenczy's the Man.I don't see how anybody could master Hungarian without this book.Torkenczy has simplified Hungarian grammar to its core essentials, and provided lots of lists of verb conjugation and the like that are invaluable for the serious student.

But note that this should be used as a reference book and not as a textbook to learn Hungarian!My recommendation is to get this book only after about 8-12 months of studying Hungarian, depending on how serious of a student you are.Then read it cover-to-cover without stopping or re-reading.There will be much you won't understand, but don't worry about that now; just read it in its entirety to get an overview of all the forms and structures.Parallel to your normal studies, re-read it at least every 6-8 months, this time more in-depth, over and over until you feel confident that you know it all.It'll work!

The only major flaw with this book is that its a little TOO concise.There are some places where a bit more explanation would have served the book better.There are also a few grammar points not covered, unfortunately, such as the "-e" (whether or not) ending.The only other negative comment I would have is that there are too many specialized linguistic terms for the non-linguist learner.

But it gets 5 stars for its overall usefulness and indispensibility. ... Read more

Product Description
This is the first comprehensive account of the segmental phonology of Hungarian in English. Part I introduces the general features of the language. Part II examines its vowel and consonant systems, and its phonotactics (syllable structure constraints, transsyllabic constraints, and morpheme structure constraints). Part III describes the phonological processes that vowels, consonants, and syllables undergo and/or trigger. The authors provide a new analysis of vowel harmony as well as discussions of vowel length alternations, palatalization, voice assimilation, and processes targeting nasals and liquids. The final chapters cover processes conditioned by syllable structure, and briefly describe a selection of surface phenomena.

This authoritative account of the sound pattern of this unique language will interest phonologists and advanced students throughout the world. ... Read more

Product Description
This titleincludes a book and 2 CDs. Hungarian, also known as Magyar, is a Uralic language unrelated to the other, primarily Indo-European, languages of central Europe. It has therefore always been of great interest to linguists, who trace the beginning of the Hungarian language to 1000 BC. Today it is spoken by about 9 million natives of Hungary, as well as by 4 million Hungarian speakers in 7 neighbouring countries, Canada and the US. "Beginner's Hungarian" provides an introduction to conversational Hungarian for students, travellers and business people. It contains 10 clear language lessons centred around common situations, such as going through customs, checking into a hotel, dining out, accepting invitations and using local transportation. Each lesson includes dialogues, grammar points, vocabulary lists and exercises, with an emphasis on solid fundamental knowledge. The audio CDs accompanying the lessons provide correct pronunciation in easy-to-follow dialogues, with pauses for repetition by the student.The book also contains information on the culture, geography, history, politics and arts of Hungary, advice on everyday life, such as tips on doing business in Hungary, grocery shopping, getting a taxi, buying food anti navigating restaurant menus, and a glossary of words and useful phrases. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

avoid this book!
Stay away from this if you are a beginner, just click the 'Go back one page' - button on your browser!

Whats wrong with it?...well:
It is a really bad attempt at trying to turn a phrase book into a textbook, in fact you are much better of with a proper phrase book on Hungarian than this one.

The book starts off with some basic info about Hungary.
The following chapters have this format: dialogue text, vocabulary lists, grammar, exercises.

The book advises you to memorize the entire dialogues, which are usually a page long, so it's alot to ask of a beginner.
Also, some expressions in the dialogues are just nonsense and plain errors, I have a relative who's a native Hungarian and who mentioned it to me after I showed him the book.

To "help" you memorize the entire dialogue is a huge vocabulary list of 30-40 words!

Then comes the grammar, which is explained quite well to be honest but is seriously lacking in content, a good phrase book covers more grammar than this.

Then there's the exercises, their approach is good but there's way too few of them to help you get any sort of mastery of Hungarian grammar.

Instead get one of these books:
> Hungarian Basic Course (Hippocrene Language Studies)
> Assimil Language Courses / Hungarian with Ease (book only) (Hungarian Edition)
> Teach Yourself Hungarian Complete Course

