Dalok

[darkina]

Sziasztok
I really like to understand songs in foreign languages but I don’t like the “please translate this for me” attitude, even if of course often there is no choice (and I’m always glad to translate songs for someone when I'm asked to ).
Anyway, besides the fact that I’m already digressing, I want to try and understand some Hungarian songs by myself before asking...of course I can’t get really far but maybe by guessing something and then have it corrected, things will stick on my mind better...
So here I’ll put my pathetic attempts, I’ve just done it with a lot of imagination, my very poor grammar and two (probably bad) dictionaries... so here’s the result, I’m sure someone (CoBB ) will solve some mysteries for me and maybe he will find it funny to follow the mental process of a ‘learner’...but dont laugh at me...

My first serious attempt is the song Az Igazi Nevem by Zanzibar, which was very popular when I was there and I liked it It also seems somewhat easier than the other songs I've attempted to understand.


Megint a rossz útra léptem
Again I stepped into a bad road

Száz közül megismerem
I recognise among 100
???

Megint a szívemre hallgatok
Again I lsten to my heart
Though –re should be motion or am I wrong? So is it some kind of fixed expression, or does it imply a movement?

Mikor csődöt mond az eszem
When (csődöt???) it says ... my mind (? I found ész= mind)
Though I found csődöt mond as to fuck up so ‘when it fucks up my mind’?

Milyen egy átkozott nyár volt
What kind of damn summer it was

Ilyenből egy is elég
Random words...In such, one, too, enough

Mondanom illene valami szépet
I say ? something beautiful (acc.)
Illene = ought?
Oh, maybe, I ought to say something beautiful?

De mindjárt indul a gép
But the machine?engine? starts immediately

Holnap már mindent bánok
Tomorrow everything already (bánok?)

Kerestek majd, de nem találtok
Then(?) I looked for but I didnt find

Holnap már úton leszek
Tomorrow already I will be on the way
This is a very wild guess... –on like, let’s say, Magyarorszagon...so being somewhere...in this case út...

Aludj csak, én fel nem ébresztelek
Just sleep, I wont wake you up ??
I know aludni... that j there alone sounds like imperative...I looked up the rest and found felébreszteni as ‘to wake up’ but why that ‘fel’ is not together with the rest??? It is giving me German nightmares, I thought it was only German where prefixes could wander around the sentence at their pleasure...

Senki sem tudja az igazi nevem
Noone will ever know my real name


Senki sem érezheti, ha szeretem
Noone ? if I love?

Elmondanám, mennyit érsz
I tell, how much ?

De egyetlen élet oly kevés...
But only one life ??? (is too little?)

Megint a rossz útra léptem
Again I stepped into a bad road

Te tudtad, hogy megteszem
You know, how ?

Ami fontos, úgy ér véget
Here I’m kinda giving up...Ami is relative pronoun, and I found vég as ‘end’

Hogy észre sem veszem
...whatever...

[CoBB]

Dalok, igen.

You can't avoid me.

Engem nem kerülhetsz el.

Megint a rossz útra léptem
Again I stepped into a bad road

Literally 'onto', but that's immaterial. Rossz út means the abstract concept 'wrong way' or the literal 'poor-quality road' (or the wrong road) depending on context. It's the first one here.

Szó szerint „onto”, de ez lényegtelen. A „rossz út” az elvont fogalmat és a rossz minőségű vagy rosszul választott utat is jelentheti a szövegkörnyezettől függően. Itt az elsőt.

Száz közül megismerem
I recognise among 100

Pontosan!

Megint a szívemre hallgatok
Again I lsten to my heart

Ez is tökéletes.

Though –re should be motion or am I wrong? So is it some kind of fixed expression, or does it imply a movement?

It's a fixed complement: hallgat vkire/vmire means 'listen to sy/sg', but strictly as in taking their advice.

Ez állandó vonzat. A „hallgat vkire/vmire” jelentése: „megfogadja vki/vmi tanácsát”.

Mikor csődöt mond az eszem
When (csődöt???) it says ... my mind (? I found ész= mind)
Though I found csődöt mond as to fuck up so ‘when it fucks up my mind’?

'When my mind gives up/stops working.'

Csőd is 'bankruptcy'. Csődöt mond means something stops working (a machine, an idea, anything). Also csütörtököt mond—exactly the same meaning.

A „csődöt mond” jelentése: „nem működik tovább” (egy gép, egy ötlet, bármi). A „csütörtököt mond” is ugyanazt jelenti.

When someone gets into a situation they just can't handle with reason or logic, you can say csődöt mond az esze.

Ha valaki olyan helyzetbe kerül, amit nem tud ésszel vagy logikával kezelni, akkor mondhatod, hogy „csődöt mond az esze”

Milyen egy átkozott nyár volt
What kind of damn summer it was

I'd say 'What a...', but it's correct otherwise.

Én azt mondanám, hogy „What a...”, egyébként helyes.

