This sheet is taking a closer look at the pronunciation difference between the Hungarian “a” and “á”.
Some language learners will find this distinction easy—especially if their native language also uses both short and long vowel sounds. But for others, whose languages hardly distinguish between them, it might take some practice. In Hungarian, this difference can truly change the meaning of a word: bal (left) vs. bál (ball), kar (arm) vs. kár (damage), hat (six / he may) vs. hát (back), or hatás (effect) vs. hátas (saddle horse).

Listen to the examples below and see how much you can hear—and say!

How to pronounce the Hungarian “a”:

The Hungarian “a” is a short, central, relaxed vowel. It doesn’t really exist in English as a standard vowel, but it’s somewhat close to the “u” in but or the “a” in sofa—especially the unstressed version.

To pronounce it:

• Open your mouth slightly.
• Keep your lips neutral, not rounded or stretched.
• Relax your tongue and keep it low and central in the mouth.
• Don’t prolong the sound—keep it short and soft.

It’s a very muffled and unstressed sound. Native Hungarians produce it effortlessly in fast speech, so it may take a bit of practice to catch and reproduce accurately.

Let’s do some practice! Listen and repeat the words with „a” only.

Words used in this exercise:

How to pronounce the Hungarian “á”:

The Hungarian “á” is a long, open, and strong vowel. It’s similar to the “a” in father in many dialects of English. The sound is clearer, more deliberate, and held longer than “a”.

To pronounce it:

• Open your mouth wide—more than for “a”.
• Keep your lips neutral, not rounded.
• Lower your jaw slightly more than for “a”.
• Your tongue should be low and flat, resting near the bottom of your mouth.
• Hold the sound a bit longer than a regular short vowel—think of it as a “confident” sound.

This vowel is always stressed in Hungarian, and length matters: kar and kár mean entirely different things.

Let’s do some practice again! Listen and repeat the words with „á” only.

Words used in this exercise:

Let’s see how well you can hear the difference between “a” and “á”!
Listen to each word and decide which letter is missing.
Type the correct letter into the blank and click “Check” to see if you got it right! (The fields are not case sensitive.)

Good Job / Ügyes voltál!