LESSON TRANSCRIPT

Absolute Beginner S1 #1
Finding New Friends in Hungary

CONTENTS
2
2
3
3
4
5

INTRODUCTION
LESSON CONVERSATION
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
VOCAB LIST
KEY VOCABULARY AND PHRASES
LESSON FOCUS

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INTRODUCTION
Gergo: Sziasztok. Gerg vagyok.
Simone: Hi, Simone here! This is Absolute Beginner, Season 1, Lesson 1: Finding New
Friends in Hungary! Well, in this lesson, youll learn how to say hi to people and ask
their names.
Gergo: Sziasztok! Thats right.
Simone: So, where does this conversation take place?
Gergo: It takes place on the train, where Anne, our main character, speaks with
Balzs, a Hungarian guy who sits next to her. Balzs noticed she had a foreign accent
and he wants to get to know her better.
Simone: Ok, so listen carefully everyone!

LESSON CONVERSATION
Anne: J reggelt!
Balzs: (smiling) Szia! Hogy hvnak?
Anne: Anne Smith.
Balzs: n Pl Balzs vagyok.
Anne: Szia, , Balzs?
Balzs: Igen, Balzs. rlk, hogy megismertelek.
Anne: n is.
English Host: Let's listen to the conversation one time slowly.
Anne: J reggelt!
Balzs: (smiling) Szia! Hogy hvnak?
Anne: Anne Smith.
Balzs: n Pl Balzs vagyok.
Anne: Szia, , Balzs?
Balzs: Igen, Balzs. rlk, hogy megismertelek.
Anne: n is.
With Translation
Anne: J reggelt!
Anne: Good morning!
Balzs: (smiling) Szia! Hogy hvnak?
Balzs: Hi! What is your name?
Anne: Anne

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Smith.
Anne: Anne Smith.
Balzs: n Pl Balzs vagyok.
Balzs: Im Balzs Pl.
Anne: Szia, , Balzs?
Anne: Hi, er, Balzs?
Balzs: Igen, Balzs. rlk, hogy megismertelek.
Balzs: Yes, Balzs. Nice to meet you.
Anne: n is.
Anne: Nice to meet you too.

POST CONVERSATION BANTER

Simone: Alright, so Anne meets a new person on the morning train, Balzs. Is that a
common name, by the way?
Gergo: Yes, I know a lot of men with that name among twentysomethings in Hungary.
By the way, you should remember that Hungarian names dont follow the Western order.
Simone: That means that in Hungarian, family names come first.
Gergo: And to complicate matters even further, Hungarians will assume you dont know
this, so they switch it to the western order for you convenience.
Simone: But now that you know it, youll probably just switch it back mentally.
Gergo: (laughs) When in doubt, dont be afraid to ask, just like our main character Anne
did. So, Simone, shall we go over the vocabulary we have for this lesson?
Simone: Lets do that.

VOCAB LIST
Simone: Now lets take a look at the vocabulary in this lesson.
The first expression is:
Gergo: J reggelt!
Simone: Good morning!
Gergo: J reg-gelt!
Gergo: J reggelt!
Gergo: Szia!
Simone:

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Hi.
Gergo: Szi-a!
Gergo: Szia!
Gergo: Hogy hvnak?
Simone: What is your name?
Gergo: Hogy hv-nak?
Gergo: Hogy hvnak?
Gergo: n vagyok.
Simone: I am ...
Gergo: n vagy-ok.
Gergo: n vagyok.
Gergo: rlk, hogy megismertelek.
Simone: Nice to meet you.
Gergo: -r-lk, hogy me-gis-mer-te-lek.
Gergo: rlk, hogy megismertelek.
Gergo: n is.
Simone: Me too.
Gergo: n is.
Gergo: n is.

KEY VOCABULARY AND PHRASES

Simone: Alright, so what other vocabulary and phrases are we going to mention in this
lesson?
Gergo: Well, well start with the two greetings. J reggelt and szia.
Simone: J reggelt is Good morning and szia is hi, right?
Gergo: Right. Now, you can say hi to other young people, but usually not to the elderly
or superiors, unless you have already agreed to use this form.
Simone: This has to do with the formal-informal language. Well always try to give the
listeners the appropriate form in a certain situation. Can we hear those two again?
Gergo: Sure. J reggelt! J reggelt!
Simone: Good morning. This is easier to use with anyone, basically.
Gergo: Szia! Szia!
Simone: Hi.
Gergo: There is another thing about szia. It should only be used to address one
person. When we want to say hi to multiple friends, say sziasztok.

