Time, Weather, Emotion, and Opinion Expressions: Meanings and Usage

Hungarian everyday expressions often package an experience differently from English. Instead of translating “it is cold,” “I miss her,” or “I like it” word by word, learn the entire Hungarian frame: which participant is the subject, which case marks the experiencer, and whether the expression belongs to ordinary conversation or more formal prose. The words are easy; the relationships between them carry the real grammar.

Describing the weather and surroundings

The ordinary neutral way to describe an ambient condition is hideg van “it is cold.” Hungarian does not insert an empty subject equivalent to English it. The adjective names the condition, and van presents that condition as existing in the situation.

This pattern is neutral in every register. Other common ambient expressions follow it: sötét van “it is dark,” csend van “it is quiet,” and köd van “it is foggy.” A noun or adjective can also receive a specific topic: Ma hideg az idő “The weather is cold today.” That version describes az idő directly; hideg van simply reports the surrounding condition.

English speakers often search for a Hungarian word corresponding to dummy it. There is none in this construction. Adding az produces a demonstrative “that,” not a weather subject.

Saying how long something takes

Időbe telik means that an activity consumes time. The general frame is valami időbe telik valakinek: the duration takes the illative ending -ba/-be, while an optional person affected may be dative.

The activity may be a noun phrase such as az űrlap kitöltése, an infinitive such as megszokni, or a clause. In the past, use telt; in the present or general future, telik. The phrase időbe telik is neutral. Időt vesz igénybe is a common formal alternative in administrative and technical prose.

Everyday Hungarian also uses tart with a duration: Az út másfél óráig tart “The journey lasts an hour and a half.” With telik, the duration is conceptualized as the amount of time into which the task extends; this motivates -ba/-be. The neighboring choices are treated in detail on the contrasts page.

Örül: being glad about something

Neutral örül takes the cause or object of happiness in the dative: örül valaminek. The experiencer is the grammatical subject and controls the verb ending.

For a whole event, Hungarian normally uses a hogy clause: örülök, hogy... This is natural in both speech and writing.

With a person in the dative, the context matters. Örülök neked often means “I am glad to see you / glad that you are here / happy for you,” rather than the broad English “I like you.” The phrase belongs to warm, ordinary conversation (informal/neutral).

Hiányzik: the missing person is the subject

The structure of hiányzik reverses the English perspective. In Hiányzik nekem Anna, Anna is what is absent and therefore the grammatical subject. Nekem marks the person who feels the absence; it is often omitted when context makes the experiencer obvious.

The verb agrees with the missing subject: hiányzik a barátom but hiányoznak a barátaim. This resembles English only in translation, not in grammatical structure.

For a practical absence rather than an emotional one, the same verb works: Hiányzik egy oldal a szerződésből “A page is missing from the contract.” The dative experiencer is then unnecessary because nobody is being described as feeling the loss.

Tetszik: the pleasing thing is the subject

Tetszik valakinek valami means that something appeals to someone. The thing liked controls singular or plural agreement; the person who likes it is dative.

The pronoun nekem is often omitted: Tetszik ez a dal naturally means “I like this song” when the speaker is the obvious experiencer. To like an activity, use a nominalized activity or a clause appropriate to the context: Tetszik, ahogy énekel “I like the way she sings.”

Do not build tetszik as though it meant English transitive like. The pattern belongs to the broader system of Hungarian experiencer constructions.

Stating an opinion: szerintem and azt hiszem

Szerintem means “in my opinion” or “according to me.” It frames the proposition as the speaker's assessment and is neutral in everyday conversation. Other persons follow the same pattern: szerinted, szerinte, szerintünk.

Azt hiszem literally contains “I believe that,” and commonly signals an uncertain belief, inference, or softened answer. A following hogy is possible, but conversational Hungarian often omits it.

Here szerintem evaluates the plan; azt hiszem marks a less certain prediction. Formal prose can use véleményem szerint “in my view” or úgy vélem “I consider,” both (formal). Repeating them in casual conversation sounds unnecessarily official.

Short dialogue

Each expression arrives with its own structure: tetszik makes the office the pleasing subject, hideg van has no dummy subject, azt hiszem frames a belief, and időbe telik keeps the duration in -ba/-be.

Common Mistakes

Do not combine a named weather subject with the ambient van pattern.

Learn örül with the dative, not the accusative.

Do not copy the subject-object structure of English miss.

Do not treat tetszik as an ordinary first-person transitive verb.

Use the required duration frame with telik.

Key Takeaways

• Ambient conditions use hideg van, with no equivalent of dummy English it.
• Időbe telik places a measured duration in -ba/-be; formal időt vesz igénybe packages the idea differently.
• Örül takes the cause in the dative; hiányzik and tetszik make the missing or pleasing thing the subject.
• Szerintem presents an assessment, while azt hiszem commonly marks belief or uncertainty.
• Memorize every expression with its case frame, agreement pattern, and discourse setting, not as a sequence assembled from English words.