"I like watching you!"

Translation: Szívesen nézlek!

[carolgoslen]

Why szivesen? I thought szivesen means "you are welcome"

[mizinamo]

It's also used for that.

It's the adverb form of szíves "kind", which is derived from szív "heart", so it means "kindly" but also "gladly".

You may have come across legyen szíves which is one phrase for "please" - literally, "be (so) kind".

So as a response to thanks, it's short for something like "(I did it) gladly, with pleasure".

And here, it's something like "I watch you with pleasure" as well.

[Durple_Purple]

Here's a page on Wiktionary if you're interested: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sz%C3%ADvesen

[mark.liptai]

Why not correct is "Szeretlek nézni téged" ?
I like = Szeretem
watching = nézni
you = te

I like you = Szeretlek/Szeretlek téged

[GregWood15]

"Szeretlek" is "I like you", as I'm sure you're aware. To place "nézni" after that would not alter the meaning of "Szeretlek" in the way that you'd hope it would. You need to get that "nézni" into the middle of the "Szeretlek", so to speak. You might try "Szeretek nézni téged". No promises, mind you.

[RyagonIV]

Greg, if your subject is én and your direct object is téged, you need to use the '-lak/-lek' form of the verb, no matter how many other verbs are in the same cluster.

[GregWood15]

So, was the suggestion, "Szeretlek nézni téged", correct? It would seem to me to translate to something like "I like you, to watch you.", without the first "you" becoming a second subject or sorts.

You answer might greatly change my understanding of the "-lek" construct.

After I wrote my comment here (via the app, not seeing that the original was 3 years old), I read further through the other comments, finding yours and becoming somewhat unsure about what I had written.

Thanks, in advance and in case I run out of reply levels!

[RyagonIV]

Greg, yes, that sentence is correct, even though the word order makes it sound a bit creepier than probably intended.

Hungarian grammar works a bit differently in this aspect than English. In English, if you have such a verb chain, the second verb essentially becomes the object of the first. So instead of "I love you" it becomes "I love watching." That's not the case in Hungarian, where explicit verbs cannot be objects. So "Szeretlek" just gets expanded to "Szeretlek nézni."

[GregWood15]

Thanks.

As for it making the Hungarian creepier, I think the English is pretty creepy to begin with.

[AzzyDassler]

Isn't "Szeretek téged nézni" also correct? Duo won't accept but that's Duo... Otherwise, isn't "szeretLEK téged nézni", as Duo suggests, a bit too much of Accusative case? I though that the Accusative "you" here is for the "watch" verb, and "I like" refers to the act of watching rather than to "you"... I hope I make the point of my confusion clear ^^

[RyagonIV]

"Szeretek téged nézni" is incorrect for that exact reason - if the subject is the 1st person singular (én) and the direct object is a 2nd person (téged or titeket), you have to use the -lak/-lek form. It's a conjugation like any other verb form.

Szeret and néz form a verb group here, so to say. They have a common subject and a common object, because they're referring to one and the same action - liking to watch. Only szeret gets conjugated for the subject and object, and néz becomes infinitive. Any other European language (that I'm aware of) works the same.

[mnarhins]

My question exactly! Awaiting answers...

[Krisbaudi]

Why not látlak?
It is the definite seeing on a subject or object and not only looking.

[Imorth]

"to watch" means "nézni". "Néz" is porposefully looking at something, while "lát" only means you see something. "Látlak" = "I (can) see you." And "Szívesen látlak" would mean something like "You're welcome (here)".

[Krisbaudi]

Thank you, but it is not yet clear to me.
I see you - látlak ??? (if I see you in a crowd of people)
I look at you - nézlek (even if I am looking deep in your eyes?)
or is it then also látlak?

[Imorth]

Ich versuche es zu erklären in Deutsch. Bitte verzeihe mir die grammatische Fehlern.

"Látlak." = "Ich sehe dich." oder "Ich kann dich sehen."
"Ich kann dich in der Menschenmenge sehen." = "Látlak a tömegben."

"Szívesen nézlek." = "Ich beobachte dich gerne."
"Ich schaue mir das Video an." = "Megnézem a videót."
"Ich schaue tief in deine Augen." = "Mélyen a szemeidbe nézek."

So "lát" ist nur die Fähigkeit etwas sehen zu können und "néz" bedeutet schauen, sehen weil ich es wolle zu tun. Ich weiß nicht ob diesen Unterschied existiert in der deutschen Sprache oder nicht.

Ich hoffe dass ich habe nicht nur mehr kompliziert gemacht es zu verstanden. :)

[Krisbaudi]

Vielen Dank Imorth, diese Erklärung hilft mir gut weiter. Nein du hast es nicht komplizierter gemacht, es zu verstehen. Deine deutsche Erklärung ist gut verständlich.
(Ich versuche es dir auf Deutsch zu erklären. Bitte verzeihe mir die grammatikalischen Fehler. Ich hoffe, dass ich es nicht noch komplizierter gemacht habe, es zu verstehen)

[Imorth]

Gern geschehen.
Wow, thanks for the corrections! German is a pretty tough language. For me writing a text is the hardest part, never really practiced it, the comment above was my first one. I quite like the language itself (guess I'm among the few) but somehow never really managed to memorise the grammar.

[vvsey]

Watching is closer to looking. Like "looking at" a movie. Seeing is being able to notice with our eyes.
Anyway, "to watch" translates to "nézni" in Hungarian. In special cases it is "figyelni", when it is closer to "to keep an eye on", "to observe".

[Krisbaudi]

Maybe it is clearer for English natives. I thought, that látni is for every case, when somebody "really sees" and not just looks at something.

[vvsey]

Actually, the English and Hungarian usage is very close:

nézni - to look
látni - to see

And "to watch" is also "nézni". When you "watch" something, you intentionally "look at" it.

[Logikas]

yes. 'Watching' implies looking/staring at something or a space/area for an extended period of time.

[AceMetalheadHUN]

Sting would adore this session. Seeing you, watching you, waiting for you, loving you... :D Every Breath You Take

[JMaxGlobal]

"Én szeretlek téged figyelni" is a correct alternate translation that I think ought to be accepted.

[deactivated user]

Although you should be aware that it sounds a little stalker-ish

[Krisbaudi]

SzeretLEK means already: I love You. Then your sentence would mean: I, I Iove you, you watching.

[RyagonIV]

No, no. Szeretlek is correct here. Téged is still the direct object of the verb cluser, so you need to use the -lek form.

[JMaxGlobal]

You are right with "szeretlek". My typo. I meant to write, "Én szeretek téged figyelni" - which I still think is OK.

[weitzhandler]

Does szeretek nézlek also make sense?
Besides that, what's szívesen in this context, is it the superessive case suffix taking role here (on gladness)?

[joemagyarul]

szeretek nézlek isn't correct - you would use the infinitive in this case, szeretek nézni but which does have a slightly different meaning.

szívesen is not a noun in the supressive (-en) case, here it is an adverb, as the -en ending can also turn other word types into adverbs (-en/-an is the same as the -ul/-ül ending, but some words require -en/-an and others require -ul/-ül).

These adverb forming endings (-en/-an/-ul/-ül) are almost exactly the same as English -ly. For example: glad->gladly