Idioms and sayings

Every language has fixed expressions that don't translate word for word; this lesson collects some of Hungarian's most common ones, each with its literal meaning alongside the real one, so the logic behind it isn't lost.

Some idioms here map neatly onto an English equivalent (Jobb későn, mint soha is exactly 'better late than never'); others, like Egyszer volt Budán kutyavásár, are distinctly Hungarian and don't translate at all — you just have to learn the picture.