Ilyenből egy is elég
Random words...In such, one, too, enough

'One of these is already enough,' to put it in an ugly way. Ilyenből is not 'in such' but 'from this kind'. The is used here doesn't have a clear English equivalent, it just emphasises egy.

„One of these is already enough”, hogy csúnyán fogalmazzak. Az itt használt „is”-nek nincs igazi angol megfelelője, csak az „egy”-et emeli ki.

Mondanom illene valami szépet
I say ? something beautiful (acc.)
Illene = ought?
Oh, maybe, I ought to say something beautiful?

Almost. Majdnem.

When something illik, it means it is a polite thing to do or is expected in a certain situation. The closest translation could be 'is appropriate'.

Ha valami „illik”, akkor általában udvarias vagy bizonyos helyzetekben elvárt dologról van szó. A legközelebbi fordítása talán az „is appropriate”.

De mindjárt indul a gép
But the machine?engine? starts immediately

An aeroplane. Computers are also often called just gép.

Repülőgép. A számítógépeket is gyakran csak gépnek hívják.

Holnap már mindent bánok
Tomorrow everything already (bánok?)

'I'll be regretting everything tomorrow.'

bán - to regret

Kerestek majd, de nem találtok
Then(?) I looked for but I didnt find

'You'll be looking for me, but you won't find me.'

Majd always refers to the future. And if you can exclude past tense, you can also recognise the -tok/-tek/-tök ending of 2nd person plural.

A „majd” mindig a jövőre utal. És ha a múlt időt ki tudod zárni, már felismerheted a többes szám második személy -tok/-tek/-tök végződését.

Holnap már úton leszek
Tomorrow already I will be on the way
This is a very wild guess... –on like, let’s say, Magyarorszagon...so being somewhere...in this case út...

Igen!

Aludj csak, én fel nem ébresztelek
Just sleep, I wont wake you up ??

Megint csak: igen!

I know aludni... that j there alone sounds like imperative...

Ez így van.

I looked up the rest and found felébreszteni as ‘to wake up’ but why that ‘fel’ is not together with the rest???

Because of the negation. A tagadás miatt.

nem ébresztelek fel - I won't wake you up
fel nem ébresztelek - the same, either slightly poetic or somewhat more stressed (like implying 'even if you want')
nem felébresztelek(, hanem...) - that's only possible with a follow-up: I won't wake you up but do something else instead; this structure is rarely used

It is giving me German nightmares, I thought it was only German where prefixes could wander around the sentence at their pleasure...

You're in for some nasty surprises then. E. g. it can also detach when you turn it into a continuous action.

Akkor számíthatsz kellemetlen meglepetésekre. Például akkor is elválnak, ha a cselekvés folytonos lesz.

Senki sem tudja az igazi nevem
Noone will ever know my real name

No future tense here: 'No-one knows my real name.' The future version would be 'Senki sem tudja meg az igazi nevem'. (The verb is megtud.)

Senki sem érezheti, ha szeretem
Noone ? if I love?

'No-one can feel if I love them.'

érez - feel
érezhet - can feel

Elmondanám, mennyit érsz
I tell, how much ?

'I'd tell you how much you're worth.'

ér vmennyit - to be worth something

De egyetlen élet oly kevés...
But only one life ??? (is too little?)

'Too little' is fine.

Megint a rossz útra léptem
Again I stepped into a bad road

Ezt már tudod.

Te tudtad, hogy megteszem
You know, how ?

Hogy is the connective 'that' here. A „hogy” itt a „that” kötőszónak felel meg.

tesz - to do
megtesz - to do in the future

So: 'You knew that I would do it.'

Ami fontos, úgy ér véget
Here I’m kinda giving up...Ami is relative pronoun, and I found vég as ‘end’

'What's important ends in a way...'

Hogy észre sem veszem
...whatever...

'...that I don't even notice it.'

fontos - important
vég - end
ér (here) - reach
észrevesz - notice

So, all in all, jó útra léptél.

[darkina]

Köszi szépen CoBB!
Wow, I did much better than I thought!!!

Dalok, igen.

Cool...edited

You can't avoid me.

I suspected so...

Mikor csődöt mond az eszem
When (csődöt???) it says ... my mind (? I found ész= mind)
Though I found csődöt mond as to fuck up so ‘when it fucks up my mind’?

'When my mind gives up/stops working.'

Csőd is 'bankruptcy'. Csődöt mond means something stops working (a machine, an idea, anything).

Ok...I had found 'failure' for Csőd in my (pocket ) Hungarian-Italian dictionary, but I wasn't even sure it was the word I was looking for...while the online dictionary had that 'fuck up' expression... But I don't trust it much...

Also csütörtököt mond—exactly the same meaning.

Oh what did the poor Thursday do?

Milyen egy átkozott nyár volt
What kind of damn summer it was

I'd say 'What a...', but it's correct otherwise.

So what's the difference between Micsoda and Milyen then? Cos I knen 'micsoda' as 'what a...' and 'milyen' as what kind of... Which in this case sure doesnt make much difference in English but then why they didnt use 'micsoda' (if there's a reason besides metrics...)

