§ What 'elad' means and when to use it
The Hungarian verb 'elad' (pronounced: eh-lahd) is an important word for anyone looking to talk about transactions. It simply means 'to sell'. This is a basic, everyday verb that you will hear and use often, whether you're in a shop, at a market, or just chatting about someone buying or selling something.
Think of it as the direct opposite of 'vesz' (to buy). If you learn one, you should definitely learn the other! While it's a straightforward translation, Hungarian verbs can sometimes have prefixes that change their meaning slightly. In this case, 'el-' acts as a perfective prefix, meaning it suggests the completion of the action. So, when you 'elad' something, you're selling it entirely, completing the act of selling.
A férfi eladja az autóját.
- Translation hint
- The man sells his car. (Here, '-ja' is a personal suffix indicating 'he/she/it sells it', and 'az autóját' means 'his car'.)
You'll use 'elad' in a wide range of situations. For example, if you're talking about a business, a person, or even a country selling goods or services, 'elad' is the verb you need. It's not just for big transactions; it's also used for everyday items.
A bolt sokféle kenyeret elad.
- Translation hint
- The shop sells many kinds of bread.
Here are some common contexts where you might encounter 'elad':
- Talking about shops and businesses: When a shop offers something for sale.
- Discussing personal possessions: If someone is selling their car, house, or old belongings.
- Describing transactions: In a general sense, when something changes hands for money.
It's important to recognize that 'elad' is a transitive verb, which means it usually takes a direct object. You 'elad' something. You don't just 'elad' in general; you sell a specific item or service. This is pretty much the same as in English, so it shouldn't be too confusing.
Ők eladják a házukat.
- Translation hint
- They sell their house. ('-ják' is the personal suffix for 'they sell it', and 'a házukat' means 'their house'.)
Understanding 'elad' is a fundamental step in building your Hungarian vocabulary. It allows you to describe common commercial activities and personal transactions. Pay attention to how it's used in sentences, especially the endings, and you'll quickly get the hang of it.
Beispiele nach Niveau
Eladja a régi autóját.
He sells his old car.
Possessive suffix on 'autó' (car) and definite conjugation of 'elad'.
Holnap eladom a könyveimet.
Tomorrow I will sell my books.
Definite conjugation for 'elad', future indicated by 'holnap'.
El tudja adni a házát?
Can she sell her house?
'El tud' means 'can sell'. Possessive suffix on 'ház' (house).
A bolt sok élelmiszert elad.
The shop sells a lot of food.
Indefinite conjugation for 'elad'.
Nem akarom eladni a biciklimet.
I don't want to sell my bicycle.
Negative sentence, possessive suffix on 'bicikli' (bicycle).
Ők eladják a termékeiket online.
They sell their products online.
Possessive suffix on 'termék' (product), definite conjugation.
Mikor fogod eladni a laptopodat?
When will you sell your laptop?
'Fogni' (to hold) used as an auxiliary verb for future tense. Possessive suffix on 'laptop'.
A cég sok ruhát elad évente.
The company sells a lot of clothes annually.
Indefinite conjugation for 'elad'.
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He/She is selling his/her house.
What is he/she selling?
I don't want to sell it.
Read this aloud:
Eladom a könyvet.
Focus: e-lud-om uh kony-vet
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Read this aloud:
Ő elad autót.
Focus: oh e-lud ow-toht
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Read this aloud:
Anya eladja a virágokat.
Focus: uh-nyuh e-lud-yuh uh vee-rah-go-kut
Du hast gesagt:
Speech recognition is not supported in your browser. Try Chrome or Edge.
This means 'He/She sells a car.' In Hungarian, the typical word order is Subject-Verb-Object.
This translates to 'The shop sells fruit.' 'Gyümölcsöt' is the accusative form of 'fruit'.
This means 'I do not sell this.' 'Nem' comes before the verb, and 'eladom' is the definite conjugation for 'I sell'.
A pékség friss kenyeret ___ minden reggel.
The bakery 'sells' fresh bread every morning. 'Elad' means to sell.
Szeretném ___ a régi biciklimet.
I would like 'to sell' my old bicycle. 'Eladni' is the infinitive form of to sell.
