What are some cultural terms or references that non Hungarians do not understand?

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Hahakocka@reddit

Hungarians swear a lot, so…

“Bazd meg” is the most common, peeps in their twenties use it at the end of a sentence all the time. (Almost like “Innit” with the british)

Bazmeg, bazzeg, vazze are the most common versions of this.

Basszafasz (Let the cock fuck it) is a common saying which kinda means “Alright, lets do this!”

Anyád picsája (Ass of your mother) is also a very common comeback for an insult.

Geci (Semen) is also a common filler word, young peeps use it in almost every sentence. If i put it in english its like:

Geci, whats up with you? I dont know geci… i gecire couldnt sleep tonight. Ahhh, geci, im gecire sorry to hear that

Geci and bazdmeg are filler words, they are interchangable as well

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mon_key_house@reddit

Baszkikám! A baszdmeg az baszdmeg, nem bazdmeg, még ha te annak is mondod ;-)

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OP is learning Hungarian if I understood that right, so I just wanna clarify, the correct way to write it is "baszd meg". It's 2nd person singular imperative of "baszik" and the igekötő (idek how you, say that in English lmao) is after the verb.

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Spitfire_CS@reddit

"[Ez/az] gatya" is basically the equivalent of "it's joever"

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Master-Ad-5495@reddit

This is the best answer, realateble for non-huns in a novel/text, the others needs deep explanation or political knowlegde to get it

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kdeja@reddit

Köszi az összefoglalót, a basszafaszt még nem hallottam!

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Woodjoke@reddit

Shit with moustache

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Real-Programmer-548@reddit

or the shit without mpustache

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No_Diver4265@reddit

Orthe bag of farts

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the_kaaat@reddit

Greater hungary map

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Patrikyoo_@reddit

Nem idevalósi vagyok, én csak ide feljárok.

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Real-Programmer-548@reddit

Rohad a patak

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Flat_Improvement1191@reddit

Bözsi néni! Itt a tyúk meg a kakas.

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balankaa01@reddit

de szép macska vagy, Sanyi

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Flat_Improvement1191@reddit

A legjobb rész lemaradt…:D

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Alone-Supermarket-84@reddit

The differences between bazdmeg, bazdmeg and bazdmeg.

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B_Jozsef@reddit

Gondolom nem gyalog

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IcyMilk9219@reddit

I would recommend checking out Hungarian proverbs, because we have a lot, and it depends on the character or the situation what would be fitting.

Some examples:
12 weird Hungarian expressions
The Top 30 Most Common Hungarian Proverbs and Idioms

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alvilagjaro@reddit

Koccintás után sörös korsót az asztalra koppint és mondja/gondolja: Basszameg Haynau

After clinking beer mugs, tap the table with the mug's bottom, and say/ think Fuck you Haynau

( It is said that Austrian generals finishing the meeting about deciding to execute Hungarian leadership during the 1848-49 revolution they clinked their beers. Thus Hungarian people didn't cling the beer for a long time due to respect for the dead leaders. However 150 years have passed, the conflicts of the past are not relevant now, and we now clink the glasses, but still make a slight tap with them on the table after clinking, respecting the martyrs of Hungarian history.

Why Haynau: Julius Jacob von Haynau, was in charge of Habsburg retaliation, which was fierce, and violent. He commited multiple atrocities during his military carreer, and his hands are bloddied with loads of unnecessary deaths.

Many Hungarians even don't know or practice this tradition, but if your person and their friends are more to the right and national/ religious side especially male (beer drinking) , they probably do.

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HungarianNoble@reddit

Bort ivott mindenki a bach korszak alatt, hát az is gyanús lett, csak a sör maradt...

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2The_Kaiserin2@reddit

Na ezt egyszer hallottam, de tudtam háttér sztorit

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Enough_Designer_965@reddit

Nobody does so

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Soggy_Supermarket100@reddit

To be fair nobody does most of the things mentioned in the other comments either, aside of the swearing one. At least not in common everydays.

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alvilagjaro@reddit

Meg is látszik :D

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ComprehensiveWish523@reddit

Kolera a Vackor csoportban... Bodőcs poénjainak legtöbbje ebből az időszakból jön.

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ComparisonDesperate5@reddit

References from popular series mostly before 1990: Mezga csalad, Macskafogo, Mekk Elek, Tenkes kapitanya and such.

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2The_Kaiserin2@reddit

Many others said a lot of swear and Hungarian yt lines, also historical and literature originated references. I came here with some közmondás ✨

Mozgató rugója - the moving spring of something, which means "(smt) is the motivator of (smt)"

Kutyafáját! - The dog tree! It's s way of saying "Oh my God" by parents and grandparents when kids misbehave or do something crazy, also when suddenly something huge happens eg you forgot the stove on (my mom said that + many variants of kurva and bazdmeg)

Kutyából nem lesz szalonna - there won't be bacon out of dog, it's used when someone says some wild shit or impossible thing that it's as crazy as if bacon was to be made out it a dog

I only remember to these, and I can offer you myself as a beta reader if you don't have one! It's really useful to have someone review the book from an outside perspective who only knows what's in the book. You can think of the beta reader as a test subject to test your book's story telling

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AdamMcKraken@reddit

Nevar forget the Kőbányai Szopó Fantom

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FirmResearcher2@reddit

Átnyújtok egy hangszórót

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Spitfire_CS@reddit

Ekszöszájz búk

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SmallBread7@reddit

A TESTEMET ELVIHETITEK, DE A LELKEMET NEM!!!