De mindjárt indul a gép
But the machine?engine? starts immediately

An aeroplane. Computers are also often called just gép.

And how do you know in this case the gép is an areoplane?

Kerestek majd, de nem találtok
Then(?) I looked for but I didnt find

'You'll be looking for me, but you won't find me.'

And where is 'you' here? Incorporated somewhere?

Majd always refers to the future. And if you can exclude past tense, you can also recognise the -tok/-tek/-tök ending of 2nd person plural.

With majd I had a bit of a mess with dictionaries and I couldnt decide what it was...
I was actually quite confused with the tense actually, so that is not a past but a present 2nd person,? Or what??? And what would it look like in the past? I think I have troubles with tenses, I should exercise about them. This sounds a bit like my Latin tests at school, where I was messing up tenses or singular/plural cos I had a poor grammar but I was a good guesser...

Holnap már úton leszek
Tomorrow already I will be on the way
This is a very wild guess... –on like, let’s say, Magyarorszagon...so being somewhere...in this case út...

Igen!

I am very proud of this one

I know aludni... that j there alone sounds like imperative...

Ez így van.

Yay. I've been told imperative is a mess in Hungarian This just felt imperative to me, and I realised probably because the only other imperative I know is Varj (probably with accent on a?), as in Wait!.. so I guess my mind linked it...and then I checked on a grammar book

It is giving me German nightmares, I thought it was only German where prefixes could wander around the sentence at their pleasure...

You're in for some nasty surprises then. E. g. it can also detach when you turn it into a continuous action.

Bad news Nagyon rossz I think I decided I wasn't going to bother seriously with German when I ran into those detaching prefixes... it disturbed me.

Senki sem tudja az igazi nevem
Noone will ever know my real name

No future tense here: 'No-one knows my real name.' The future version would be 'Senki sem tudja meg az igazi nevem'. (The verb is megtud.)

Oh right. As I said, I sometimes get my own idea about a sentence before I check which tense it is, and I get stuck into my first impression.

So, all in all, jó útra léptél.

LOL
Jobb, mint gondoltam ( )
Better than I thought

Now I almost know the song by heart

[nJohn West-Hungary]

De mindjárt indul a gép
But the machine?engine? starts immediately

An aeroplane. Computers are also often called just gép.

And how do you know in this case the gép is an areoplane?

"indul a gép" If it is in the "travel" situation, than the GÉP is the shorted form of GÉPMADÁR = (machine-bird)

[CoBB]

Csőd is 'bankruptcy'. Csődöt mond means something stops working (a machine, an idea, anything).

Ok...I had found 'failure' for Csőd in my (pocket ) Hungarian-Italian dictionary, but I wasn't even sure it was the word I was looking for...

It can mean failure, but the primary meaning is bankruptcy.

Jelenthet kudarcot, de az elsődleges jelentése csőd.

while the online dictionary had that 'fuck up' expression... But I don't trust it much...

That's too strong an expression and not entirely correct either.

Ez túl erős kifejezés, és nem is teljesen pontos.

So what's the difference between Micsoda and Milyen then?

When it comes to exclamations, nearly nothing. Otherwise:

Felkiáltásokban majdnem semmi. Egyébként:

micsoda - what (as in an exclamation; there are also some other places where it can be used instead of 'mi', but I'd advise against it because it would be mostly incorrect)
milyen - what kind of

...but then why they didnt use 'micsoda' (if there's a reason besides metrics...)

They are practically equivalent to say 'what a...'

Gyakorlatilag egyenrangúak a „what a...” értelemben.

And how do you know in this case the gép is an areoplane?

Context.

Szövegkörnyezet.

And where is 'you' here? Incorporated somewhere?

Yes, in the ending, as explained below.

Igen, a végződésben, ahogy lejjebb magyaráztam.

With majd I had a bit of a mess with dictionaries and I couldnt decide what it was...

I'm not surprised. It doesn't have an equivalent in English.

Ez nem lep meg. Nincs angol megfelelője.

I was actually quite confused with the tense actually, so that is not a past but a present 2nd person,? Or what???

Present indefinite 2nd person plural.

Jelen idő, alanyi ragozás, többes szám második személy.

And what would it look like in the past?

The -t- near the ending. Incidentally, -tak/-tek is the ending for past indefinite 3rd person plural.

A -t- a vége felé. Egyébként a -tak/-tek a múlt idő, alanyi ragozás, többes szám harmadik személy végződése.

Yay. I've been told imperative is a mess in Hungarian

Maybe because the -j- isn't always a -j-, and there are some basic verbs whose imperative is quite unusual.

Talán mert a -j- nem is mindig -j-, és van néhány alapige, amelyeknek elég szokatlan a felszólító módja.

Varj (probably with accent on a?)

Yes, it should be várj.

Bad news Nagyon rossz I think I decided I wasn't going to bother seriously with German when I ran into those detaching prefixes... it disturbed me.

