Kutyából nem lesz szalonna
Literally No bacon comes from a dog
Means a person's basic nature or character cannot be changed
Example Hiába próbálod nevelni, kutyából nem lesz szalonna.
An idiom is a phrase you cannot translate word for word. Here are 15 of the most common Hungarian idioms, each with its literal translation, real meaning, and an example sentence, so you know what natives actually mean.
Common Hungarian idioms are everyday expressions whose meaning cannot be guessed from the individual words. For example, Kutyából nem lesz szalonna literally means "No bacon comes from a dog" but is used to mean a person's basic nature or character cannot be changed. This free tool lists 15 real Hungarian idioms, each with its literal translation, meaning, and an example sentence.
All 15 Hungarian idioms, with meanings and examples.
Guess the meaning, then tap a card to check.
Idiom list verified as of July 2026.
Kutyából nem lesz szalonna
Literally No bacon comes from a dog
Means a person's basic nature or character cannot be changed
Example Hiába próbálod nevelni, kutyából nem lesz szalonna.
Nem esik messze az alma a fájától
Literally The apple does not fall far from its tree
Means children tend to resemble their parents in character (like father, like son)
Example Ugyanolyan makacs, mint az apja, nem esik messze az alma a fájától.
Se füle, se farka
Literally It has neither ear nor tail
Means something makes no sense at all, has no rhyme or reason
Example Ennek a történetnek se füle, se farka.
Egy fecske nem csinál nyarat
Literally One swallow does not make a summer
Means a single good instance does not prove a lasting trend
Example Igaz, hogy egyszer sikerült, de egy fecske nem csinál nyarat.
Éhes, mint a farkas
Literally Hungry as the wolf
Means extremely hungry
Example Egész nap nem ettem semmit, éhes vagyok, mint a farkas.
Bottal ütheti a nyomát
Literally One can hit its tracks with a stick
Means someone or something is long gone and can no longer be found or recovered
Example Mire kiértünk az utcára, a tolvajnak már bottal üthettük a nyomát.
Leesik a tantusz
Literally The token falls
Means someone suddenly understands something that had not clicked before, the penny drops
Example Végül leesett nála a tantusz, és megértette a viccet.
Ne fesd az ördögöt a falra
Literally Don't paint the devil on the wall
Means don't jinx it by mentioning a bad outcome, don't tempt fate
Example Ne fesd az ördögöt a falra, még minden jóra fordulhat!
Sok víz lefolyt azóta a Dunán
Literally Much water has flowed down the Danube since then
Means a great deal of time has passed and much has changed since then
Example Húsz éve nem jártam itt, azóta sok víz lefolyt a Dunán.
Kutyaszorítóban van
Literally He is in a dog squeeze
Means to be in a tight spot with no easy way out, a desperate situation
Example A határidő miatt most igazi kutyaszorítóban vagyok.
Borsot tör az orra alá
Literally He grinds pepper under someone's nose
Means to deliberately annoy, irritate, or make trouble for someone
Example A szomszéd folyton borsot tör az orrunk alá.
Szegény, mint a templom egere
Literally Poor as the church's mouse
Means extremely poor, destitute
Example Az egyetem alatt szegény voltam, mint a templom egere.
Ajtóstul ront be a házba
Literally He bursts into the house together with the door
Means to blurt out unpleasant news or a request abruptly, with no preamble or tact
Example Ahelyett, hogy finoman közölte volna, ajtóstul rontott be a házba, és kimondta az igazságot.
Két legyet üt egy csapásra
Literally He hits two flies with one stroke
Means to accomplish two things with a single action, kill two birds with one stone
Example Ha most elintézzük ezt is, két legyet ütünk egy csapásra.
Addig nyújtózkodj, ameddig a takaród ér
Literally Stretch yourself only as far as your blanket reaches
Means live within your means, do not spend or want more than your circumstances allow
Example Addig nyújtózkodj, ameddig a takaród ér, ne vegyél fel újabb hitelt!
Idioms stick when you see them in context, not on a list. Lingo7 lets you read real Hungarian books with sentence-aligned translation and native-narrated audio, so you meet idioms in the wild and tap any line you do not get. Save them and review later. Free to start.
An idiom is a phrase whose meaning is fixed by convention, not built from its words. That is why a word-for-word translation fails: Kutyából nem lesz szalonna comes out as "No bacon comes from a dog", which makes no sense until you know it means a person's basic nature or character cannot be changed.
Learn a few at a time, not a whole list. Pick the ones you keep running into, say them out loud in a real sentence, and you will remember them far longer than by drilling flashcards.
The most reliable way to absorb idioms is to meet them in context, again and again, in things you actually read. Parallel text and audio let you catch an idiom in a real Hungarian sentence and check what it means without breaking your reading. That is what reading in Lingo7 is built for.
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Some of the most common Hungarian idioms are Kutyából nem lesz szalonna, Nem esik messze az alma a fájától, Se füle, se farka, Egy fecske nem csinál nyarat. Each one means something you could not guess from the words alone, which is exactly why learners have to meet them in context. This tool lists 15 of them with their meaning and an example sentence.
In Hungarian, "Kutyából nem lesz szalonna" translates literally as "No bacon comes from a dog", but it actually means a person's basic nature or character cannot be changed. You would use it like this: Hiába próbálod nevelni, kutyából nem lesz szalonna.
Idioms are non-compositional: their meaning is fixed by convention, not built from the individual words. Kutyából nem lesz szalonna translates literally as "No bacon comes from a dog", yet it means a person's basic nature or character cannot be changed. Translate word for word and you get nonsense, so idioms have to be learned as whole units.
The fastest way is to meet them in context and reuse them, not to memorize a list. Learn a handful at a time, notice them while reading and listening, and try them in your own sentences. Reading real Hungarian with tap-to-translate, the way Lingo7 works, turns every page into idiom practice.