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Iriome_Zebenzui@reddit

A helmet sohaaaa

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Earthisacultureshock@reddit

Depending on the character and the story, there are many historical references that every Hungarian has an association with. The emphasis is not on real historical facts, but on cultural memory:

Events and dates e.g.: Mohács (battle of Mohács, 1526), Trianon (peace treaty, or commonly referred to as peace dictate after ww1), 48 (revolution of 1848), 56 (revolution of 1956), Don-kanyar (ww2, "battle" in the Soviet Union), Muhi csata (battle of Muhi, 1241)

People e.g.: Szent István (state founder and first king), Mátyás király (multiple folktales of him visiting in his subject in disguise, bringing justice), Ferenc József (king of Austria-Hungary, qulled the 1848-49 revolution and fight for independence, but later became a beloved grandfather figure), Kádár János (same just with 1956, and he was communist leader)

Peoples/Nations: Austrians (sometimes funnily called as "sógorék" = brother-in-laws; sógor = brother in law), Russians, Romanians, Slovaks etc.

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Earthisacultureshock@reddit

I forgot to add literary references everyone knows either because everyone has learnt them at school or because they are so often quoted (sometimes just out of irony or because a word you heard gives you the association)

Petőfi Sándor: - Anyám tyúkja - Nemzeti dal - Füstbe ment terv (the verse with "És röpült felém Anyám" ("my mum was flying towards me" is often parodized, adding "És én kinyitottam az ablakot, hadd repüljön tovább" "And I opened the window to let her continue flying")) - Egy gondolat bánt engemet (mostly just the "Ágyban, párnák közt meghalni" reference), -Tizenkilencedik század költői - János Vitéz (only the first verse) - Föltámadott a tenger (only recently, because of political association)

Arany János: - parts of Toldi (especially the part of "Repül a nehéz kő, ki tudja hol áll meg..." "The heavy rock is flying, who knows where it will land...")

József Attila: - Mama

Kölcsey Ferenc: Himnusz (national anthem)

Vörösmarty Mihály: Szózat (informal second national anthem)

I'll add a few more later if something comes to my mind

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Earthisacultureshock@reddit

Depending on your Hungarian level, here is a playlist (not made by me) of iconic trash videos, but a lot of those are hard to understand even for Hungarian natives: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLar-LFmDmVhWv0AjG41AzukHnjhDVwZVz&si=PqMj1M1PzI5CQN5C

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Osztalyidegen@reddit

Hány álmatlan éjszakát okoztál te a Kardoskútiaknak?

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Meckgyver@reddit

“You are a big man in Ózd but in Bátony you are a nobody” “But who put the rat on the power line?” “My son has a club foot no medical papers are needes” should I go on?

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Real-Programmer-548@reddit

Itt Bátonyba labdába már nem rúgol!!!!

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Better_Television_13@reddit

Do you have an idea about the kind of situation you want to write it into? If they speak English as a second language, maybe this one which is a phrase young people use these days - “programming” referring to organizing a program and doing something together I.e. actually going out? Like a date or a day spent together out and about would count as that. That’s my understanding - I’ve lived abroad for 8 years and I’m a millenial but I was really taken aback and confused when I first heard it. My Gen Z Hungarian coworkers were using this like a normal term.

It’s not super Hungarian but rather Central European that you have to look each other in the eye when you cheer.

There are some superstitions that would be observed in the villages by some older people like you shouldn’t give someone a sharp/pointy thing as a gift because it will damage / “cut” the relationship (e.g.knife). It’s not fitting for a younger character though.

Eating fish soup on Christmas Eve is a weird one for any foreigners lol

So is having just bread and something for breakfast / dinner. Super common in the area (also surrounding countries) but very weird for some other cultures. Growing up in the countryside, the main food which was always cooked was lunch and often my family just has “something cold” for dinner. Especially in the summer with fresh seasonal veggies.

Otherwise I totally agree with the quotes around politics.

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Imreditt@reddit

Wooden cube (fakocka)

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lefosomsom@reddit

Nyunyóka

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sightseeingPotato@reddit

Politics. The current youngest adults are the most politically involved demographic.

I'd say their entire uniquely hungarian reference points are about politics, anti-regime events.

Things like Mocskos Fidesz, O1G, Zsolti bácsi, etc, and that they tend to turn most things into politics.

The rest is imported, global internet phenomena.

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sightseeingPotato@reddit

One addition: 2020 / 2021 is peak COVID. Your character is likely experiencing homeschooling in college or home office. And the nastiest political events are yet to come.

All things considered, you can't go wrong with a nice Gyurcsányozás or Sorosozás

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