How to Say Goodbye in Hungarian - HungarianPod101.com Blog (2024)

Have you ever left a group conversation without saying anything? It was pretty awkward, right?

Knowing the best parting words for a given situation is a crucial aspect of smooth communication in any language. To give you a hand, today we’re going to show you several different ways to say goodbye in Hungarian. With enough study and practice, you’ll never be at a loss for words again!

1. Before We Begin…

Farewell phrases in Hungarian can take many forms, depending on the person you’re speaking with and how formal the situation is. Just like the French use ‘tutoyer’ and ‘vouvoyer,’ Hungarians also distinguish between formal speech (used with strangers and the elderly) and informal speech (used with friends and family). We’ll talk more about this later.

2. The Most Common Ways to Say Goodbye in Hungarian

There are numerous ways to say goodbye in the Hungarian language. Knowing which words and phrases are most appropriate will take practice, but there are a few factors you should consider:

Your relationship with the person you’re speaking to.
How many people you’re speaking to.
How formal or informal the situation is.
Whether your words fit in the context.

To make things simple for you, we’ve divided the words and phrases below into Informal and Formal categories. As long as you use them accordingly, you should be just fine. 😉

A- Informal

We’ll start with some informal phrases, and show you how easy they are! Each of these words and phrases can be used to mean both hello and goodbye in Hungarian. Yep, how nice is that?

*Szia!*	Use *szia* when you’re talking to one person.
*Sziasztok!*	Use *sziasztok* when you’re talking to two or more people. The suffixes at the end indicate that you’re talking to more than one person.
*Helló!*	*Helló*, taken from English, is a very informal way to say hello and goodbye in Hungarian slang. Use it with close friends and maybe even family, but never your boss or strangers!
*Csá(ó)!*	This is the Hungarian version of the Italian greeting.
*Cső!*	Okay, this one is funny. *Cső* means “tube” or “pipe” in Hungarian. To say it to multiple people, you can use *csősztök* (but you don’t necessarily have to)!
*Csőtészta!*	Can you guess what *csőtészta* means? It means “macaroni,” but it’s commonly used as an informal farewell.
*Csokoládés csőtészta!*	And this one? “Chocolatey macaroni”!

*Viszontlátásra!* (“Goodbye!”)	This is the most polite way to tell someone goodbye.
*Viszlát!* (“Bye!”)	This Hungarian word for goodbye is a shortened version of the one above. It’s still polite, but a little less formal.

How to Say Goodbye in Hungarian - HungarianPod101.com Blog (2024)

1. Before We Begin…

2. The Most Common Ways to Say Goodbye in Hungarian

A- Informal

B- Formal

3. Specific Ways to Say Goodbye

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Categories

*Szia és sok sikert!*	“Goodbye and good luck.”
You can use this phrase when you’re parting ways with a friend who’s about to take a big exam or go for a job interview. It’s interesting to note that Hungarians wish someone “lots of” luck, instead of “good” luck.

*Szép délutánt!Jó estét!Jó éjszakát!*	“Good afternoon.” “Good evening.” “Goodnight.”
These three phrases are a good way to wish someone goodbye depending on the time of day. Note that in each phrase, you can use either *szép* (“nice”) or jó (“good”).

*Szép álmokat!Aludj jól!***	“Sweet dreams.” “Sleep well.”
You can use these two phrases when you’re saying goodbye late in the evening or at night. Note that Hungarians use the word *szép* (“nice”) again, instead of *édes* (“sweet”) in the first phrase.

*Vigyázz magadra!Légy* óvatos**!	“Take care.” “Be careful.”
You can use these phrases to let the other person know that you care for their wellbeing. Here are some quick language notes: In English, we cut off the “of yourself” part when we say “take care.” But in Hungarian, we include it. The word magadra means “of yourself.” In the second phrase, the imperative form of “you” is légy, and óvatos means “careful.”

*Legyen szép napod!* *Legyen szép napja!*	“Have a nice day.” [Informal] “Have a nice day.” [Formal]
This is something you’re likely to hear after shopping for groceries. You could use the first phrase toward people your own age or younger, and the second phrase toward people older than you or of higher status.

*Tartsuk a kapcsolatot!*	“Let’s keep in touch.”
Hungarians don’t “keep in touch.” Instead, they “maintain the relationship.” Tart (“Keep” or “Maintain”) -> Tartsuk [imperative form] Kapcsolat (“Relationship”) Note that using the imperative form here implies the word “let’s,” since Hungarian doesn’t have another way to express this.

*Találkozzunk még!*	“Let’s meet some other time, too.”
You can use this phrase if you would like to continue seeing someone regularly. Találkozzunk (“Let’s meet”) Még (“Some other time, too”)

*Majd felhívlak.*	“I’ll give you a call.”
Hungarians don’t “give” you a call; they “call you.” For this reason, Majd felhívlak literally means “I will call you (at some point).”