Breakdown of A barátnőm szerint a sport fontos az egészség miatt.
Questions & Answers about A barátnőm szerint a sport fontos az egészség miatt.
Szerint is a postposition meaning “according to”. In Hungarian, postpositions usually come after the word they relate to.
- A barátnőm szerint = According to my girlfriend
- barátnőm = my girlfriend
- szerint = according to
You can use szerint with pronouns (where it fuses into one word) or with full noun phrases:
- szerintem – according to me
- szerinted – according to you
- szerinte – according to him/her
- az orvosom szerint – according to my doctor
- a barátnőm szerint – according to my girlfriend
So the structure [person/authority] + szerint is the natural Hungarian way to say “according to X”.
Hungarian often leaves out the verb “to be” in the present tense, 3rd person, when the predicate is a noun or an adjective.
- A sport fontos. ≈ Sport is important.
- Ő orvos. ≈ He/She is a doctor.
- A ház nagy. ≈ The house is big.
You only use the explicit van in certain situations (location, existence, contrast, etc.), but not in simple sentences like this. So:
- ❌ A sport van fontos. – incorrect here
- ✅ A sport fontos. – correct: “Sport is important.”
The -m is a possessive suffix meaning “my”.
- barátnő – (female) friend / girlfriend
- barátnőm – my (girl)friend / my girlfriend
Hungarian usually doesn’t need a separate word for “my”. Instead, it attaches a suffix to the noun:
- kocsi – car → kocsim – my car
- tanár – teacher → tanárom – my teacher
- barátnő – girlfriend → barátnőm – my girlfriend
In this sentence, a barátnőm literally means “the my girlfriend”, but in natural English we just say “my girlfriend”.
Both are possible in Hungarian, but the definite article a adds a nuance of specificity.
- barátnőm – my girlfriend (can be used when you first mention her, or more generally)
- a barátnőm – my (particular, known) girlfriend, the one we both know about in this context
In this sentence, a barátnőm szerint sounds like you’re talking about your known, specific girlfriend, not just “some girlfriend of mine in general”. Hungarian often uses the article with possessed nouns, especially when the person is clearly identifiable in the conversation.
Hungarian uses the definite article a/az more often than English, especially with general statements about a category.
- A sport fontos. – literally “The sport is important”, but it means “Sport is important (in general).”
- A zene fontos. – “Music is important.”
- A nyelvtan nehéz. – “Grammar is difficult.”
In many such generic sentences, English omits “the”, but Hungarian keeps it. So:
- ✅ A sport fontos az egészség miatt.
- A natural English translation: “Sport is important for your health.” (not “The sport is important …”)
Hungarian has two forms of the definite article:
- a – before a word starting with a consonant
- az – before a word starting with a vowel sound
Since egészség starts with the vowel e, you must use az:
- a sport (s- is a consonant)
- az egészség (e- is a vowel)
- a barát but az autó
So az egészség is simply “the health”, with az chosen for pronunciation reasons.
Miatt is a postposition meaning “because of / due to / on account of”.
It comes after the noun it refers to:
- az egészség miatt – because of health / for the sake of health
- a gyerekek miatt – because of the children
- az időjárás miatt – because of the weather
So:
- a sport fontos az egészség miatt ≈
“sport is important because of health / for (the sake of) health.”
More natural English: “Sport is important for your health.”
Grammatically, note that the noun before miatt stays in its basic form (no special case ending).
Both can be translated as “for”, but they have different nuances:
miatt – because of, gives a reason/cause
- A sport fontos az egészség miatt.
– Sport is important because of health / for the sake of health.
- A sport fontos az egészség miatt.
-ért – “for, in favor of, for the benefit of; in exchange for”
- Az egészségért sportolok.
– I do sport for (the sake of) my health / in order to be healthy.
- Az egészségért sportolok.
In many contexts both can be used, but:
- miatt: explains why something is important / happens
- -ért: often implies purpose, benefit, or goal
Here, az egészség miatt is more like “health is the reason” sport is important.
Hungarian word order is flexible, but it’s not random. The neutral, most typical order here is:
- A barátnőm szerint [a sport] [fontos] [az egészség miatt].
However, you can say:
- A barátnőm szerint a sport az egészség miatt fontos.
The difference is about focus/emphasis:
a sport fontos az egészség miatt
– Slightly more neutral; “Sport is important because of health.”a sport az egészség miatt fontos
– Emphasizes az egészség miatt more strongly:
“Sport is important because of health (and not for some other reason).”
Both are grammatically correct; choice depends on what you want to stress.
Yes, sport is a noun here: “sport” as an activity or field in general.
- a sport fontos – sport (as a thing/activity) is important.
You have other options:
- sportolni fontos – “to do sport is important” (using the infinitive verb sportolni)
- a sportolás fontos – “doing sport / exercising is important” (using the noun sportolás, “doing sport”)
All three are understandable, but they sound a bit different:
- a sport fontos – slightly more abstract, “sport” as a category.
- a sportolás fontos – emphasizes the activity of doing sport.
- sportolni fontos – infinitive, often used in spoken language: “It’s important to do sport.”
The original sentence chooses the shortest, most neutral option: a sport fontos.
Hungarian typically uses a/az + singular noun to talk about a concept in general:
- az egészség fontos – health is important (in general)
- az oktatás fontos – education is important
- a környezetvédelem fontos – environmental protection is important
So az egészség here means “health as a concept”, not some specific person’s health.
If you want to be more personal, you can specify:
- az egészségünk miatt – because of our health
- az egészséged miatt – because of your health
But in this generic statement, az egészség miatt is the natural way to say “for your health / for one’s health”.