szia
[ˈsijɒ]
The Hungarian phrase for hello and goodbye is szia.
szia is an informal greeting used both when arriving and when leaving.
Which one should you use?
szia is used for both arriving and departing, whereas formal alternatives like jó napot (good day) are used for both greeting and departing in formal situations.
When do people say it?
When greeting someone in the morning, it is customary to use Jó reggelt! until around 10 am.
Did you know?
- The word szia is an abbreviation of szervusz, which was borrowed from the Latin word 'servus' meaning 'slave' or 'servant'.
- Hungarians often pair szia with a light wave or a quick nod, but a handshake is typically reserved for the formal greetings that replace it.
- While szia works for both arriving and leaving, you can make it even more informal by using the plural form sziasztok when addressing a group of friends.
Examples in context
- Isten hozta! Remélem jól érezte magát.Welcome! I hope you had a good time.
- Jó napot kívánok, hölgyem/uram!Good day to you, madam/sir!
- Szia, holnap találkozunk!Bye, see you tomorrow!
- Szia, köszönöm a segítséget.Bye, thanks for the help.
Example conversation
Zsófia and Tamás meet briefly in a hallway.
- ZsófiaSzia, Tamás!Hi, Tamás!
- TamásSzia, Zsófia! Hogy vagy?Hi, Zsófia! How are you?
- ZsófiaJól vagyok, de sietek.I'm fine, but I'm in a hurry.
- TamásÉrtem, szia!I see, bye!
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry szia, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries szia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