Not to let you down, but they are seemingly hard for foreigners to get used to by my experience.

Nem akarlak elkeseríteni, de a tapasztalatom alapján nehezen szoknak hozzá a külföldiek.

Oh right. As I said, I sometimes get my own idea about a sentence before I check which tense it is, and I get stuck into my first impression.

It's very similar to Russian aspect, only it's not a grammatical feature but a semantic one...

Nagyon hasonlít az orosz aspektusra, csak ez nem nyelvtani, hanem szemantikus szinten van...

Jobb, mint gondoltam ( )

[darkina]

I was actually quite confused with the tense actually, so that is not a past but a present 2nd person,? Or what???

Present indefinite 2nd person plural.

I'll have to sit down with the tenses, look at them in the eyes, and talk about the relationship I have with them

Jobb, mint gondoltam ( )

[darkina]

I've been singing this song in my mind for days now...I'm starting to feel obsessed...

I wanted to translate more songs but they are so much more difficult

[darkina]

Some time ago I had found a page (http://lyrical.nl/artist/3568 - I dont know why I can't write the url inside words ) with a lot of lyrics of Bonanza Banzai... and one of them (Valami véget ért) even had an English translation
Now I found it back and there are many more songs with translation (unless I missed them before... ) and some of those were songs I had tried to understand (like the two Félelem, especially the first one) so now I have solutions...some others I actually couldn't resist looking up because I was just so curious about their meanings (it's hard, at least for me, to love an artist without understanding what the songs actually say).
And there are also many left for me to try...

*Songs which have English translation:
1984 (live)
A Halál dalol
Félelem I
Félelem II
Ujra elsz (I was able to almost understand the refrain of it, and other bits and pieces )
Valami véget ért*

[CoBB]

And there are also many left for me to try...

We are all waiting for your attempts!

Mindannyian várjuk a próbálkozásaidat!

[gorilla]

There is a good Magyar site 'zeneszoveg.hu' there you can find many lyrics.

[darkina]

There is a good Magyar site 'zeneszoveg.hu' there you can find many lyrics.

Oh yes thanks, I've happened to bump into that one too

************************************

Ok... once again (megint ) I was trying to understand some songs of my beloved Bonanza Banzai. But they are really too difficult So this time I'll need much more help...

Today I was devoting my effort to a song called A vér szava , because I really like it and I find it so emotional even if I don't understand almost anything... (I can define it as an electronic ballad, and a very good one).

So here are the lyrics:

Zajokból hallom ki a nevemet,
Megszólítanak a tárgyak
Egy-egy mozdulatodtól kedves,
Néha-gyakran megkívánlak.

Rólunk beszél a Hold, recsegve
Feszül az égre az éjszaka
Csodálkozol és megszólal benned
A vér szava...

Kezembe veszem az arcodat
Mint egy érdekes követ
Lobog felettünk a szél, mint
Fekete szövet.

Rólunk beszél a Hold, recsegve
Feszül az égre az éjszaka
Csodálkozol és megszólal benned
A vér szava...

Kezembe veszem az arcodat
Mint egy érdekes követ
Tűzbe nézek, bámulom
Gyönyörű szemed...

And here is what I've managed to come up with:

Zajokból hallom ki a nevemet
I found zaj=noise... so From the noises I hear my name? And that ki? What is it doing there?

Megszólítanak a tárgyak
The objects...
I found a translation for Megszólítani in Italian, I would render it in English as something like "get near"...

Egy-egy mozdulatodtól, kedves
No idea... something that implies movement (mozdulni=to move?), dear From your movement, maybe? Or something like that.

Néha-gyakran megkívánlak
Sometimes, often... kívánni= to desire?
Oh, is that -lak a "I-you" thing, like szeretlek?

Rólunk beszél a Hold, recsegve
And what is the moon saying now? I've been wondering for months and I can't find Rólunk... Though I've just found recsegve=raspingly... which I had to look up in English too...

Feszül az égre az éjszaka
The night stretches on the sky...or some kind of concept like that...

Csodálkozol és megszólal benned
You wonder, you are amazed?
And megszólal?
Benned = inside of you? (if benn = inside, that seems the logical consequence to me...)

A vér szava...
Well on the cd the titles are translated and that is "the voice of blood". But how do you know that it is the voice OF? Couldn't it be, for example, véri? Or does that work only for cities?

Kezembe veszem az arcodat
Something about your face...

Mint egy érdekes követ
Like an interesting...
I found követ = ambassador ... Which could be there as a metaphor but it's a bit hard to tell without understanding the rest...

Lobog felettünk a szél, mint
Something about a flag maybe... and the wind, like...

Fekete szövet
Black cloth (or whatever the English word is... Fabric maybe, is it better?
I really like this bit, how it sounds in the song...

Then we have some sentences repeating... until...

Tűzbe nézek, bámulom
I look at the fire, ?

Gyönyörű szemed...
Your wonderful eye...

