Essential Common Verbs in Hungarian

Overview

Hungarian's most frequently used verbs include several that are irregular, making them both indispensable and challenging. At the CEFR A1 level, learners should prioritize verbs for basic actions: megy (go), jön (come), ad (give), lát (see), hall (hear), eszik (eat), iszik (drink), csinál (do/make), and beszél (speak). These verbs appear in virtually every conversation.

Many of these essential verbs belong to irregular classes (-ik verbs, v-stem verbs, sz-verbs), so learning them early means confronting Hungarian's main irregularities head-on. The advantage is that once these high-frequency irregulars are mastered, the vast majority of remaining verbs are regular.

These verbs also provide the first practical encounter with both definite and indefinite conjugation in action.

How It Works

Essential Verb List with Present Tense

Verb	Meaning	1sg	3sg	Class
megy	go	megyek	megy	irregular
jön	come	jövök	jön	v-stem
ad	give	adok	ad	regular
lát	see	látok	lát	regular
hall	hear	hallok	hall	regular
eszik	eat	eszem	eszik	-ik verb
iszik	drink	iszom	iszik	-ik verb
csinál	do/make	csinálok	csinál	regular
beszél	speak	beszélek	beszél	regular
mond	say	mondok	mond	regular
vesz	buy/take	veszek	vesz	sz-verb
tud	know/can	tudok	tud	regular
akar	want	akarok	akar	regular
keres	look for	keresek	keres	regular
dolgozik	work	dolgozom	dolgozik	-ik verb

Irregular Forms to Memorize

Verb	Present 1sg	Past 1sg	Imperative 2sg
megy	megyek	mentem	menj!
jön	jövök	jöttem	gyere!
eszik	eszem	ettem	egyél!
iszik	iszom	ittam	igyál!
vesz	veszek	vettem	vegyél!

Definite vs Indefinite with Common Verbs

Indefinite	Definite	When
Látok egy kutyát.	Látom a kutyát.	see
Eszem egy almát.	Eszem az almát.	eat
Hallok valamit.	Hallom a zenét.	hear
Mondok valamit.	Mondom az igazat.	say

Examples in Context

Hungarian	English	Note
Megyek haza.	I'm going home.	megy, intransitive
Jössz velem?	Are you coming with me?	jön, question
Adok neked egyet.	I'll give you one.	ad, indefinite
Eszem egy almát.	I'm eating an apple.	eszik, -ik verb
Iszom egy kávét.	I'm drinking a coffee.	iszik, -ik verb
Mit csinálsz?	What are you doing?	csinál, question
Beszélek magyarul.	I speak Hungarian.	beszél + language
Látom a házat.	I see the house.	lát, definite
Hallom a zenét.	I hear the music.	hall, definite
Akarok menni.	I want to go.	akar + infinitive

Common Mistakes

Regularizing irregular verbs

• Wrong: megyek → megytam (past)
• Right: megyek → mentem
• Why: Megy changes stem in the past tense. Each irregular verb must be memorized.

Using -k ending for -ik verbs in formal contexts

• Wrong: Eszek. (in formal Hungarian)
• Right: Eszem.
• Why: Traditional grammar requires -m for first person of -ik verbs. Though -k is spreading in speech, formal contexts expect -m.

Confusing jön (come) and megy (go)

• Wrong: Jövök haza. (I come home — when leaving TO go home)
• Right: Megyek haza. (I'm going home.)
• Why: Like English, jön implies motion toward the speaker/listener; megy implies motion away.

Usage Notes

Megy (go) is the most irregular verb in Hungarian, with different stems in different tenses (megy-, men-, menj-). It is also one of the most frequently used verbs, so mastering all its forms is a high priority.

The -ik verbs (eszik, iszik, dolgozik, lakik, alszik) form a major class. While their first-person -m ending is traditional, modern spoken Hungarian increasingly uses -k. Both are understood.

Practice Tips

• Conjugate each essential verb through all six persons in the present tense. Say them aloud.
• Create a daily routine using these verbs: Kelek. Eszem. Megyek. Dolgozom. Hazamegyek. Eszem. Alszom.
• Make flashcards for irregular past tense forms of the top ten verbs.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Subject Pronouns — the pronouns these verbs conjugate for