A bolt sokféle terméket ___.
The shop 'sells' many kinds of products. 'Elad' means to sell.
Tegnap ___ a házat.
Yesterday I 'sold' the house. 'Eladtam' is the past tense form of to sell (first person singular).
Ők nem akarnak ___ semmit.
They don't want 'to sell' anything. 'Eladni' is the infinitive form of to sell.
A piacon friss zöldséget és gyümölcsöt ___.
They 'sell' fresh vegetables and fruits at the market. 'Eladnak' is the third person plural form of to sell.
Melyik szó jelenti azt, hogy 'to sell'?
Az 'eladni' igék jelentése 'to sell'. A 'vásárolni' 'to buy', az 'enni' 'to eat', az 'aludni' pedig 'to sleep'.
A nagymama a régi bútorokat ___.
A mondat azt jelenti, hogy a nagymama eladja a régi bútorokat. A 'veszi' 'buys', az 'issza' 'drinks', az 'írja' 'writes'.
Mit csinál az üzletember a termékekkel?
Az üzletember a termékeket eladja. Az 'eszik' 'eats', az 'olvas' 'reads', a 'néz' 'looks'.
Az 'elad' szó azt jelenti, hogy 'to buy'.
Nem, az 'elad' jelentése 'to sell'. Az 'to buy' magyarul 'vásárol'.
Ha valaki autót akar venni, akkor 'elad' egy autót.
Nem, ha valaki autót akar venni, akkor 'vásárol' egy autót. Az 'elad' azt jelenti, hogy valaki megszabadul tőle pénzért.
A boltokban termékeket 'eladnak'.
Igen, a boltokban termékeket 'eladnak' a vevőknek.
Is he selling his house?
What are you selling?
He is selling his car.
Read this aloud:
Eladom a könyvem.
Focus: Eladom
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Read this aloud:
Szeretnék eladni egy biciklit.
Focus: eladni
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Read this aloud:
Mit ad el a bolt?
Focus: ad el
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You want to sell your old bicycle. Write a short sentence in Hungarian telling a friend this, using the verb 'elad'.
Well written! Good try! Check the sample answer below.
Sample answer
Eladom a régi biciklimet.
Imagine you are at a market and you see someone selling beautiful flowers. Write a sentence saying 'They sell beautiful flowers.' in Hungarian.
Well written! Good try! Check the sample answer below.
Sample answer
Szép virágokat adnak el.
Your neighbor asks if you will sell your car next year. Write a sentence in Hungarian answering 'Yes, I will sell it next year.'
Well written! Good try! Check the sample answer below.
Sample answer
Igen, jövőre eladom.
Mit fog Péter eladni?
Read this passage:
Péternek van egy régi telefonja, amit már nem használ. Úgy döntött, eladja a telefonját az interneten.
Mit fog Péter eladni?
Péter decided to sell his old phone.
Péter decided to sell his old phone.
Mit fog Anna eladni szombaton?
Read this passage:
Anna festményeket készít, és a barátai azt tanácsolták neki, hogy adja el őket. Most szombaton egy kis piacon fogja eladni a műveit.
Mit fog Anna eladni szombaton?
Anna will sell her paintings on Saturday.
Anna will sell her paintings on Saturday.
Mit árulnak (sell) a boltban minden nap?
Read this passage:
A boltban sok friss kenyeret árulnak minden nap. Sokan szeretik, mert mindig finom.
Mit árulnak (sell) a boltban minden nap?
They sell fresh bread in the shop every day.
They sell fresh bread in the shop every day.
A pékség friss kenyeret ______ minden reggel.
The subject is 'a pékség' (the bakery), which is singular third person, so the correct verb form is 'eladja'.
Melyik mondat a helyes?
The subject 'ők' (they) requires the third person plural form 'eladnak'.
Ha valaki olcsón akar megszabadulni valamitől, akkor ____ azt.
To get rid of something cheaply means to sell it. 'Elad' means to sell.
Az 'elad' igét csak tárggyal lehet használni.
'Elad' is a transitive verb, meaning it generally requires a direct object (what is being sold).
A 'Vettél valamit?' kérdésre válaszolhatunk 'Igen, eladtam.'
