The hardest discourse-marker choices are not between unrelated words but between near-neighbors. Például and többek között both introduce members of a set; vagyis, azaz, and más szóval all restate; ami azt illeti and egyébként can both move a conversation. The correct choice depends on the relation between the two pieces of discourse, their information structure, and the register.
Review the core forms and their discourse uses before using the decision tests below.
Például versus többek között
Choose például when the named case illustrates a general category or claim. Choose többek között when you explicitly present the named items as a nonexhaustive subset. Compare the matched pair:
A tanfolyam gyakorlati készségeket fejleszt; például megtanít költségvetést készíteni.
The course develops practical skills; for example, it teaches you how to prepare a budget.
A tanfolyam többek között költségvetés-készítést és tárgyalástechnikát tanít.
Among other things, the course teaches budgeting and negotiation techniques.
The first uses one activity as evidence for the general claim. The second opens an inventory and assures the reader that further subjects exist. Például can introduce a hypothetical illustration as well, whereas többek között normally presupposes an actual larger set.
Ha például elromlik a kazán, azonnal hívd ezt a számot.
If, for example, the boiler breaks down, call this number immediately.
A vizsgálat során többek között egy repedt csövet is találtak.
During the inspection, they found, among other things, a cracked pipe.
The hypothetical boiler failure is not being selected from a known report, so például is natural. The inspection result is a real nonexhaustive list, so többek között fits.
Vagyis versus azaz
Both can correspond to English “that is,” but azaz favors exact identity, while vagyis allows interpretation, implication, and correction.
A határidő a hónap utolsó munkanapja, azaz szeptember huszonkilencedike.
The deadline is the last working day of the month, namely the twenty-ninth of September.
A határidő nem hosszabbítható meg, vagyis péntekig mindenképpen be kell nyújtanunk az anyagot.
The deadline cannot be extended; in other words, we absolutely have to submit the material by Friday.
The date is referentially identical to the description, so azaz behaves like an equals sign. Submission by Friday is the practical interpretation of the rule, so vagyis is better. In formal definitions, azaz is particularly common; in live speech, vagyis also corrects a slip.
A második emeleten leszünk — vagyis a harmadikon, ha működik a lift.
We'll be on the second floor—or rather the third, if the lift is working.
Using azaz here would sound like a planned precise identification, not a spontaneous repair.
Vagyis versus más szóval
Vagyis tells the listener how the second statement follows from or replaces the first. Más szóval foregrounds the fact that the wording itself is changing, normally to make the content clearer.
Nem érkezett be minden engedély, vagyis az építkezés még nem kezdődhet el.
Not all permits have arrived, so the construction work cannot begin yet.
A módszer nem reprodukálható. Más szóval: más kutatók ugyanazzal az eljárással nem kapják meg ugyanazt az eredményt.
The method is not reproducible. In other words, other researchers do not obtain the same result using the same procedure.
The first draws out a contextual consequence; the second replaces an academic term with a fuller explanation. Más szóval can sound heavy if the second formulation is no clearer than the first. Vagyis is the broader everyday option, including the informal repair function.
Ami azt illeti versus egyébként
Both may appear near a topic boundary, but they create different transitions. Ami X-et illeti explicitly selects X from the discourse and makes it the frame for the next assertion. Egyébként adds a side matter, returns to background information, or evaluates what holds aside from an exception.
Ami a reggelit illeti, azt a szoba ára már tartalmazza.
As for breakfast, it is already included in the room price.
Egyébként a szálloda ingyenes reptéri transzfert is biztosít.
By the way, the hotel also provides a free airport shuttle.
The first resolves one named agenda item. The second contributes useful but less central information. In a formal meeting, ami ... illeti helps structure a response. Turn-initial egyébként is very common in informal conversation and can sound digressive in a tightly organized report.
Their contrast is also visible without a full topic change:
Ami az előadót illeti, alaposan felkészült.
As for the speaker, they were thoroughly prepared.
Az előadás hosszú volt, de egyébként jól felépített.
The presentation was long, but otherwise it was well structured.
The first makes the speaker the topic. The second removes one negative property and assesses everything else.
Information structure and placement
Marker placement indicates its scope. Például immediately before a constituent can make that constituent the illustrative choice. At clause level, it can introduce the whole proposition.
