Hungarian term for Grandma

Old Nov 26th, 2005, 04:37 PM
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 389
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Hungarian term for Grandma

My mom's forgotten a lot of the Hungarian she learned as a child. She will be a great grandma soon and would like this new little life to refer to her by an especially loving and sweet Hungarian word for Grandma. Something that an English speaking child could say. Can anybody out there help? Thanks.
Bo2642 is offline  
Old Nov 26th, 2005, 05:14 PM
  #2  
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 4,717
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Hungarian is not a language that lends itself easily to an English tongue.

The official word for grandmother is "nagyanya"; if one is addressing one's own grandmother, one could call her "nagymama". There is also an official word for great-grandmother: "dédanya", but it's hardly loving and sweet.

Although born and raised Hungarian, I was unable to master the above words as a small child and called my grandmother "nyenye".

The problem is that I find it difficult to explain the sound of the "gy" or the "ny" combination in Hungarian.

If you would like to use "nagymama", ask your mother to pronounce the word for Hungarian: "Magyar". That will give you the "gy" combination. The "a"s are pronounced, more or less, like the "a" in "cart", but they are shorter.

The closest I can come for "nyenye" is that the "ny" is pronounced like the first "n" (the one with the tilde) in the Spanish word "manana". The "e" is pronounced like the "ea" combination in the word "weather".
Eloise is offline  
Old Nov 26th, 2005, 05:33 PM
  #3  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 389
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Hi, Eloise--
We just got you reply, and my mom says thank you so much--qoszonom szepen! She says that the term you used for your own grandmother--nyenye--sounds perfect and wonderful, and she can hardly wait to use it. Many thanks from my mom Helen (Ilonka). And thanks from me, too, Eloise.
Barbara
Bo2642 is offline  
Old Nov 26th, 2005, 05:37 PM
  #4  
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 4,717
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
My best wishes to you and your mother - and for the little one to come!
Eloise is offline  
Old Nov 30th, 2005, 06:12 AM
  #5  
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 119
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Good Day!
Sorry for throwing in my 5 cents but nowadays 20 Hungarian kids out of 10!, use the word “NAGYI” for their grandmothers. Same thing applies to their parents, for instance when they say to their kids: we are going to visit grandma today. They will definitely use the word NAGYI instead of saying Nagymama or my mother.
You pronounce it kind of N-A-H-D-E-E, where D-E, sound like the Spanish manyana but a very soft D instead of N.
The word NYENYE you will mostly find on African or Africa related websites just try it with GOOGLE.
Best regards,
Bela Lukacs
okszi is offline  
Old May 17th, 2011, 09:26 PM
  #6  
 
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I know it is years after the initial question, but the nice word for great grandma in Hungarian is dédi (pr. daadee). it is the short version of dédmama, and it is kind, loving and very sweeet. So use it if you can.
miszisz is offline  
Old Jan 21st, 2012, 06:24 PM
  #7  
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
My family name is Nagy. I only spoke Hungarian until I was 6 years old. Unfortunateley I lost it all. But I do know how to pronounce the Na Gy. Soon I will be a Great Nagyanya orr dedi demama
Eleanor_Pauling is offline  
Old Jan 22nd, 2012, 12:33 AM
  #8  
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 364
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Congratulations, Eleanor!
klondiketoo is offline  
Old Jan 22nd, 2012, 06:25 PM
  #9  
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
nagy in Hungarian means big or grand
Eleanor_Pauling is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
stephalie
Europe
7
Jun 26th, 2017 04:43 AM
ksaras
Europe
9
May 31st, 2007 01:53 PM
MarciaMarciaMarcia
Europe
10
Aug 9th, 2006 02:45 PM
Garvin222
Mexico & Central America
10
May 24th, 2006 11:19 AM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are On


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information -