'Vettél valamit?' means 'Did you buy something?'. Answering 'Igen, eladtam.' ('Yes, I sold it.') would be incorrect, as it implies the opposite action.
Az 'eladó' szó azt jelenti, hogy valaki vásárol valamit.
'Eladó' means 'for sale' or 'seller', not someone who buys something. Someone who buys is a 'vevő'.
A cég úgy döntött, hogy ___ a régi raktárat, mivel már nem volt rá szükségük.
The company (a cég) is a singular subject, so the third person singular definite conjugation 'eladja' (it sells it) is correct here. The old warehouse (a régi raktárat) is the definite direct object.
Mielőtt elköltöznénk, sok bútort kell majd ___.
The phrase 'kell majd eladnunk' means 'we will have to sell'. The infinitive 'eladni' is followed by the possessive suffix '-unk' to indicate 'we' as the doers of the selling, making it a verbal noun.
Szeretném, ha te ___ el a régi autómat.
This sentence uses the conditional mood. 'Szeretném, ha...' (I would like it if...) requires the conditional form of the verb. 'Te' (you, singular informal) as the subject requires the second person singular definite conditional conjugation 'eladnád' (you would sell it).
A nagymamám mindig is azt mondta, hogy soha nem fogja ___ a családi ékszereket.
The verb 'mondta' (said) introduces an indirect statement. The phrase 'nem fogja eladni' means 'she will not sell it'. The infinitive 'eladni' is used with the future auxiliary 'fogni' (to hold, used for future tense).
Ha időben ___ volna az ingatlant, nagyobb hasznot hozott volna.
This is a past conditional sentence indicating a missed opportunity. 'Ha időben eladta volna' means 'If he/she had sold it in time'. 'Eladta' is the past definite third person singular of 'elad'.
Még nem tudjuk, hogy mikor fogják ___ az új termékeket.
Similar to a previous example, 'fognak eladni' (they will sell) uses the infinitive 'eladni' with the future auxiliary 'fogni'. The subject 'ők' (they) is implied by the context and the third person plural form of 'fogni'.
The speaker wants to sell something old because they bought something new.
The company made a decision regarding its shares.
The question is about the selling price of a car.
Read this aloud:
El tudná nekem adni azt a könyvet?
Focus: eladni
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Read this aloud:
Mikorra tervezik eladni a házat?
Focus: eladni
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Read this aloud:
Nem tudom, hogyan fogom eladni az összes terméket.
Focus: eladni
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A globális piacgazdaságban a kisebb vállalkozások gyakran nehézségekkel küzdenek, amikor termékeiket a multinacionális cégekkel szemben kell ____.
The sentence implies that smaller businesses struggle to 'sell' their products against multinational companies. 'Eladniuk' means 'to sell them'.
Annak ellenére, hogy a műtárgy piaci értéke rendkívül magas volt, a gyűjtő erkölcsi okokból nem volt hajlandó ____.
The collector refused to 'sell' the artwork for moral reasons, despite its high market value. 'Eladni' means 'to sell'.
A részvények árfolyama ingadozott, de a befektető hosszú távú stratégiája az volt, hogy nem ____, hanem megtartja azokat a további növekedés reményében.
The investor's strategy was not to 'sell' the shares, but to hold them for future growth. 'Adja el' means 'he/she sells it'.
A régiségkereskedő ritka tárgyakat gyűjtött, de a legértékesebb darabokat csak rendkívül magas áron volt hajlandó ____.
The antique dealer was only willing to 'sell' the most valuable pieces at an extremely high price. 'Eladni' means 'to sell'.
A cégvezetés azon spekulált, hogy vajon érdemes-e a veszteséges részleget ____, vagy inkább befektetni és megpróbálni nyereségessé tenni.
The management was speculating whether it was worth 'selling' the unprofitable division or investing in it. 'Eladni' means 'to sell'.
A művész hosszú évekig dolgozott a mesterművén, és kijelentette, hogy soha nem fogja ____, bármilyen magas is legyen az ajánlat.
The artist stated that he would never 'sell' his masterpiece, no matter how high the offer. 'Eladni' means 'to sell'.
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