medve
[ˈmɛdvɛ]
The English word 'bear' is medve in Hungarian.
medve refers to the large mammal of the family Ursidae.
Meaning: large mammal of family Ursidae (noun)
Which one should you use?
While medve is the standard term, mackó is used when a more cute and playful connotation is desired.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
To form the plural, use medvék. In the accusative case, the word remains medve (though it may appear as medvet in some written forms or be spoken with a dropped 'e').
Did you know?
- The word medve is a linguistic fossil of a way to avoid naming the animal directly. It stems from a Proto-Slavic term meaning 'honey-eater', a common way for ancient people to refer to dangerous creatures by their habits rather than their names.
- The word mackó is a loanword from the Russian name 'Misha' or 'Maksim', which became associated with bears in folklore.
- The Hungarian word medve is a loanword from Slavic languages, despite Hungarian belonging to a completely different language family.
Examples in context
- Kié ez a medve?Whose bear is it?This sentence is useful for asking about the ownership of a medve.Tatoeba #4156039 by bandeirante, translation #4155308 by muriloricci
- Jön felénk a medve!The bear is coming towards us.This sentence is useful for describing a medve approaching.Tatoeba #11411276 by maaster, translation #7822646 by theachaean
- Itt lakik egy medve.Here lives one bear.This sentence is useful for stating that a medve lives in a specific location.Tatoeba #5302220 by mraz, translation #2019091 by Balamax
- A medve az erdő ura és a hóval borított vidékeken él.The bear is the king of the forest and lives in snow-covered regions.
- A medve hatalmas termetével és erős karmaival hívja fel magára a figyelmet.The bear attracts attention with its enormous size and strong claws.
- 22 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Zsófia and Tamás are visiting the zoo.
- ZsófiaNézd, milyen nagy ez a medve!Look, how big this bear is!
- TamásIgen, nagyon erősenek tűnik.Yes, it looks very strong.
- ZsófiaSzerinted éhes a medve?Do you think the bear is hungry?
- TamásValószínűleg már ettek neki.They probably already fed it.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “bear” translations and entries medve, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries medve, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