This is a very disappointing purchase; I give it ZERO stars.
As a foreign language teacher with over 40 years' experience teaching, I found the book poorly edited from the pedagogical standpoint (although I did not find typos in English).
The author packs much too much information about the language in the dialogues in an apparently haphazard way, despite the contexts she attempts to provide.The dialogues themselves are often rather useless, other than if you are in the same circumstance as the event depicted (hardly will happen).Further, the author's assignments are plain insulting and demonstrate a lack of pedagogical awarenessAn example:translate the English text into Hungarian (page 74).The durn text is already in Hungarian, silly!There are several items that follow this inanely-organized book that would make a teacher blush--or be put on "job target" for poor teaching behaviors.The author uses numbers, for example.Fine, but she doesn't translate them into Hungarian, so you are practicing, say 282 or 35 (Lesson #1), but the number is not given in the Hungarian text (kétszaznyolcvankét for 282).Perhaps the idea is not to bother the reader with the little things--but that is not it.Numbers are given wayyyy at the end of the book, when the serious student has already wished to get his/her money back for the purchase.The vocabulary for each lesson is missing words that you would like to know:"35" and "rajuk" are two in Lesson One.Then, grammatically speaking, a serious error.Pp. 38-40, the author uses "Ön" and "Önök."(They are the polite singular and plural forms of address.On page 57 (note the sequence), she provides a table of personal pronouns.Guess which two are missing?!And when do they appear?Page 66, and ONLY through the examples on p. 67 is the learner supposed to figure out which form (3rd person singular, plural) should be used with these items.The use of the familiar form "te" instead of "ön" makes for some stupid choices, lamentably.The best example of this is page 106, "Expressions: Hanyas a méreted? is possible if you are talking with a friend.But in the same lesson as the lady who goes shopping with her husband and hears this from a stranger?The context is all wrong, of course.(That's what I mean by inconsistent editing, or someone who is not a Hungarian speaker and a teacher and an editor.)There are other howlers, of course, and I conclude with the best--in English, on page 82."Kinél vacsorázol?"is given.Its meaning, PER THE AUTHORl--get ready:"At whom do you have dinner?" (When was the last time you saw such poor editing?!)
Perhaps the colloquial usage, "Whose home are you having dinner at" was deemed too too clear.(Remember, there is no rule that says one must not end a sentence with a preposition.)
So, dear fellow learner of Hungarian (and that is what I am, a self-teaching learner of the language), you must search elsewhere for a book that will teach you.This book will frustrate you in many ways, and is simply inadequate.I am surprised that the consultants, one of whom is a textbook author for Hungarian, was listed and agreed to have her name on the acknowledgement.This is not a noteworthy book except perhaps for those of us who can use it as a guideline to point out how not to teach someone a language through book form.Sad, very very sad.I began learning Hungarian by myself about 2 years ago, off and on, and had I encountered this book first, I would have stopped right there.The book is a complete disincentive to learning.

Not quite for beginners
The audio CD begins with a pronunciation guide to introduce you to how to pronounce both consanents and vowels in Hungarian.The conversations are presented in two parts, one at normal pace then a second time with pauses for repitition.The part afterwards is the audio of the vocabulary used in the conversation.What I don't like about the audio is that there is no English translation following the Hungarian vocabulary.If you want the translation of the vocabulary you need the book to look at it. ... Read more

Product Description
Clearly written and comprehensive in scope, this is an essential guide to syntax in the Hungarian language. It describes the key grammatical features of the language, focusing on the phenomena that have proved to be theoretically the most relevant and have attracted the most attention. Katalin É. Kiss's textbook explores issues currently at the center of theoretical debates, including the syntax and semantics of focus, the analysis of quantifier scope, and negative concord. ... Read more

Product Description

The all-in-one resource to sharpen your Hungarian verb and grammar skills

In addition to providing essential concepts regarding verbs and grammar, this new edition of theHungarian Verbs & Essentials of Grammar includes a brand-new feature: an index of the 300 mostpopular verbs, which can be cross-referenced with the numerous verb tables appearing throughoutthe book. This all-in-one language tutorial contains lotsof examples employing contemporary language to give you a taste of real-life situations.Each unit focuses on a single verbal or grammatical concept, providing concise yet comprehensiveexplanations.

Customer Reviews (2)

A useful quick reference
This book is a useful quick reference, but its explanations are brief and can leave a student of Hungarian wanting more if one is struggling to understand a new concept or grammatical feature of the language.I find the fact that the index comes before a number of verb tables frustrating as it is often faster to flip through the pages to find the section one wants rather than flipping through the end of the book in search of the index.The explanations are at times too brief to grasp the form and function of different elements of the language, something Carol H. Rounds' Hungarian: An Essential GrammarHungarian: An Essential Grammar, 2nd edition does very well.Still, this book is a useful tool if you are looking for a reminder about the form of a verb or grammatical feature that you previously studied and already understand.

Handy Grammar
This is the 2nd edition of the book--I have both.Very useful to check grammar points, verb endings.It's pared down so a lot of context is missing.But it means that it is light enough to carry in my bag. ... Read more