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- "Elbiciklizem a gyárba, ott d…
"Elbiciklizem a gyárba, ott dolgozom, és visszasétálok."
Translation:I cycle to the factory, work there and walk back.
27 Comments
why is there the preverb "el" here, especially when it is totally ignored in the translation?
727
Ah, now I can show what I've learned recently.
The el- prefix itself doesn't have a well-translatable meaning most of the time. But it gives the verb a perfective sense, marking that you are going to actually arrive at the factory instead of getting held up on your way, for instance.
- 727
No. Well, yes. Kinda.
"Away" only really works if you do not have a goal given. You can just "go away" or "go away from the house", but "go away to the house" sounds odd. Nonetheless, you can use elmegy for any of these expressions. English and Hungarian are following different grammatical rules here.
Hungarians like prefixes and in case none of the others work, they just use 'el'
- 727
It could work, but "cycle into the factory" sounds like your trip begins right in front of the factory, which wouldn't warrant using elbiciklizik (greater distance), but rather bebiciklizik, I'd say.
i just got punished for commenting. One answer away from refreshing the entire set and I can't go back to where I was! Arrrrgggghhhh! Oh and I asked why I can't bike to the factory instead of cycle.
- 727
I do that occasionally, mostly accidentally closing the tab of the refreshing. :´)
You can bike, but I think that verb is mostly used to refer to motorbikes. "Cycle" sound more like you're putting some effort in.
Is that how Hungarians refer to the differences between riding a bicycle vs a motorcycle? Does the translation have anything to do with whether a Hungarian learned British English or American English? Is the term different regionally?
Here in the States any kind of outdoor riding of a bicycle or motorcycle is called biking, even if it's on a great big Harley Davidson motorcycle.
When indoor cycling on a stationary bicycle became an gym exercise it was called cycling but now that it's such a popular phenomena it is called spinning, I guess because you spin your wheels and don't get anywhere! LOL What do people call spinning in Hungary?
- 727
I have learnt British English in school, but have been talking mostly with Americans ever since. I speak a weird amalgam of British and American where I try to spell most things British but still refuse to write "draught". Also I'm not a Hungarian, to make that clear again. Ahem.
In Hungarian the distinction is pretty clear:
- bicycle - kerékpár, bicikli
- motorbike - motorkerékpár
- motor-assisted bicycles and small motorbikes - motorbicikli
The respective verbs are kerékpározik and biciklizik for riding a bicycle, and motorozik for riding a motorbike.
I guess whether you call riding a bicycle "cycling" or "biking" is a matter of dialect or personal preference, then. For me, "biking" is fast, sports-like, while "cycling" gets you from A to B.
I'm not exactly sure what spinning is called in Hungarian, but my gut says you can say szpinning.
------ where does "robogo' " fit in ? . . .
or is it, "ro'bo'go' " ? . . .
Big 7 oct 18
- 727
It's robogó. Only the last vowel is long. It's a... scooter, I think? My English is a bit lacking in the vehicle department. Like a smaller motorcycle, either with combustion engine or electrical, and typically without any pedals, but instead has a platform in the center to put your feet on.
Doing a Google image search is very helpful with these kinds of questions.
I can't reply to ryagon, ao im replying here: i think what ur thinking of is (in American English) either a moped or a motorized scooter. A plain scooter is a kids toy you propel with your feet kind of like a skateboard, while the motorized version or a moped is like a Vespa scooter.
- 390
@Forzafiori For NZ English a "scooter" can either be a robogó, a foot powered kid's thing, or an electric version of a kid's scooter which travels at 50km/h on the footpath! The only way you can tell is by context. (I've never heard anyone say "motorized scooter")
- 408
Very iften Duo rejects it if we don't repeat the pronoun. So is there any reason why it is rejected if you do repeat it?
I was asking myself the same question. Sometime you need to be near psychic...
It is extremely frustrating that they will not accept "bike" as a verb, as in "I bike to the factory."
