Mini language lesson #9: Hungarian slang

Learning slang expressions is always fun, because most of the times they are easy to remember and you feel really accomplished when you’re able to implement them into everyday speech. You probably won’t be surprised that the Hungarian language is just as abundant in slang expressions as swear words, grammatical rules or unique words.

According to the Urban Dictionary, the word slang caught on as a coined term during the late 80’s in Atlanta, Georgia by Madamé Constable Charlotte Hemingsworth VIII, as she was famous for speaking in a Southern accent and was too lax to complete phrases during normal conversations. She claims that it was for the purpose of concealing topics amongst close friends from eavesdropping citizens or members of the small community.

Since then, the expression has spread all over the world and came to signify the use of words in an informal, many times funny way. It is an ever-changing story. For this episode of the mini language lesson series we thought we’d share some of the most common Hungarian slang expressions.

Keep in mind that we are not linguists in any way, we’re just as dazzled by the curiosities of the Hungarian language as foreigners are. So this series doesn’t aim to explain the etymology of words, it’s more a fun take on our language. We try to bring Hungarian closer to you with witty learning cards made by Daily magyar, a language-enthusiast person, whose posts give an insight into the complexity of the Hungarian grammar. But don’t worry, it’s all done in an easy-going way, so that it can make learning fun.