Learn Hardcore Hungarian: A barátnőm szerint ez a regény néha unalmas, szerintem viszont érdekes. - My girlfriend thinks this novel is sometimes boring, but in my opinion it is interesting.

It comes after the person/thing whose opinion it is:
- A barátnőm szerint = according to my girlfriend
- Az orvos szerint = according to the doctor
- A hírek szerint = according to the news

You cannot put it before the noun:

❌ szerint a barátnőm
✅ a barátnőm szerint

So A barátnőm szerint ez a regény néha unalmas literally:
According to my girlfriend, this novel is sometimes boring.

What exactly does szerintem mean, and how is it related to szerint?

Szerintem literally means “according to me / in my opinion”, so in normal English we translate it as “I think / in my opinion”.

It’s formed from:

szerint = according to
én = I

Historically: én szerintem → became shortened to szerintem.
You’ll also see the full form én szerintem in spoken language, but szerintem already contains the idea of “I”, so it’s a bit redundant.

Other persons work similarly:

szerintem – according to me
szerinted – according to you (sg.)
szerinte – according to him/her
szerintünk – according to us
szerintetek – according to you (pl.)
szerintük – according to them

In the sentence: szerintem viszont érdekes = but in my opinion, it is interesting.

Why is there no van (the verb “to be”) in ez a regény néha unalmas?

Hungarian normally omits the present-tense “to be” (van) in 3rd person when linking a noun/pronoun to an adjective (or a noun used as a description).

So:

Ez a regény unalmas.
Literally: This novel boring. → Meaning: This novel is boring.

You only use van in similar sentences if:

it is not 3rd person present, or
you need emphasis or location, or
you are in past/future tense.

Examples:

Ez a regény unalmas volt. – This novel was boring.
Ez a regény unalmas lesz. – This novel will be boring.

So in the original sentence, van is correctly left out.

What does barátnőm mean, and what does the -m at the end do?

Barátnőm means “my girlfriend” (or “my female friend”, depending on context).

Breakdown:

barát = friend
nő = woman
barátnő = (female) friend; in many contexts, girlfriend
-m = my (1st person singular possessive suffix)

So:

barátnő = (a) girlfriend
barátnőm = my girlfriend

Other examples with -m:

ház → házam = my house
autó → autóm = my car
könyv → könyvem = my book

Why is there an a before barátnőm and also in ez a regény? I thought barátnőm already means “my girlfriend”.

Yes, barátnőm already includes “my”, but Hungarian often still uses the definite article (a / az) before possessive nouns.

a barátnőm = my girlfriend
(literally “the my-girlfriend”)

With possessives, you usually say:

a barátom – my (male) friend
az autóm – my car
a házunk – our house

In ez a regény:

ez = this
a = the
regény = novel

Hungarian likes “this the novel” structure: ez a regény = “this novel”.

So in the sentence:

A barátnőm szerint = According to my girlfriend
ez a regény = this novel

What does néha mean and can it go in other places in the sentence?

Néha means “sometimes”.

In the sentence:
ez a regény néha unalmas = this novel is sometimes boring.

Typical positions for néha:

Before the adjective/verb:
- Ez a regény néha unalmas.
At the beginning (more emphasis on “sometimes”):
- Néha ez a regény unalmas. = Sometimes this novel is boring.

Less usual but possible:

Ez a regény unalmas néha. – This is more like “The novel is boring at times”, with a slight afterthought feel.

The version in the original sentence, ez a regény néha unalmas, is the most neutral.

What is the role of viszont in szerintem viszont érdekes? Is it the same as de (“but”)?

Viszont here means roughly “however / on the other hand”.

de = but (the most common word for “but”)
viszont = but / however / on the other hand, with a stronger sense of contrast or balancing something that was just said.

Compare:

A barátnőm szerint ez a regény néha unalmas, de szerintem érdekes.
= According to my girlfriend this novel is sometimes boring, but I think it’s interesting.
A barátnőm szerint ez a regény néha unalmas, szerintem viszont érdekes.
= According to my girlfriend this novel is sometimes boring; I, on the other hand, find it interesting.

Using viszont highlights the contrast of opinions more strongly than de.

Why is the word order szerintem viszont érdekes and not viszont szerintem érdekes?

Both are possible, but the most natural word order in this context is:

szerintem viszont érdekes

Here’s why:

Szerintem often appears near the start of the clause, marking whose opinion it is.
Viszont commonly comes after this kind of element, reinforcing the contrast:
- Szerintem viszont… = I, however, (think that)...

You can say:

Viszont szerintem érdekes.

…but this sounds more like:

However, I think it’s interesting.
with the “however” (viszont) connecting more strongly to the previous sentence rather than directly to szerintem.

In the original sentence, the focus is on contrast between two opinions, so szerintem viszont nicely pairs “my opinion” + “however” together.

Could I say A barátnőm szerint ez a regény néha unalmas, de szerintem érdekes instead? Is that correct?

Yes, that is completely correct and very natural:

A barátnőm szerint ez a regény néha unalmas, de szerintem érdekes.
= According to my girlfriend this novel is sometimes boring, but I think it’s interesting.

Difference in feel:

de = a neutral “but”
viszont = “but / however / on the other hand”, slightly stronger contrast

So:

With de → more plain: “but I think…”
With viszont → more like: “my girlfriend thinks X; I, however, think Y.”

Do adjectives like unalmas and érdekes change for gender or case, like in some other languages?

They do not change for gender, because Hungarian has no grammatical gender.

In this sentence:

unalmas = boring
érdekes = interesting

They stay exactly the same regardless of:

gender: no masculine/feminine/neuter
case: in predicative position (after “to be”), no extra ending

However, adjectives do mark plural when they are the predicate of a plural subject:

Ez a regény unalmas. – This novel is boring. (singular)
Ezek a regények unalmasak. – These novels are boring. (plural, note -ak)

In the original sentence, the subject ez a regény is singular, so:

unalmas (no plural ending)
érdekes (no plural ending)

Is barátnőm always “girlfriend”? How do I say just “my female friend” in Hungarian?

Barátnőm is context-dependent:

Very often it means “my girlfriend” (romantic partner).
It can also mean “my female friend”, especially if context makes that clear.

If you want to avoid the romantic meaning, you can be more explicit, for example:

a lánybarátom – my female friend (informal, clear it’s about friendship)
a nőnemű barátom – my friend who is female (humorous/over-formal)
az egyik barátnőm – one of my female friends
(often understood as non-romantic, but context still matters)

In everyday language, barátnőm alone is very often interpreted as “my girlfriend” unless you clarify otherwise.

Could I move szerintem to the beginning and say Szerintem ez a regény viszont érdekes?

You can say:

Szerintem ez a regény érdekes. – I think this novel is interesting.

Adding viszont:

Szerintem ez a regény viszont érdekes.

This last one is grammatically fine, but it sounds a bit less natural than szerintem viszont érdekes in this particular contrast structure, because:

Szerintem viszont érdekes directly contrasts my opinion with the previous opinion.
Szerintem ez a regény viszont érdekes puts viszont closer to ez a regény, which can feel slightly awkward unless you’re contrasting this novel with other novels.

The original word order:

szerintem viszont érdekes
sounds the most natural to say “I, however, find it interesting.”