Például Zsófi is tud segíteni a fordításban.
For example, Zsófi can also help with the translation.
Zsófi például a fordításban tud segíteni.
Zsófi, for example, can help with the translation.
The first readily answers “Who could help?” The second first establishes Zsófi and then presents translation as one area in which she can help. Prosody can refine the focus further, so written position is a guide rather than a complete transcription of speech.
Azaz and vagyis normally stand at the boundary between formulations. Appositive azaz may be embedded between commas; a reformulating full clause follows a comma, dash, colon, or sentence boundary depending on the strength of the break. Punctuation reflects structure, not an invariant comma attached to the word itself.
Register and lexical restrictions
All seven markers belong to contemporary standard Hungarian. Azaz is prominent in formal definitions, legal explanations, and technical prose; más szóval is useful in pedagogy and public explanation; corrective vagyis is common in spontaneous speech. Többek között suits both speech and careful writing. Egyébként is frequent and neutral in conversation, although repeated topic-diverting uses can make prose sound chatty.
The frame ami X-et illet/illeti has a fixed grammatical requirement: X is an object and therefore bears the accusative. Object person also selects the verb series: ami engem/téged illet has a first- or second-person object and general illet, while ami őt illeti and ami a parkolást illeti have third-person definite objects and definite illeti. This is a grammatical restriction, not a register preference.
Decision path
- Are you giving a representative illustration? Use például.
- Are you naming part of a known, larger set? Use többek között.
- Is the second label exactly identical to the first? Use azaz.
- Are you interpreting, correcting, or drawing out the first formulation? Use vagyis.
- Are you deliberately expressing the same content in clearer words? Use más szóval.
- Are you selecting X as the next explicit topic? Use ami X-et illeti.
- Are you adding an aside or saying “apart from that”? Use egyébként.
Diagnostic practice
Fill each gap with the best marker.
- A jelentés több kockázatot említ, _ az alapanyagárak emelkedését.
- A vendégek _ három kontinensről érkeztek.
- A rendezvény a nemzeti ünnepen, _ augusztus huszadikán lesz.
- A hozzáférés megszűnt, _ új meghívót kell kérned.
- a parkolást , a mélygarázs éjfélig nyitva tart.
- _ te hol vetted ezt a hátizsákot?
Answers: 1 például (illustration); 2 többek között (nonexhaustive membership); 3 azaz (exact date); 4 vagyis (practical implication); 5 Ami ... illeti (explicit topic frame); 6 Egyébként (conversational aside).
Common Mistakes
Do not use an exact-identity marker for a single example.
❌ Több hangszer érdekel, azaz a cselló.
Incorrect for the intended meaning: the cello is one example, not identical to the entire category.
✅ Több hangszer érdekel, például a cselló.
Several instruments interest me, for example the cello.
Do not use például when the point is that the list remains open.
❌ A bizottságban például Júlia és Márk vett részt, valamint mások is.
Awkward for the intended inventory: the final phrase has to repair the missing nonexhaustive signal.
✅ A bizottságban többek között Júlia és Márk is részt vett.
Among others, Júlia and Márk served on the committee.
Do not omit the accusative in the fixed topic frame.
❌ Ami a parkolás illeti, este már ingyenes.
Incorrect: the topic noun must be accusative.
✅ Ami a parkolást illeti, este már ingyenes.
As for parking, it is free in the evening.
Do not confuse an aside with a rewording.
❌ A jegy nem visszaváltható. Egyébként: nem kérheted vissza az árát.
Incorrect for the intended paraphrase: 'egyébként' marks an aside, not equivalent wording.
✅ A jegy nem visszaváltható. Más szóval: nem kérheted vissza az árát.
The ticket is nonrefundable. In other words, you cannot ask for its price back.
Key Takeaways
- Például illustrates; többek között presupposes further members.
- Azaz marks exact identity, más szóval explicit rewording, and vagyis broader interpretation or repair.
- Ami X-et illeti selects X as a structured topic; egyébként introduces side information or excludes one consideration.
- Placement changes scope, especially with például, while punctuation reflects syntax and prosody.
- Choose by discourse relation first and by English translation only afterward.
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