Knowing formal Hungarian vocabulary is important for building a strong foundation.

Speaking with locals in casual settings requires knowing a bit of slang.

Hungarian slang makes your speech sound natural and relaxed.

You’ll hear these casual words everywhere on the streets of Budapest.

Learning these expressions helps you understand native speakers much better.

I’ll break down the most common slang words you need for daily conversations.

Casual greetings and asking how someone is

Young people and close friends rarely use formal greetings in Hungary.

They rely on short, punchy slang words to say hello or ask how things are going.

The most common way to ask “what’s up?” is the word mizu.

This word is simply a shortened version of the phrase mi az újság, which means “what’s the news”.

You can also use words like csá or csumi to say a quick hello or goodbye to a friend.

Here are a few examples of how to use these greetings in a conversation.

Saying something is cool or good

Hungarians have very colorful ways to express that something is excellent or cool.

The most popular word for “cool” or “awesome” is király.

This word literally translates to “king” in English.

Another highly popular word is tök, which literally means “pumpkin”.

Hungarians use tök as an intensifier to mean “very” or “totally” before adjectives.

If you say tök jó, you’re saying something is “pumpkin good”, which means “really good”.

You’ll also hear the word zsír, which literally translates to “fat” or “grease”.

Saying something is zsír is the Hungarian equivalent of saying something is “sick” or “cool”.

Here are examples of these expressions in action.

Slang for people and friends

You’ll rarely hear young Hungarians call each other “men” or “women” in casual settings.

They use informal terms to refer to guys, girls, and friends.

The word for a buddy or mate is haver.

When referring to a young man or guy, locals use the word srác.

When talking about a young woman or a girl, the word csaj is used.

You can also use csajom (my girl) to refer to a girlfriend in a casual way.

Here is how you can use these words when talking about people.

Common exclamations and filler words

Daily Hungarian conversations are full of exclamation words and casual fillers.

When Hungarians get frustrated, they often use the word bakker.

This is a mild, polite version of a much harsher swear word.

It functions exactly like “shoot” or “darn” in English.

Another common expression of frustration is a francba, which means “damn it”.

When Hungarians can’t remember the name of an object, they use the word cucc.

This simply translates to “stuff” or “thing” in English.

Here are some examples of these filler words in full sentences.