"Ilyen a fekete."
Translation:Black is like this.
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This doesn't even sound like anything an English speaker would say...? A very awkward sentence and I'm having trouble coming up with a context this would even be used in...
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tl;dr: I'm reporting this to request "black like this" be considered.
I translated it as "black like this", thinking of it as "(the color) black of this kind" or "(the) black of the kind that this black one is (of)" because of "ilyen". I wondered if the "van" was omitted, which would then make this a subject-verb-complement sentence, but I went with a different interpretation: This is a sentence fragment (in this case, a noun phrase), and "ilyen" is being used much as "ez" or "az" in constructions such as "ez a épület" (for "this building") or "az a szálloda" (for "that hotel"). I guess I'm thinking of "ilyen" as a sort of demonstrative. (And my reading of the entry for "ilyen" at the sztaki.hu website, http://szotar.sztaki.hu/magyar-angol-szotar, seems to support this.)
Anyone have thoughts on whether that is a possible interpretation? Are my characterizations of the original Hungarian and/or my English translation(s) valid at all?
You have been very creative and what you say could make sense - sad thing "ilyen" doesn't take an article as opposed to "ez". So, while your reasoning would be valid regarding "Ez a fekete" (this black something - maybe a black person or a black coffee?), it doesn't work for "Ilyen a fekete". It should be "ilyen fekete".
In Hungary, you don't ask for "black" coffee, but "plain" coffee. "sima kávé". I learned quickly that coffee shops will look at you funny if you ask for a "fekete kávé".
You can say fekete leves for coffee, but we use it in comedies. It's not a translation more like a metaphor for coffee.
Very confusing sentence. It sounds like 'this black' as to say 'that much black' or so.
I love how this sentence translates word-by-word to my native language that's not even a Finno-Ugric language nor Indo-European. <3
Cebuano (Malayo-Polynesian). Ilyen (Ingon-ani) a (ang) fekete (itom) = Black is like this.
I am very slow at learning Hungarian and choose the "strengthen skills" option often. I have not run into illyen yet. It is challenging to review when new words are being continually added. Is there a way to verify or correct this?
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Might it mean, that I get something allegedly black (for example I am buying a black bag and am offered a dark blue one) and I don´t agree and show something I consider really black, for example my jacket, to compare?
What does this even mean? What context would this sentence be used in?
Think if you are learning Hungarian without English. You are learning colours. Your tutor points to a patch of black "Ilyen a fekete." - then a patch of red "Ilyen a piros."
Does this question apply to any black thing? because i can't think of any regular situation where i would say this ... unless i am talking about black coffee in hungarian. Something like ¡man, this black coffee is sharp! - "Ilyen a fekete" :v , and even so, it sounds weird.
It sounds weird because it is weird :D You could say "Ilyen a fekete " when a baby is learning the colours, in that situation it's correct "Ez fekete " or Ez a fekete" too. It applies to anything black you present... I guess. If you say 'Man, this black coffee is sharp' -'Ember, (man) ez(this) a kávé(coffee) erős(sharp) '
Sometimes I can not follow... my translation was : "This is like black" ...certainly wrong :( Correct solution : "The black one is like this., Black is like this." Both translations are meaning different things... For example... "the black car is like this" ...'cause both are FORD "black is like this" I would use for : not the apple but the OLIVE ...I'm full of hope that one day... i will talk HUNGARIAN ^^
Ilyen a fekete: gets the meaning: Black is like this. I said: This is like black. Here is the translation: The black one is like this. What is right and why.
I think "Black is like this" or "The black one is like this" could work. "Like this" is close enough to "ilyen" meaningwise. "Like black" could be "(olyan, )mint a fekete" or maybe even "feketés" (black-ish) in some context.