[CoBB]

Zajokból hallom ki a nevemet
I found zaj=noise... so From the noises I hear my name? And that ki? What is it doing there?

kihall vmit - recognise the sound of something among other sounds

A non-literal close translation could be 'I recognise my name in the noise.'

Megszólítanak a tárgyak
The objects...
I found a translation for Megszólítani in Italian, I would render it in English as something like "get near"...

megszólít - to address

So: 'the objects address/call for me' or something like that.

I have no idea where 'get near' would come from.

Egy-egy mozdulatodtól, kedves
No idea... something that implies movement (mozdulni=to move?), dear From your movement, maybe? Or something like that.

mozdul - to start moving
mozdulat - a short movement

Néha-gyakran megkívánlak
Sometimes, often... kívánni= to desire?
Oh, is that -lak a "I-you" thing, like szeretlek?

Almost, almost.

megkíván - to covet

This usually refers to some basic object: food or sex.

The two lines together would probably mean something like 'some of your movements cause arousal in me.'

Rólunk beszél a Hold, recsegve
And what is the moon saying now? I've been wondering for months and I can't find Rólunk... Though I've just found recsegve=raspingly... which I had to look up in English too...

rólunk - about us: mi+ról -> ról+unk (the lovely personal pronoun conjugation in action)

Feszül az égre az éjszaka
The night stretches on the sky...or some kind of concept like that...

That sounds right to me.

Csodálkozol és megszólal benned
You wonder, you are amazed?
And megszólal?
Benned = inside of you? (if benn = inside, that seems the logical consequence to me...)

Yes, exactly!

megszólal - to start speaking

See below.

A vér szava...
Well on the cd the titles are translated and that is "the voice of blood". But how do you know that it is the voice OF? Couldn't it be, for example, véri? Or does that work only for cities?

This is a possessive construct, so the possession is altered, not the possessor. The word (szó) of blood (vér): a vér szava.

So these two lines would be 'You're surprised and the word of blood speaks up in you.'

The -i affix can work with lots of words, but it is in no way meaningful with 'vér'.

Kezembe veszem az arcodat
Something about your face...

kézbe vesz - take into one's hands (that's quite literal, isn't it?)

'I take your face into my hands.'

Mint egy érdekes követ
Like an interesting...
I found követ = ambassador ... Which could be there as a metaphor but it's a bit hard to tell without understanding the rest...

It's the accusative of 'kő', 'stone'. But funnily the ambassador thing can also work, and it's still grammatical:

'I take your face into my hands as if it were an interesting pebble.'

or

'I take your face into my hands as if I were an interesting ambassador/in the way an interesting ambassador would do.'

Lobog felettünk a szél, mint
Something about a flag maybe... and the wind, like...

lobog - to move like a flag or a flame

This is poetic, because wind usually causes this motion but doesn't do it itself.

Fekete szövet
Black cloth (or whatever the English word is... Fabric maybe, is it better?

Yes, that's it.

Tűzbe nézek, bámulom
I look at the fire, ?

bámul - to stare at

Gyönyörű szemed...
Your wonderful eye...

Do we need any more explanation?

[gorilla]

Zajokból hallom ki a nevemet
I can hear my name in the noises. Kihallani means something like catch some sound from a primary sound-source... Hard to explain, rare word..

Megszólítanak a tárgyak
The objects are talking to me...
Megszólít means that someone says something and wants a reply... Like in the street 'Excuse me'. Or call your name etc... Megszólítás is salutation...

Egy-egy mozdulatodtól, kedves
I would say |because of/from| your movements, dear

Néha-gyakran megkívánlak
"Sometimes, often... kívánni= to desire?" yes
"Oh, is that -lak a "I-you" thing, like szeretlek?" - yes

Rólunk beszél a Hold, recsegve
Rólunk can be divided: ról+unk. -unk,-ünk,-nk is something abot us. Beszél always has -ról/ről following.
The Moon talks about us, raspingly.

Feszül az égre az éjszaka
"The night stretches on the sky...or some kind of concept like that..." correct

Csodálkozol és megszólal benned
"You wonder, you are amazed?" - yes
"And megszólal?" - it means starts to speak.
"Benned = inside of you?" -yes

A vér szava...
"Well on the cd the titles are translated and that is "the voice of blood". But how do you know that it is the voice OF? Couldn't it be, for example, véri? Or does that work only for cities? "

Szó is an irregular noun... Szava alone means 'his/her/its word' A vér szava means the blood's word. -i is an adjective maker. 'Véri szó' could be imagined, but it's not common. -i is mostly used with places.

Kezembe veszem az arcodat
I take your face into my hands.... something like that. So he touches her face...

Mint egy érdekes követ
" found követ = ambassador ... Which could be there as a metaphor but it's a bit hard to tell without understanding the rest..." - követ is ambassador yes but here it's kő+t=követ. So it would mean something like "like an interesting stone"
követ also means to follow... 'A követ követ követ' = 'The ambassador follows a stone.'

