Discourse Connectors in Hungarian

Overview

Discourse connectors (szövegkötők) are words and phrases that link sentences and paragraphs, signaling logical relationships like contrast, addition, consequence, and concession. At the CEFR B2 level, mastering these connectors transforms learner Hungarian from a series of simple sentences into cohesive, well-structured discourse — essential for academic writing, formal presentations, and sophisticated conversation.

These connectors go beyond basic conjunctions (és, de, mert) to provide precise logical signaling. Many are multi-word expressions that are characteristic of written or formal Hungarian.

How It Works

Contrast and Opposition

Hungarian	English	Register
ezzel szemben	on the other hand	formal
viszont	however/on the other hand	neutral
ellenben	on the contrary	formal
ugyanakkor	at the same time / however	formal
míg	while/whereas	neutral

Concession (Despite)

Hungarian	English	Register
ennek ellenére	despite this	formal
mindazonáltal	nevertheless	very formal
mégis	still/yet	neutral
bár	although	neutral
annak ellenére, hogy	despite the fact that	formal

Addition

Hungarian	English	Register
ráadásul	moreover/on top of that	neutral
továbbá	furthermore	formal
emellett	besides this / in addition	formal
sőt	what's more / indeed	neutral
ezen kívül	apart from this	formal

Consequence

Hungarian	English	Register
ezért	therefore	neutral
ennélfogva	consequently	very formal
következésképpen	as a consequence	formal
tehát	so/therefore	neutral
ennek eredményeként	as a result of this	formal

Summary and Conclusion

Hungarian	English	Register
összefoglalva	in summary	formal
mindent összevetve	all things considered	formal
végül	finally	neutral
röviden	in short	neutral

Examples in Context

Hungarian	English	Note
Ezzel szemben...	On the other hand...	contrast
Ennek ellenére...	Despite this...	concession
Mindazonáltal...	Nevertheless...	formal concession
Ráadásul...	Moreover...	addition
Továbbá megemlítendő...	Furthermore, it should be mentioned...	formal addition
Ezért döntöttünk úgy, hogy...	Therefore we decided that...	consequence
Sőt, azt is mondhatjuk...	What's more, we can also say...	emphatic addition
Összefoglalva...	In summary...	conclusion
Bár nehéz volt, sikerült.	Although it was hard, we succeeded.	concession
Ugyanakkor figyelembe kell venni...	At the same time, one must consider...	balancing

Common Mistakes

Overusing tehát

• Wrong: Starting every consequential sentence with tehát
• Right: Vary connectors: ezért, ennélfogva, következésképpen
• Why: Repetitive use of a single connector weakens writing style.

Using formal connectors in casual speech

• Wrong: Mindazonáltal nem megyek. (in casual chat)
• Right: Mégis nem megyek. or De mégse megyek.
• Why: Register mismatch is jarring. Reserve formal connectors for appropriate contexts.

Wrong position of connectors

• Wrong: Placing connectors randomly in the sentence
• Right: Most go at the beginning of the sentence or clause
• Why: Discourse connectors typically occupy sentence-initial or clause-initial position.

Usage Notes

Viszont (however) is the most versatile everyday contrast connector. It can start a sentence or appear after the topic: Péter jön. Viszont Anna nem. or Anna viszont nem jön.

Sőt (what's more) adds emphasis and escalation: Szép az idő, sőt meleg is van. (The weather is nice, and what's more, it's warm too.)

Practice Tips

• Rewrite a simple text (five paragraphs) by adding appropriate connectors between sentences.
• Create a personal reference card with connectors sorted by function (contrast, addition, consequence, concession).
• Practice formal writing using at least three different connector types per paragraph.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Basic Conjunctions — the foundational conjunction system