This dialogue is a routine consultation between Dr. Farkas and Tóth Anna. It is a language model, not medical advice. The doctor and patient use formal address; Anna describes symptoms and duration, and the doctor gives simple instructions and follow-up advice.
Complete dialogue
Orvos: Jó napot kívánok! Tóth Anna? Mi a panasza?
Doctor: Good morning! Tóth Anna? What seems to be the problem?
Anna: Jó napot! Három napja fáj a torkom, és tegnap óta köhögök is.
Anna: Good morning! My throat has hurt for three days, and I’ve also been coughing since yesterday.
Orvos: Volt láza?
Doctor: Have you had a fever?
Anna: Tegnap este harmincnyolc fok volt, de ma reggel már nem.
Anna: It was thirty-eight degrees last night, but not this morning.
Orvos: Fáj a feje vagy a mellkasa?
Doctor: Does your head or chest hurt?
Anna: A fejem is fáj, és nagyon gyenge vagyok.
Anna: My head hurts too, and I feel very weak.
Orvos: Kérem, vegye le a kabátját, és üljön ide!
Doctor: Please take off your coat and sit here.
Orvos: Vegyen mély levegőt, majd nyissa ki a száját!
Doctor: Take a deep breath, then open your mouth.
Orvos: Valószínűleg vírusos fertőzése van. Pihenjen, és igyon sok folyadékot!
Doctor: You probably have a viral infection. Rest and drink plenty of fluids.
Anna: Meddig maradjak otthon?
Anna: How long should I stay at home?
Orvos: Legalább két napig. Ha két nap múlva sem javul, hívja fel a rendelőt!
Doctor: For at least two days. If it still hasn’t improved in two days, call the clinic.
Anna: Értem, köszönöm szépen.
Anna: I understand, thank you very much.
Sentence-by-sentence segmentation
| Hungarian chunks | Literal structure | Idiomatic meaning |
|---|---|---|
| mi / a panasz-a? | what / the complaint-POSS.3SG | what is your complaint? |
| három nap-ja / fáj / a tork-om | three day-SINCE / hurts / the throat-POSS.1SG | my throat has hurt for three days |
| tegnap óta / köhög-ök | since yesterday / cough-1SG | I have been coughing since yesterday |
| volt / láz-a? | was / fever-POSS.3SG | have you had a fever? |
| fáj / a fej-e? | hurts / the head-POSS.3SG | does your head hurt? |
| vegy-e le / a kabát-já-t | take-SBJV.3SG.DEF off / coat-POSS.3SG-ACC | take off your coat |
| ülj-ön / ide | sit-SBJV.3SG / to-here | sit here |
| fertőzés-e / van | infection-POSS.3SG / exists | you have an infection |
| meddig / marad-jak? | until-when / stay-SBJV.1SG | how long should I stay? |
| két nap-ig / két nap múlva | for two days / after two days | for two days / in two days |
| hív-ja fel / a rendelő-t | call-SBJV.3SG.DEF up / clinic-ACC | call the clinic |
Grammar decisions across the consultation
1. Formal possession identifies the patient
The doctor says panasza, láza, feje, mellkasa, kabátja. These third-person possessive forms correspond to formal “your” because Ön takes third-person grammar. Anna uses first-person torkom, fejem. Hungarian normally marks the body part itself rather than adding a separate word equivalent to English my or your.
2. The painful body part is the subject of fáj
In Fáj a torkom, the throat is what “hurts”; Anna is understood as its possessor. If the experiencer needs contrast, Hungarian can add dative nekem: Nekem a torkom fáj “It is my throat that hurts.” Én fájok would mean “I hurt” in a very different, unusual sense.
3. Duration continuing now uses present tense
Három napja fáj and tegnap óta köhögök both begin in the past and continue now, so Hungarian uses present tense. English requires a present perfect form. Három napig fájt would describe a completed three-day period.
4. Hungarian “have” is possessive existence
Volt láza? and fertőzése van literally present a possessed fever or infection as existing. Formal possession is again third-person. Hungarian does not use a transitive counterpart of English have here.
5. Formal advice uses third-person imperative forms
Vegye le, üljön, vegyen, nyissa ki, pihenjen, igyon, hívja fel politely address one patient. Some are definite (vegye le a kabátját, nyissa ki a száját); others are objectless or indefinite (üljön, vegyen levegőt, igyon folyadékot). Formal tone does not cancel object agreement.
6. Prefixes follow the polite imperative
Direct instructions have vegye le, nyissa ki, hívja fel. Writing levegye or kinyissa as the neutral direct order would misplace the prefix. A neutral purpose clause can instead keep the prefix attached: Bement a vizsgálóba, hogy levegye a kabátját “She went into the examination room to take off her coat.”
7. -ig and múlva answer different time questions
Két napig gives duration: through a two-day interval. Két nap múlva locates a future point: after two days. English uses for versus in, but Hungarian expresses the contrast morphologically and with a postposition.
The formal system is developed further in the imperative usage guide.
Diagnosing an English-shaped symptom report
A learner may say Én torkom fájt három napért. This copies an explicit English subject, omits the article, uses past tense for a symptom continuing now, and translates for with -ért.
❌ Én torkom fájt három napért.
Incorrect — body-part possession, continuing duration, and tense are all misbuilt.
✅ Három napja fáj a torkom.
My throat has hurt for three days.
The correction makes the possessed body part the subject, uses present tense because the symptom continues, and encodes “for three days up to now” with három napja.
Common Mistakes
❌ Fájok a fejem.
Incorrect — the body part, not the experiencer, is the subject of fáj.
✅ Fáj a fejem, főleg amikor lehajolok.
My head hurts, especially when I bend down.
❌ Három napja köhögtem.
Incorrect for a cough continuing now — use present tense.
✅ Három napja köhögök, de ma már enyhébben.
I have been coughing for three days, but it is milder today.
❌ Kérem, kinyissa a száját!
Incorrect neutral prefix order in a direct formal instruction.
✅ Kérem, nyissa ki a száját, és mondja, hogy á!
Please open your mouth and say ah!
❌ Két nap múlva maradjon otthon!
Incorrect for duration — múlva names a future point.
✅ Két napig maradjon otthon, és pihenjen sokat!
Stay home for two days and get plenty of rest!
Key Takeaways
- Possessive endings identify body parts and formal “your”: torkom, but torka.
- In fáj a fejem, the painful body part is the grammatical subject.
- Continuing symptoms use present tense with három napja or tegnap óta.
- Formal singular advice uses third-person imperative–subjunctive forms with normal object agreement.
- Direct instructions separate prefixes: vegye le, nyissa ki, hívja fel.
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