csak
Hungarian
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Of unknown origin.[1]
Pronunciation
[edit]Adverb
[edit]csak
- only, exclusively (excluding everything else)
- just, only, merely, solely (when something is not as great or as much or as serious as could be expected)
- for a reason that the speaker does not want to specify
- Synonym: csak úgy
- Ezt miért csináltad? - Csak! ― Why did you do that? - Just because! (No reason!)
- it's just that, but (explaining a reason that restricts or prevents the effectiveness of the event specified previously)
- Hívtalak telefonon! – Hallottam, csak épp zuhanyoztam. ― I called you on the phone! – I heard, but I was in the shower.
- Nyerhetett volna a csapat, csak nem volt elég jó az edzőjük. ― The team could have won, it's just that their coach wasn't good enough.
- Ő is ott volt, csak a másik szobában. ― He was also there, but in the other room.
- (the emphasis being on the subsequent verb) if only, I wish (in wishes); indicates less hope if used with conditional mood, more certainty if used with subjunctive)
- Synonym: bárcsak
- Csak élné/élje túl a balesetet! ― If only he survived the accident!
- (with emphasis) supposedly, must, after all (describing supposition, based on how things normally turn out)
- (with emphasis) nevertheless, nonetheless, all the same (expressing resistance or defiance)
- Synonyms: mégis, (with positive statements) mégiscsak, mégsem, (with negative statements) mégse
- Hiába mondtam neki, ő csak nem akarta megérteni. ― I kept explaining it to him/her in vain; s/he just refused to understand it.
- Mondtuk neki, hogy nyugodtan maradhat, de ő csak hazament a többiekkel. ― We told him/her s/he was welcome to stay some more while but s/he did go home with the others, nevertheless.
- used in imperative sentences to indicate something quick or immediate
- Nézd csak! ― Hey, look!
- Várj csak! ― Wait a minute! / Hold on for a second!
- Figyelj csak! ― Listen up!
- don't bother, do as you wish (in imperative sentences)
- Synonym: felőlem
- Menj csak! ― Go, don't bother.
- Hagyd csak! ― Just let him!
- Dohányozz csak! Magadnak ártasz vele, nem nekem! ― Smoke if you wish! You're hurting yourself, not me.
- as late as, no sooner (than…), not until (that…)
- Elromlott az ébresztőórám, és csak 10-kor ébredtem fel. ― My alarm clock broke down and I didn't wake up until 10 a.m..
- A tudomány csak a 16–17. században kezdett megválni a négy fő testnedv elméletétől. ― It wasn't until the 16th and 17th century that science started to discard the theory of the four principal bodily humors.
- (after relative pronouns like aki, ami, ahol etc.) -ever, no matter (whoever, whatever, wherever etc. or no matter who/what/where etc.)
Derived terms
[edit]Compound words
Expressions
Descendants
[edit]- → Romanian: numai (semantic loan)
References
[edit]- ^ csak in Zaicz, Gábor (ed.). Etimológiai szótár: Magyar szavak és toldalékok eredete (‘Dictionary of Etymology: The origin of Hungarian words and affixes’). Budapest: Tinta Könyvkiadó, 2006, →ISBN. (See also its 2nd edition.)
Further reading
[edit]- csak in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (“The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language”, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
- csak in Nóra Ittzés, editor, A magyar nyelv nagyszótára [A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (Nszt.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published a–ez as of 2024).