38 Comments
"kíván" is wish. "kívánok" is I wish. So using it is optional. It turns "Good day!" into "I wish you a good day!"
It seems to that it's also about formality. To someone you know you'd just say Jo napot. Someone you'd just met, you'd want to be more formal and polite. It's like tu vs vous in french.
It's a more formal / polite way of saying good day! Use it when talking to elders and superiors.
My GF is Hungarian ... The direct translation is "I wish you a good day" Jó napot = Good day
Based on the last sentence with "Kívánok" in it, I think that this answer should be accepted as an answer too, (I was dinged for adding the "I wish you a " part).
Though I admit that I'm quite new to the language.
Have a nice day! is used to end a conversation. Jó napot kívánok! is used to start one. It's more a difference in usage than in meaning.
I wish you good day is also acceptable, it doesn't necessarily need to have an 'a'.
I tried "Good day to you!" but it was counted wrong. Is this slightly different from that?
So what's the difference between Jó napot kívánok and Jó napot? I thought Jó napot kívánok was "have a good day" while Jó napot was just "good day" like as a greeting
Jó napot means good day, and kivánok means I wish you. So the difference is saying, good day, versus saying I wish you a good day. The latter is typically used in more formal conversation.
'How do you do' is not accepted as a correct answer. Is there a significant difference?
"How do you do?" expects an answer, "I am fine." for example. This is a different expression.
I think it's because they are using the literal translation. It doesn't mean hi, it means I wish you a good day. Szia is usually used for hi, as it is less formal.
I said "have a nice day" and it was marked wrong... I'd say that's splitting hairs
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"Have a nice day" is an everyday US American greeting, but in UK English it's a highly colloquial 'typically American' greeting, disliked as insincere by many older UK citizens - not at all a formal equivalent (recommended in the above discussion) of the rather formal "Jó napot kívánok!".
In a video with common hungarian phrases, the host mentioned not to say it to kids. It made me curious if there's a word play that is really inappropriate or it's just that you wouldn't say 'Good afternoon' to a child?
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I notice that "Good Morning" IS accepted for "Jó napot kívánok!", but "I WISH you a good morning is not!... Now I understand that the distinction is day, vs. morning (Jó reggelt.) but thought they were sort of interchangeable. Since I'm new here I'm not trying to be argumentative because I'm not. I'd just like to know if this is a split hair I need to be aware of. Köszönöm!
Hello! I am hungarian , just i study english. Jó napot kívánok--polite form, Jó napot-- usually. Jó reggelt!= morning 4 until 8-9 clock, Jó napot! =morning 8 until afternoon 6, Jó estét!= afternoon 6 until 10-12, Jó éjszakát - usually leave-taking circa before bedtime. Sorrys for the English mistakes
I'm learning the language just like you, so don't quote me on this, but I think "Jó napot" can mean both "Good afternoon" and "Good day", as some other languages do, e.g. German (Guten Tag). So this phrase would not be interchangeable with "Jó reggelt", which means strictly "Good morning". Now, the fact that the addition of "I wish you" is not accepted, it's not due to the fact that one phrase has this meaning whilst the other does not, but a matter of the creators accepting other correct options for translating a specific phrase.
Why is "good morning" not an acceptable answer? I believe napot means both morning and day, unless i'm wrong?
'Jó reggelt' means 'good morning' and is used for before 12:00. 'Napot' is used after 12:00 generally, so it's not specifically a morning greeting.
Is 'I wish you good day!' not accepted because it's a valedication not a greeting?
