Amint célba érünk, vizet iszunk a frissítőponton.

the water

Breakdown of Amint célba érünk, vizet iszunk a frissítőponton.

• az: the
• inni: to drink
• amint: as soon as

Questions & Answers about Amint célba érünk, vizet iszunk a frissítőponton.

What does amint mean here?

Here amint means as soon as or when.

In this sentence, it introduces a time clause:

• Amint célba érünk, ... = As soon as we reach the finish, ...

It often suggests that the second action happens immediately after the first one.

You may also see amint in other sentences like:

• Amint hazaér, felhív. = As soon as he gets home, he calls.

So it is a very common way to talk about one event happening right after another.

Why is it célba érünk and not something like célhoz érünk?

Because célba ér is a fixed Hungarian expression meaning to reach the goal / arrive at the finish.

Breakdown:

• cél = goal, target, finish
• -ba = into

So literally it is something like we arrive into the goal.

This sounds odd in English, but in Hungarian célba ér is the normal idiomatic way to say reach the finish or make it to the goal.

So:

• célba érni = to reach the finish / reach one’s goal

This is especially common in running, racing, and figurative uses.

Why is célba érünk written as two words?