jó kislány
[ˈjoː ˈkiʃlaːɲ]word by word
The Hungarian phrase for "good girl" is jó kislány.
This phrase is used to praise a young girl for behaving well. You can use it as a standalone exclamation, such as Jó kislány!, to praise a child's behavior. To state that someone is a good girl, you might say Jó kislány vagy.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of jó, meaning "good" and kislány, which means "little girl". Kislány is a diminutive of lány, which means "girl".
Which one should you use?
While jó kislány specifically implies a younger child, the phrase jó lány is more general and can refer to an older girl or even a young woman.
How does it change in a sentence?
The plural form of the phrase is jó kislányok.
Did you know?
- The root of jó connects to the word for 'river' in languages like Finnish and Estonian, though the meanings have diverged completely.
- Using the diminutive kislány to praise a female dog would sound comical to a native speaker.
- To use jó kislány effectively when praising a child, one must adopt a high-pitched, melodic tone that is not typically used for adult conversation.
Examples in context
- Jó kislány légy!Be a good girl.This sentence is useful for practicing the phrase jó kislány in an imperative context.Tatoeba #6996214 by H_Liliom, translation #1649020 by Spamster
- Micsoda egy jó kislány!What a good girl!
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Tamás is praising Éva's daughter for helping out.
- TamásSegítettél anyukádnak? De jó kislány vagy!Did you help your mother? What a good girl you are!
- ÉvaKöszönöm, Tamás!Thank you, Tamás!
- TamásMindig legyél ilyen jó kislány.Always be such a good girl.
- ÉvaIgen, nagyon büszke vagyok rá.Yes, I am very proud of her.
Sources
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (jó, kislány) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries jó, kislány, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
