Mennyibe kerül ez a szendvics?

Mennyi means how much or how many, depending on context.

Mennyibe is built from mennyi + -be, where -be normally means into, but in this expression it helps form the idiomatic pattern for asking a price:

• Mennyibe kerül? = How much does it cost?

So you should think of mennyibe here as part of a fixed price-question structure, not as a word you translate literally piece by piece every time.

A useful comparison:

• Mennyi ez? = How much is this?
• Mennyibe kerül ez? = How much does this cost?

Both are natural, but mennyibe kerül is especially common for asking the price of something.

Great question, because this often feels strange to English speakers.

The ending -be usually means into, as in movement into something. But in mennyibe kerül, the whole phrase is idiomatic and historically connected to the idea of something amounting to or coming into a certain sum.

So although -be often has a clear spatial meaning elsewhere, in this phrase you should simply learn:

• mennyibe kerül = how much does it cost

You do not need to actively interpret -be as into when using this expression.

Kerül has several meanings in Hungarian, but here it means to cost.

So:

• kerül = costs
• Mennyibe kerül...? = How much does ... cost?

Be aware that kerül can mean other things in other contexts, such as:

• to get into / come to
• to avoid
• to go around

But in shopping or price contexts, kerül very commonly means cost.

Hungarian normally uses a demonstrative together with the definite article before the noun.

So:

• ez a szendvics = this sandwich
• az a szendvics = that sandwich

This is a standard Hungarian pattern:

• ez a könyv = this book
• az a ház = that house

To an English speaker, the article may seem unnecessary, but in Hungarian it is the normal way to say this/that + noun.

Hungarian has two forms of the definite article:

• a
• az

The choice depends on the sound that follows:

• a before a consonant
• az before a vowel

Since szendvics begins with the consonant sound sz, the correct form is:

• ez a szendvics

Compare:

• ez a könyv = this book
• ez az alma = this apple

So here a is used because szendvics starts with a consonant.

Yes, Hungarian word order is flexible, but different orders can shift emphasis.

The neutral, natural order here is:

• Mennyibe kerül ez a szendvics?
• literally something like How much costs this sandwich?

This is the most straightforward way to ask the question.

You can change the order, but then the emphasis changes. For example:

• Ez a szendvics mennyibe kerül?

This also means How much does this sandwich cost?, but it puts more attention on this sandwich.

So both are possible, but the version you were given is a very common neutral pattern.

No extra ending is needed here because ez a szendvics is the subject of the sentence.

In Hungarian, the thing that costs something is treated as the subject:

• ez a szendvics kerül... = this sandwich costs...

Since it is not a direct object here, it does not take the accusative ending -t.

Compare:

• Ez a szendvics finom. = This sandwich is tasty.
• Kérem ezt a szendvicset. = I’d like this sandwich.

In the second sentence, szendvicset gets -t because it is the direct object.

In Hungarian, sz is pronounced like English s in see.

This is important because Hungarian spelling is very consistent, but some letter combinations may surprise English speakers:

• sz = English s
• s = English sh

So:

• szendvics is pronounced approximately like SEND-vich
• not with sh at the beginning

A rough pronunciation of the whole sentence is:

• MENY-yee-beh KE-rül ez ah SEND-vich?

A few notes:

• ny is like the ny sound in canyon
• ü in kerül is a front rounded vowel that English does not really have
• stress in Hungarian usually falls on the first syllable of each word

Yes, it is perfectly normal and polite in everyday situations.

• Mennyibe kerül ez a szendvics? = a standard, natural question in a shop or café

It is neither rude nor especially formal. It works well in most everyday contexts.

If you want to sound a bit softer or more polite, you could also say:

• Mennyibe kerül ez a szendvics, kérem?
• Mennyibe kerül ez a szendvics?

Adding kérem can make it sound a bit more courteous, depending on tone and situation.

Yes, many learners hear or use shorter price questions like that, but the most standard forms are:

• Mennyibe kerül ez a szendvics?
• Mennyi ez a szendvics?
• Mennyibe kerül ez?

The version with kerül is very explicit and clearly means How much does it cost?

The shorter Mennyi ez a szendvics? may be understood, but it can sound less standard than Mennyibe kerül ez a szendvics? or Mennyi ez?

So for a learner, Mennyibe kerül ez a szendvics? is an excellent safe choice.

It is a completely general pattern and can be used with almost any item.

Just replace the noun:

• Mennyibe kerül ez a könyv? = How much does this book cost?
• Mennyibe kerül ez a kabát? = How much does this coat cost?
• Mennyibe kerül ez a kávé? = How much does this coffee cost?

So the structure to remember is:

• Mennyibe kerül ez a ... ?

This makes it a very useful sentence pattern for shopping and ordering.