- Forum >
- Topic: Hungarian >
- "Mi az?"
26 Comments
Someone downvoted you. I have no idea why. So I upvoted you and I'm giving you a lingot.
756
They very probably have the same root. You'll find some more similar words between Finnish and Hungarian. (kéz and käsi, for instance)
Finnic languages are some of the only linguistic relatives to Hungarian, and even then it's somewhat distant.
You do still have Mansi and Khanty that are closer to Hungarian, but aren't as well known.
Mi means what. az means that. There could be an is to be better English, What is that? but in Hungarian the is is almost always left out. Mi van az would be 'what IS that' and very strange emphasis
"What that?" would definitely be understood in English; for one "real world" example sometimes certain characters in fiction will normally drop verbs that way (Susan Strong from Adventure Time comes to mind). But in typical English it would sound awkward.
I find it very interesting Hungarian drops the verb in this way, because it really is superfluous if you think about it!
what is the difference between "Mi az" and "Ez mi"? Are they used in different contexts?
"mi az?" means "what is it/that?" and "ez mi?" means "what is this?". they can both be reversed (to become "az mi?" and "mi ez?") and still mean the same thing
Word order: the most important comes first. In this case there's only a slight difference in meaning, we can say that almost the same.
This could mean "What is that?" like, if you point at something. But you can also say this as a reply if someone calls your name. "Hey Susan! - What is it?"
so can you not see mi a .the word for that if the noun starts with a constantant
- 756
"That" is always az, independently of the following words. "Mi az?" is "What is that?"
The (only) word that changes its shape depending on whether the following word starts with a consonant or a vowel is a (and az, respectively), and means "the". Might get a bit confusing if they're put together:
- az a ház - that house (lit. "that the house")
- az az autó - that car (lit. "that the car")
- Az az az autó - That is that car. (lit. "That, that the car.")
One of the most useful phrases. Equivalent of Spanish is Que esto = what's this
Am i not permitted to use contractio what's for what is? I was scored wrong ?
- 756
Dulingo has a problem with making automatic contractions, especially between nouns and verbs. Usually you're fine with "I'm", "you've", or "can't", but once you go outside of the realm of personal pronouns or negations, it often won't accept it. (Also usually, a "noun-is" or "noun-has" contraction, like in "The girl's got a dog", looks like a possessive structure. More trouble for a computer to decide!)