Lobog felettünk a szél, mint
"Something about a flag maybe... and the wind, like..." - no flag, just a poetic expression... flag 'lobog' most times. Here it means 'the wind is blowing above us'

Fekete szövet
"Black cloth (or whatever the English word is... Fabric maybe, is it better?" - yeah it is. I don't know English that well either.


Tűzbe nézek, bámulom
I look at (the) fire, I stare at /gawk at

Gyönyörű szemed...
Your wonderful eyes...

You understood most of it... well done, really!

EDIT: CoBB types faster
I've just rearranged my keyboard layout, so I'm typing slowly

There's a good dictionary here, I always use this to understand English texts: http://www.jomagam.hu/programok/jgl_szotar_letoltes.htm

[darkina]

Köszi szépen, guys

kihall vmit - recognise the sound of something among other sounds

Oh yeah, I forgot about the travelling prefixes

But, do the prefixes work like in Russian (apart from moving, of course)? That is, every prefix has some meanings that are attached to the word it is attached to? So when I see ki, I can guess its semantic implications?

So: 'the objects address/call for me' or something like that.

I have no idea where 'get near' would come from.

I see. Actually, there was also an Italian translation which meant something like "to address", but it seemed to me really specific, as it wasn't a common word but something that means "to address" in a kinda harsh way...
The get near thing... well the first word given in the Italian translation is something that can have a few meanings, and that one seemed the best one in this context... I don't know where that meaning comes from cos it has nothing to do with calling, for sure...

Incidentally, I must say that doing this kind of thing practically trilingually makes me realise how weak my English is below the surface Strangely, sometimes from Russian I can translate into English almost without passing from Italian, but here it depends a lot on the dictionaries and I have much less choices and experience... cool anyway...

megkíván - to covet

This usually refers to some basic object: food or sex.

I'm sure he was talking about food

rólunk - about us: mi+ról -> ról+unk (the lovely personal pronoun conjugation in action)

I'm yet to get even vaguely familiar with that.

'I take your face into my hands as if it were an interesting pebble.'

or

'I take your face into my hands as if I were an interesting ambassador/in the way an interesting ambassador would do.'

Ah, these poets...

Lobog felettünk a szél, mint
Something about a flag maybe... and the wind, like...

lobog - to move like a flag or a flame

Ok, but what is felettünk? Hey wait I think I get it now... Above us, for the abovementioned principle...

So basically The wind moves above us like a flag, like black cloth... That's nicely poetic

Gyönyörű szemed...
Your wonderful eye...

Do we need any more explanation?

Actually, yes Is there a reason why the 'eye' is singular (as gorilla also pointed out later)? Or does it look singular to me but it's not? I mean, I know he means 'eyes', unless the object of his desire had some kind of accident which left her like Polifemus , but wanting to be literal, does it make a difference?

Beszél always has -ról/ről following.

Cool, I was actually wondering about that too

Szó is an irregular noun... Szava alone means 'his/her/its word' A vér szava means the blood's word.

I'll take this info as it is and maybe I'll understand how it works, one day...

követ also means to follow... 'A követ követ követ' = 'The ambassador follows a stone.'

Or a stone follows the ambassador...

[CoBB]

Oh yeah, I forgot about the travelling prefixes

Just remember that if you see an orphaned prefix somewhere in the sentence, it belongs to the verb.

That is, every prefix has some meanings that are attached to the word it is attached to? So when I see ki, I can guess its semantic implications?

Roughly so. Nearly all prefixes have some default spatial-directional semantics, but the meaning of a certain combination isn't necessarily predictable. That also holds for Russian, I think.

In this case, to me at least, the prefix ki- seems to allude to the movement of the sound (it is going 'out' from among the others), not to the act of hearing. There's a more direct verb that comes to mind: kihallatszik, it 'sounds out', where hallatszik means 'can be heard', so kihallatszik means that a sound is coming out from somewhere.

Actually, there was also an Italian translation which meant something like "to address", but it seemed to me really specific, as it wasn't a common word but something that means "to address" in a kinda harsh way...

I see. Megszólít doesn't have such a tone, it's perfectly neutral.

I don't know where that meaning comes from cos it has nothing to do with calling, for sure...

Maybe it isn't a good idea to find out the meaning of a word by translating it multiple times.

Incidentally, I must say that doing this kind of thing practically trilingually makes me realise how weak my English is below the surface

Isn't it simply that each translation step results in lots of alternatives? Say, a Hungarian word has 3 possible English versions, and each English word gives birth to 3 Italian ones, all depending on context... You obviously won't explore all the possibilities.

I'm sure he was talking about food

Only if he was also talking to some food, -lak/-lek, you know. Why not imagine a freshly killed pig (something that has a face and eyes), it gives a whole new meaning to the song.

:shock: I'm yet to get even vaguely familiar with that.

Have to create a conjugation table...

Ok, but what is felettünk? Hey wait I think I get it now... Above us, for the abovementioned principle...

