tetszik

Hungarian Edit

Etymology Edit

From the obsolete verb tetik (“to seem, to appear”) +‎ -szik.^[1]

Pronunciation Edit

IPA^(key): [ˈtɛt͡sːik]
Audio (file)
Hyphenation: tet‧szik
Rhymes: -ɛt͡sːik

Verb Edit

tetszik

(intransitive) to appeal, to be liked
Synonyms: szeret, kedvel, lájkol

Sok embernek tetszik az új változat. ― Many people like the new version. (literally, “The new version appeals to many people.”)
(auxiliary with a verb in the infinitive) Used to indicate politeness towards the elderly.
Synonym: szíveskedik

Tessék velem jönni. ― Come with me, if you please. (literally, “May it appeal [to you] to come with me.”)

Hogy tetszett mondani? ― I beg your pardon? (literally, “How [in what form] did it appeal [to you] to say [that]?”)
(intransitive, archaic) to seem, to appear (-nak/-nek)
Synonyms: tűnik, látszik

Usage notes Edit

The subject of this verb is the person or thing that is liked. The agent takes the dative case (-nak/-nek).
Péternek tetszik Mari. ― Péter likes Mari. (literally, “To Peter appeals Mari.”)

Tetszik nekem ez a cipő. ― I like this shoe. (literally, “Appeals to me this shoe.”)

Tetszenek nekem ezek a cipők. ― I like these shoes.
If the agent is missing, the logical agent is implied.
Tetszik ez a cipő. (+ “nekem”) ― I like this shoe.

Tetszik ez a cipő? (+ “neked”) ― Do you like this shoe?
If the subject is missing, ez (“this, it”) or az (“that, it”) is implied.
Ahogy tetszik (+ “az”, “neked”) ― As You Like It (the play by Shakespeare)

Tetszik? (+ “ez”, “neked”) ― Do you like it?

Tetszik. (+ “ez”, “nekem”) ― I like it.

The subject of certain verbs is not someone who acts but a stimulus that prompts sensory or emotional feelings, like when things interest someone, matter to someone, please someone or appeal to someone. In these cases, the experiencer can take the accusative (e.g. interest) or the dative (e.g. appeal). The experiencer is expressed with the dative in the case of hiányzik (“to be missing or missed by someone”), ízlik (“to taste good”), kell (“to be needed, necessary, or required”), tetszik (“to be appealing”), and van/megvan (“to be had, to be owned by someone”).
If the experiencer is expressed with the accusative, third-person objects (him, her, it, or them) are considered definite, while first- and second-person objects (me, us, and you), indefinite. For example, the verb érdekel can take the definite form érdekli őt (“he/she is interested”, literally “it interests him/her”) or the indefinite form érdekel engem/téged/minket (“I am, you are, we are interested”, literally “it interests me, you, us”). The form érdekellek means “you are interested in me” (literally, “I interest you”). — Similar verbs include zavar (“to be bothered by”) and izgat (“to be intrigued by”).^[2]

Conjugation Edit

conjugation of tetszik

			1st person sg	2nd person sg informal	3rd person sg, 2nd p. sg formal	1st person pl	2nd person pl informal	3rd person pl, 2nd p. pl formal
Indicative mood	Present	Indef.	tetszem or tetszek	tetszel	tetszik	tetszünk	tetszetek	tetszenek
		Def.	intransitive verb, definite forms are not used
		2nd-p. o.	―
	Past	Indef.	tetszettem	tetszettél	tetszett	tetszettünk	tetszettetek	tetszettek
		Def.	―
		2nd-p. o.	―
Conditional mood	Present	Indef.	tetszenék	tetszenél	tetszene	tetszenénk	tetszenétek	tetszenének
		Def.	―
		2nd-p. o.	―
Subjunctive mood	Present	Indef.	tetsszek or tetsszem or tessek or tessem	tetssz or tess or tetsszél or tessél	tetsszen or tetsszék or tessen or tessék	tetsszünk or tessünk	tetsszetek or tessetek	tetsszenek or tessenek
		Def.	―
		2nd-p. o.	―
Infinitive	tetszeni		tetszenem	tetszened	tetszenie	tetszenünk	tetszenetek	tetszeniük
Other nonfinite verb forms			Verbal noun	Present participle	Past participle	Future part.	Adverbial part.	Potential
Other nonfinite verb forms			tetszés	tetsző	tetszett	―	tetszve	tetszhet

As an auxiliary verb, only the third-person forms are used, since its purpose is to address someone with respect. Out of these, the subjunctive is replaced by the otherwise archaic alternative forms tessék in the singular and tessenek in the plural. The word tessék also survives in contemporary usage as an interjection.

Derived terms Edit

(With verbal prefixes):

(Expressions):

akár tetszik, akár nem

References Edit

^ tetszik in Zaicz, Gábor (ed.). Etimológiai szótár: Magyar szavak és toldalékok eredete (‘Dictionary of Etymology: The origin of Hungarian words and affixes’). Budapest: Tinta Könyvkiadó, 2006, →ISBN. (See also its 2nd edition.)
^ See also Verbs and adjectives that behave differently (in English vs. in Hungarian), Által (’By’), on the past participles derived from such verbs, On verbs of emotion, with special regard to their aspectual properties, especially the chart on page 3. In addition, see Thematic relation and Theta role in Wikipedia.