The Hungarian Alphabet

The Hungarian alphabet has 44 letters: 14 vowels (short and long), eight two-letter consonants such as cs, gy and sz, and one three-letter one, dzs. Q, w, x and y appear mainly in foreign words and old family names. Tap any letter to hear its name in Hungarian.

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All 44 letters

Tap any letter to hear its name in Hungarian.

a say “aw” a short, rounded “aw”, like the o in British “hot”
á say “ah” a as in “father”
bé say “bay” b as in “bed”
cé say “tsay” ts as in “cats”
csé say “chay” ch as in “church”
dé say “day” d as in “dog”
dzé say “dzay” dz as in “kids”
dzsé say “jay” j as in “jam”
e say “eh” an open e, between “bed” and “bad”
é say “ay” ay as in “say”, held long, without the y-glide
ef f as in “fun”
gé say “gay” g as in “go”
gyé say “dyay” a soft d + y in one sound, like the d in British “duke” (dyook)
há say “hah” h as in “hat”
i say “ee” ee as in “see”
í say “ee (long)” ee as in “see”, held long
jé say “yay” y as in “yes”
ká say “kah” k as in “skip” (no puff of air)
el l as in “let”
elipszilon say “EL-ip-si-lon” y as in “yes”: the same sound as j
em m as in “man”
en n as in “no”
eny ny as in “canyon”
o say “oh” a short, pure o (no “oh-oo” glide)
ó say “oh (long)” a long, pure “oh”
ö say “ur (no r)” say “e” with rounded lips (like German ö)
ő say “ur (no r, long)” the ö sound held long
pé say “pay” p as in “spin” (no puff of air)
kú say “koo” k (only in foreign words and old names)
er rolled r, as in Spanish “perro”
es say “esh” sh as in “shop”
esz say “ess” s as in “sun”
té say “tay” t as in “stop” (no puff of air)
Ty ty tyé say “tyay” a soft t + y in one sound, like the t in British “tune” (tyoon)
u say “oo” oo as in “food”
ú say “oo (long)” a long “oo”, as in “food”
Ü ü ü say “ee” with rounded lips (like German ü)
ű say “ü (long)” the ü sound held long
vé say “vay” v as in “van”
dupla vé say “DOOP-law vay” v (only in foreign words and names)
iksz say “iks” ks as in “box”
ipszilon say “IP-si-lon” ee as in “see”, only in old family names; otherwise it is part of gy, ly, ny, ty
zé say “zay” z as in “zoo”
zsé say “zhay” s as in “pleasure”

8 letters that sound different for English speakers

Not s: it is sh, as in “shop” sivatag · desert
This is the plain s, as in “sun” szombat · Saturday
One letter: ch, as in “church” csillag · star
One letter: the s of “pleasure” zseb · pocket
Never k or s: always ts, as in “cats” citrom · lemon
One letter: a soft “dy”, not g + y gyár · factory
Sounds like the y in “yes” jég · ice
Short a sounds like the o in British “hot”; á is the “ah” acél · steel

Long vowels, s and sz, gy ny ty ly

Letters	Example	Sound
a · á		a = a rounded “aw”; á = a long, open “ah”: two different sounds
e · é		e = open, as in “bed”; é = a long “ay”
ö · ő		The same rounded vowel; the double accent (ő) makes it long
ü · ű		The same rounded “ee”; ű is the long one
s · sz · zs		s = sh, sz = s, zs = the s of “pleasure”
gy · ty · ny · ly		gy, ty, ny = soft d, t, n with a y-glide; ly = y
tt · ll · kk		A double consonant is held longer: kettő = “ket-tő”

A word for every letter

Each letter below has its name and a real word from the Flashcardly course (starting with the letter where one exists), with a picture and native audio.