Точно!

Actually, yes Is there a reason why the 'eye' is singular (as gorilla also pointed out later)? Or does it look singular to me but it's not?

Hungarian doesn't make gratuitous use of plural. When someone has two eyes, we use singular. When someone has one eye, we say they have half an eye: félszemű - one-eyed. This applies to all organs that come in pair, e. g. 'fél füllel hallgatlak' - 'I'm listening to you with just one ear' (not giving you full attention).

I mean, I know he means 'eyes', unless the object of his desire had some kind of accident which left her like Polifemus , but wanting to be literal, does it make a difference?

Ask an English native how it would sound to them. Regarding Hungarian, plural isn't strictly forbidden in these situations, but it doesn't sound right.

Beszél always has -ról/ről following.

Cool, I was actually wondering about that too

We can generally say that this usage of the English preposition 'about' is usually rendered as -ról/-ről in Hungarian.

Már hallottam rólad. - I've already heard about you.
Rólad van szó. - It's about you. (szó van vmiről - the topic is sg)
Rólad beszélünk. - We're talking about you.

Szó is an irregular noun... Szava alone means 'his/her/its word' A vér szava means the blood's word.

I'll take this info as it is and maybe I'll understand how it works, one day...

It's in my Lesson 3. Look closely.

Or a stone follows the ambassador...

A kő követet követ. Hmm, not as brilliant.

[darkina]

Maybe it isn't a good idea to find out the meaning of a word by translating it multiple times.

Sure, I am perfectly aware of that. But I don't see any other way, since I sometimes find words in the English dictionaries and sometimes in the Italian one. And sometimes I need both to understand a meaning. And English is the medium here, not necessarily the target.

Isn't it simply that each translation step results in lots of alternatives? Say, a Hungarian word has 3 possible English versions, and each English word gives birth to 3 Italian ones, all depending on context... You obviously won't explore all the possibilities.

No it's not that. Of course that also occurs, but what I was saying is that I sometimes grasp a concept and it takes me a while before finding the way to express it in English - sometimes I just don't know the words, and that makes me notice that my English is not that rich after all.

Only if he was also talking to some food, -lak/-lek, you know. Why not imagine a freshly killed pig (something that has a face and eyes), it gives a whole new meaning to the song.

Or a human-shaped chocolate bar...
This is probably the hidden meaning of the song, what he really wanted to say but not everybody will understand

Hungarian doesn't make gratuitous use of plural. When someone has two eyes, we use singular.

That sounds quite Hungarian indeed

Ask an English native how it would sound to them. Regarding Hungarian, plural isn't strictly forbidden in these situations, but it doesn't sound right.

I wasn't meaning about English, I was meaning if using plural here would sound normal in Hungarian. I got my question answered anyway.

It's in my Lesson 3. Look closely.

Ok... I guess it was a bit of an obscure point since I didn't remember it... but it definitely takes time to absorb all the info.
By the way, when will the lessons be officially published?;)

Or a stone follows the ambassador...

A kő követet követ. Hmm, not as brilliant.

Oh, I forgot that it was accusative and therefore different. I'm still spoilt by languages with no cases, despite all that Russian...

[CoBB]

By the way, when will the lessons be officially published?;)

Life is busy, who could tell?

Gyors az élet, ki tudná megmondani?

[darkina]

Even if my connection is not exactly collaborating, I decided to dig up this oooooold thread, because I was attempting to translate more songs! But it's difficult!

Ákos - Keresem az utam
I’m looking for my way

Látod nincs mit mondanom,
A napot, az órát sem tudom
Csak várom, hogy üzend, hogy vársz

You see I have nothing to say (?)
I don’t know the day, the hour (is this literal? Like when you don’t know which day it is? Like it would be best translated as “I don’t know what day, what time it is”? And is “sem” more like “I don’t even?)
I just wait how (it will be sent?), how you wait

Most nem ontom bátran, okosan a szót
A falon át hallom csak a rádiót
Ha erre jársz, engem itt találsz

Now I don’t spill (?) bravely, cleverly the word (I don’t (spill?) brave clever words?)
Through the wall (so it’s like ‘on the wall through’?) I hear only the radio
If you go there (?) you’ll meet me there (but explain me ‘erre’)

Ezer meg ezer éve keresem az utam
Néha keresem a bajt,
És keresem azt, aki engem akar,
Akinek engem küldött, akit nekem szánt az ég

One thousand and one thousand more years I’m looking for my way (I've been looking?)
Sometimes I’m looking for trouble
And I’m looking for the one who wants me
The one to whom I was sent (? guessing too much...), whom the sky [szánt] to me ???????

