The most beautiful Hungarian words II.

In the second part of our series of articles about the most beautiful Hungarian words, we will share what some newspapers and a Hungarian linguist consider as the prettiest-sounding words in the Hungarian language.

If you are interested in the topic, read our first article about the most beautiful Hungarian words!

The most beautiful words according to Pál Fábián

Pál Fábián, known as a linguist and stylist, mentioned twenty-one “pleasant-sounding” words, writes anyanyelvcsavar.blog.hu. According to him, these words are the following: alamizsna (alms), álom (dream), bazsalikom (basil), lant (lute), csillámlik (shimmer), költő (poet), zeng (ring), balzsam (balm), mosoly (smile), remény (hope), kellemes (pleasant), kandalló (fireplace), cimbalom (cymbal), malom (mill), lomb (foliage), pázsit (lawn), fülemüle (nightingale), délibáb (mirage), alélt (fainted), szellő (breeze), csemege (snack).

Read also: Weird Hungarian traditions

The ten most beautiful Hungarian words collected by a newspaper

In the 60s, the weekly Füles newspaper also collected the ten most beautiful Hungarian words, writes tanulasjatek.hu. Interestingly, this collection of the prettiest-sounding words includes words that mean something beautiful, too. This might not be a coincidence. Fábián also emphasised that whether a word sounds pleasant or unpleasant largely depends on individual opinion. In addition, people tend to find words that have a nice meaning also nice-sounding. The newspaper collected the following words: szerelem (love), béke (peace), szeretet (love), szabadság (freedom), szellő (breeze), édesanya (mother), haza (homeland), szív (heart), élet (life), csillag (star).

Read also: The funniest Hungarian expressions

What do teenagers think?

Mária Laczkó conducted a survey of all four grades (among 15-18-year-olds) in a vocational secondary school on the outskirts of Budapest. She found that the teenagers believe the most beautiful Hungarian words are szerelem (love), család (family), szeretet (love), gyönyörű (beautiful), szép (pretty), szeretlek (I love you), virág (flower), barátság (friendship), anya (mother), csodálatos (wonderful), kedves (nice, kind).