hogyhogy

Hungarian

Etymology

hogy (“how”) +‎ hogy (“that”)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈhochoɟ]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: hogy‧hogy
• Rhymes: -oɟ

Conjunction

hogyhogy

1. how come

   Hogyhogy itt vagy te is? ― How come you're here too?

Usage notes

Hogyhogy is slightly different from regular question words and does not exhibit some of the properties traditionally associated with question words (like ki, mi, hogy). It may be better treated as a word that is both a clause and a conjunction. For example:

Hogyhogy megnézted a filmet? ― How come you watched the movie?

Hogy lehet az, hogy megnézted a filmet? ― How did it come to pass that you watched the movie?

Miért nézted meg a filmet? ― Why did you watch the movie?

As it can be seen, the verbal prefix will not follow the main verb with hogyhogy as in the case of other question words like mikor. Also, it cannot be coordinated with other question words like mikor or hol.

Further reading

• hogyhogy 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