És az a rádió úgy zokog,
Mintha szerelmet vallana,
Most nekem szól a legbutább dala

And so that radio sobs,
As if it were?? (what the hell is that ‘vallana’) love
Now to me sounds its most ? song (why dala? Possessive, right? But why? Who is possessing what? Is it the radio's? )

Mert úgyanúgy hívlak most is
Szánalmas, hogy mindent elhiszek,
Hogy mennyire örülnék neked

Because in the same way I call you now too
Pathetic ?, how I will believe everything
How much I will be happy for? you

Ezer meg ezer éve keresem az utam
Néha keresem a bajt,
És keresem azt, aki engem akar,
Akinek engem küldött, akit nekem szánt az ég

Tudom, hogy vár még rám
A holdnak tán a túloldalán
Õ az aki beszél bennem, érthetetlen angyalnyelven

I know, what again expects me???
To the moon ???? beyond ???
He/she who speaks inside of me, in an incomprehensible language of angel

Keresem az utam
Néha keresem a bajt,
És keresem azt, aki engem akar,
Akinek engem küldött, akit nekem szánt az ég
A magas ég.

blablabla
The high sky

***

Enjoy correcting

[CoBB]

Ákos - Keresem az utam
I’m looking for my way

Látod nincs mit mondanom,
A napot, az órát sem tudom
Csak várom, hogy üzend, hogy vársz

You see I have nothing to say (?)
I don’t know the day, the hour (is this literal? Like when you don’t know which day it is? Like it would be best translated as “I don’t know what day, what time it is”? And is “sem” more like “I don’t even? - yes, this is all correct)
I’m just waiting [s]how (it will be sent?)[/s] for you to send a message, that you are waiting - hogy is the connective ‘that’ in both cases here

Most nem ontom bátran, okosan a szót
A falon át hallom csak a rádiót
Ha erre jársz, engem itt találsz

Now I don’t spill (?) bravely, cleverly the word (I don’t (spill?) brave clever words? - ontani a szót is just a fancy way of saying ‘talking endlessly’)
Only through the wall (so it’s like ‘on the wall through’? - literally yes; ‘át’ is one of those postpositions that govern a case different from nominative) I hear [s]only[/s] the radio - i.e. csak refers to the wall, not the radio
If you happen to come this way you’ll meet me [s]t[/s]here (but explain me ‘erre’) - erre means literally this way/‘to here’

Ezer meg ezer éve keresem az utam
Néha keresem a bajt,
És keresem azt, aki engem akar,
Akinek engem küldött, akit nekem szánt az ég

For thousands of years I’ve been looking for my way (I've been looking? - exactly)
Sometimes I’m looking for trouble
And I’m looking for the one who wants me - correct
The one to whom I was sent (? guessing too much... - but it is correct too ; note that this is not passive, the sky is the subject of the sentence), the one I was meant for by the sky - close translation that sounds clumsy in English; szán means to ‘intend’ something for something, i.e. the sky has decided that X is meant for Y, and sends him to her (substitute genders of preference )

És az a rádió úgy zokog,
Mintha szerelmet vallana,
Most nekem szól a legbutább dala

And so that radio sobs,
As if it were confessing (the verb is ‘vall’, and this is the 3rd person singular conditional form, as required by mintha) love
Now to me sounds its stupidest song (why dala? Possessive, right? But why? Who is possessing what? Is it the radio's? - basically ‘the radio plays its stupidest song to me’)

Mert úgyanúgy hívlak most is
Szánalmas, hogy mindent elhiszek,
Hogy mennyire örülnék neked

Because in the same way I call you now too - ‘I still (cf. most is) call you the same way’
Pathetic , that I [s]will[/s] believe everything
That (hogy) I would be so (mennyire means something like ‘a lot’ here, it’s not a question) happy for you

Tudom, hogy vár még rám
A holdnak tán a túloldalán
Õ az aki beszél bennem, érthetetlen angyalnyelven

I know, that they (singular) are still waiting for me
Maybe (tán = talán) on the other side (túloldal) of the moon
He/she who speaks inside of me, in an incomprehensible language of angel (‘angel language’ seems more straightforward to me )

blablabla
The high sky

Van kérdés?

Egyáltalán nem volt rossz fordítás!

[darkina]

Kööööööszööööönööööööm

- i.e. csak refers to the wall, not the radio

And how do you figure that out? It was as far as possible from the wall, and near the verb...

If you happen to come this way you’ll meet me [s]t[/s]here (but explain me ‘erre’) - erre means literally this way/‘to here’

And why 'if you happen to'? What makes it so casual?

The one to whom I was sent (? guessing too much... - but it is correct too ; note that this is not passive, the sky is the subject of the sentence),

Yes, this is why I felt like guessing, because I understood the grammar but couldn't figure out any other meaning than a passive... although I didn't understand that ég was the subject, which is also what confused me because I saw a third person but not a subject so maybe that's what made me turn it into passive, everything was clear but the subject...

Pathetic , that I [s]will[/s] believe everything
[color=red]

Why not 'will'? What about all my beliefs about prefixes?

He/she who speaks inside of me, in an incomprehensible language of angel [color=blue](‘angel language’ seems more straightforward to me )

Not much to me, but I was definitely using a romance construction there Anyway this is English so who cares

Van kérdés?

Voltak