alkohol
[ˈɒlkohol]
In Hungarian, alcohol is called alkohol. Wiktionary also lists szeszes ital and pia.
Meaning: intoxicating beverage (noun)
Ways to say it
| Hungarian | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| alkohol | [ˈɒlkohol] (narrow) | |
| szeszes ital | [ˈsɛsɛʃitɒl] (narrow) | |
| pia | [ˈpijɒ] (narrow) | slang |
The term refers to an intoxicating beverage.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase szeszes ital literally means 'spirituous drink', where 'szeszes' means containing spirits or alcohol and 'ital' means drink.
Which one should you use?
While alkohol refers to the chemical substance, szeszes ital is the standard way to refer to alcoholic drinks in a general sense.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
szeszes ital is the formal way to refer to alcoholic drinks, whereas pia is a colloquial or slang term similar to the English word 'booze'.
How does it change in a sentence?
When alkohol is the direct object of a verb such as 'drink' (iszik), it takes the accusative suffix '-t' and becomes alkoholt.
Did you know?
- The word alkohol shares its ancient roots with the eye makeup known as 'kohl', which was originally a fine powder made from antimony.
- Because szesz is associated with medicine and cleaning, calling a cocktail szesz would sound like you are drinking disinfectant to a native speaker.
- In old Hungarian traditions, alcohol like pálinka was often referred to by the fruit it was distilled from rather than the general term for alcohol.
Examples in context
- Én nem iszom alkoholt.I don't drink alcohol.Tatoeba #13123934 by maaster, translation #258477 by CK
- Soha nem iszik alkoholt.He never drinks alcohol.Tatoeba #9688881 by kiseva33, translation #288897 by CK
- Kellene egy kis alkohol.That would be great with some alcohol.Tatoeba #12946572 by maaster, translation #12946055 by rul
- Kérem egy pohár bort/pezsgőt/whiskytI would like a glass of wine/champagne/whiskey, please
- 60 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Tamás and Zsófia are talking about their plans for the party.
- TamásHozzok etwas alkoholt a bulira?Should I bring some alcohol to the party?
- ZsófiaIgen, kérlek, hozz egy kis alkoholt.Yes, please, bring some alcohol.
- TamásMilyen alkohol legyen?What kind of alcohol should it be?
- ZsófiaBármilyen vörösbor jó lesz.Any red wine will be fine.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “alcohol” translations and entries alkohol, szeszes ital, pia, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries alkohol, ital, pia, szeszes, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
