Learn Hardcore Hungarian: Önök kártyával fizetnek, vagy készpénzzel? - Do you formal, plural pay by card or with cash?

Önök is the formal second-person plural pronoun, used when politely addressing more than one person (like “you” to a group). It takes third-person plural verb agreement: Önök … fizetnek. Compare:

Formal singular: Ön … fizet
Informal singular: Te … fizetsz
Informal plural: Ti … fizettek
Formal plural: Önök … fizetnek

Can I drop Önök?

Yes. Hungarian is pro-drop, so you can simply say: Kártyával vagy készpénzzel fizetnek? Context (a cashier speaking to customers) makes it clear that “you (pl.)” is meant. Using Önök just adds explicit politeness or clarity.

Why does the verb end in -nek in fizetnek?

Because it’s third-person plural, present tense, indefinite conjugation. With Önök (formal 2nd pl.), verbs conjugate like third person plural: fizetnek. If it were formal singular (Ön), it would be fizet.

Why are kártyával and készpénzzel in that form? What does -val/-vel mean?

The suffix -val/-vel is the instrumental-comitative case “with/by means of.” So:

kártya + -val → kártyával = “by card/with a card”
készpénz + -vel → készpénzzel = “with cash”

Why does készpénzzel have a double z but kártyával keeps the v?

Assimilation rule:

If the noun ends in a vowel, you add -val/-vel and keep the v: kártya → kártyával.
If it ends in a consonant, the v of the suffix assimilates to the final consonant: the v drops and the final consonant doubles. Hence készpénz + -vel → készpénzzel. Other examples: kéz → kézzel, bolt → bolttal.

Is the word order natural? Could I front the options?

Yes, several orders are natural:

Kártyával vagy készpénzzel fizetnek? (very common)
Önök kártyával fizetnek, vagy készpénzzel? (as given) Hungarian places focused information right before the verb. In an alternative question, putting the first option before the verb is normal.

Do I need the question particle -e here?

No. The -e particle is used for yes–no questions (e.g., Fizetnek-e?). With an explicit alternative using vagy (“or”), you don’t use -e: Kártyával fizetnek, vagy készpénzzel?

How would I ask the same thing to one person politely vs informally?

Polite singular: Ön kártyával fizet vagy készpénzzel?
Informal singular: Kártyával vagy készpénzzel fizetsz?

Why not the definite conjugation (like fizetik)?

Definite conjugation is used when there’s a definite direct object (e.g., a számlát fizetik = “they pay the bill”). Here there’s no direct object—only an instrumental phrase—so the indefinite form fizetnek is correct.

Is present tense appropriate here? How would I sound more polite?

Yes, Hungarian present covers “right now” questions like this. To sound softer/more polite, many service workers use the conditional or a verb like “would like”:

Fizetnének kártyával vagy készpénzzel?
Kártyával vagy készpénzzel szeretnének fizetni?

Should there be a comma before vagy?

In simple alternative questions connecting two phrases, a comma is usually omitted: Önök kártyával fizetnek vagy készpénzzel? You may see a comma when the second part is an ellipsis of a whole clause, but in everyday writing it’s typically left out. Don’t worry too much—both versions are readily understood.

Does kártya automatically mean a bank/credit card?

In payment contexts, kártya is understood as a bank/credit card. To be explicit you can say:

bankkártyával = by debit/bank card
hitelkártyával = by credit card Saying simply kártyával is very common and natural.

Can I shorten the question the way people actually say it?

Absolutely. Common, natural shortcuts include:

Kártya vagy készpénz?
Kártyával vagy készpénzzel?
Kártya lesz? (literally “Will it be card?”) All are idiomatic at the register.

Why not kártyára or kártyán? And is készpénzben possible?

With fizet, payment method takes the instrumental: kártyával/készpénzzel. Kártyára/kártyán doesn’t express “by card.” For cash, both készpénzzel fizet (“with cash”) and készpénzben fizet (“in cash”) are used; both are fine. For card, stick to kártyával.

Any quick pronunciation tips for this sentence?

Hungarian stress is always on the first syllable of each word.
Ö in Önök is a rounded front vowel (like German ö).
Long á in kártyával is held longer.
ty in kártya is a palatal “ty,” somewhat like a soft “tya.”
sz (in készpénz) sounds like English “s”; note that Hungarian s is “sh.”
gy in vagy is a soft “dy”-like sound.

Can you break the sentence into parts?

Ön-ök = you (formal, plural)
kártya-val = with/by card (instrumental)
fizet-nek = pay (present, 3rd person plural, indefinite)
vagy = or
készpénz-zel = with cash (instrumental, with assimilation → zz)