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Sziasztok.
Simone: Lets move on Gergo, well have plenty of time to explain this to our listeners
in other lessons too.
Gergo: Sorry. Hogy hvnak? Hogy hvnak?
Simone: What is you name?
Gergo: Yes. Again, you should only use it when addressing young people. Asking
someones name outright is a bit weird sometimes, but in this situation it is perfectly
fine.
Simone: Also, it is really hard to hit on someone without knowing her name.
Gergo: Right. Again: Hogy hvnak? Hogy hvnak?
Simone: What is your name? Good. What else do we have?
Gergo: One last expression then a bit of grammar.
Simone: All right, in this order, please.
Gergo: rlk, hogy megismertelek. rlk, hogy megismertelek.
Simone: Nice to meet you! Do you want to break it down for us?
Gergo: Not at this point, if you dont mind. All Im going to say is that this is to be used
in informal situations.

LESSON FOCUS
Simone: OK. Lets hear that again and move on to the grammar point.
Gergo: rlk, hogy megismertelek.
Grammar Point:
Simone: So, Gergo, whats the grammar point for today?
Gergo: Were going to talk about the verb vagyok.
Simone: Which is?
Gergo: I am. Our sentence was: Pl Balzs vagyok. Just state your name and say
vagyok to express who (or what) you are.
Simone: I noticed that Hungarians sometime say just their names in this situation,
though, without any verbs.
Gergo: That happens too, yes. Are you trying to mess with my authority?
Simone: Absolutely not. Dont worry.
Gergo: Haha, good. Now try this: Dik vagyok. Dik vagyok.
Simone: Dik vagyok. What does it mean?
Gergo: Im a student.
Simone: Nice one. I got it. No more unwanted questions. Say that again please, and

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lets make them practice a bit.

Gergo: Dik vagyok.
Gergo: Now that we've got that out of the way, say: Amerikai vagyok. Amerikai vagyok.
Simone: Yeah, its simple. Amerikai vagyok. Im American, right?
Gergo: Yes, good job Simone. Repeat that a couple times. Amerikai vagyok.
Simone: You can pretty much pick up any kind of noun or even adjective, and stick it
before vagyok, to express I am something. Can you go for an adjective now?
Gergo: Sure. hes vagyok. hes vagyok.
Simone: I am hungry. But before you all run to the shop, were going to cover second
and third person singular as well.
Gergo: In second person singular the verb to be is vagy. Vagy. It works the very
same way as vagyok, just use it with any noun or adjective. Orvos vagy. Orvos vagy.
Simone: You are a doctor.
Gergo: Amerikai vagy. Amerikai vagy.
Simone: You are American. These sentences sound a bit unnatural.
Gergo: I know, but change your intonation a bit and bam, you have questions: Orvos
vagy? Orvos vagy?
Simone: Are you a doctor? Nice. Give us a few more examples, please, and well
also give the listeners a few moments to repeat after you.
Gergo: Szomjas vagy? Szomjas vagy?
Simone: Are you thirsty?
Gergo: Magyar vagy? Magyar vagy?
Simone: Are you Hungarian?
Gergo: All right, we can now ask and answer. Ready?
Simone: Shoot.
Gergo: Szomjas vagy?
Simone: Szomjas vagyok. Are you thirsty? and I am. Ill ask another one: Amerikai
vagy?
Gergo: Amerikai vagyok. Im an American - which is not true, but we are still on
lesson one, no need to explain everything just yet. One thing though: Remember that
these are all informal sentences.
Simone: All right, I think that is enough for one lesson. Theyll have plenty of time to
pick these up.
Gergo: Just make sure you listen to the conversation a couple times and youll be
speaking Hungarian in no time.
Simone: In the meantime, if you have any

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questions...
Gergo: post them in the comments section. Sziasztok!
Simone: See you next time!

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