Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Hungary and Hungarians :: Reinforcing Stereotypes


Attractive Hungarian man posing in front of paprika paste, quite typically used for Hungarian gulash (December, 2010)

Recently, I have spent Christmas in Hungary with my Hungarian friend and his family. To be more precise, I have spent a week in Miskolc, one day in Sárospatak and one day in Budapest. I know, I have not seen much of Hungary; but enough to construct stereotypes about Hungarians and their culture. My impressions are still fresh. So, here are twenty stereotypes about Hungarians and their culture as a result of my superficial observation.

WARNING: I do not intend to offence anyone. If you do find it offensive, stop reading. In any case, comments are welcome!

20 STEREOTYPES ABOUT HUNGARIANS © Svetlana Makeyeva

1. Hungarians adore Hungarian language! They know it is hard for foreigners to learn, but they appreciate if you try. Try to pronounce Hungarian names correctly.
2. Hungarians are proud to be Hungarians wherever they are: at home or abroad! Not like Germans in a foreign country. Or Russians who pretend to pass as locals when they go abroad. (No offence!)
3. Hungarians will think you are dumb if you ask, “So where is Hungary?”
4. Budapest locals abroad will find it offensive if you ask them, “Where is Budapest?” They will think you are dumb.
5. Non-Budapest locals abroad might find it offensive if you ask them, “Where is Budapest?”
6. Non-Budapest locals in Hungary will not find it very offensive if you ask them, “So where is Budapest and what is so special about it?”

7. The largest majority of Hungarians speak Hungarian only. Kick your ass and learn some Hungarian words and phrases before travelling to Hungary. ALWAYS carry a dictionary (or a Hungarian boyfriend/girlfriend!:) around! The knowledge of English is absolutely not enough to enjoy the culture. A tourist has a better chance to find someone who understands German. I also had luck to meet Hungarians who were very fluent in Russian. But to make things easier for you in Hungary, study Hungarian.
8. How to put it diplomatically?... Hungarians hate French. I do not remember seeing any French restaurant. But I remember French cosmetics in the window shops.
9. Now I cannot be diplomatic. I say as it is. Hungarians hate Communists. Please, leave your U.S.S.R. T-shirts at home.
10. One more thing... Hungarians hate George W. Bush and American imperialism.
11. But Hungarians are nostalgic about the times when they were a great Empire.

12. And yet Hungarians are very hospitable as hosts. They will always invite guests to the table and share food and drink with them.
13. Hungarian hosts will stuff you with food! (Oh, I know what I say!:)
14. Hungarians are excellent in cooking gulash.
15. Hungarians are proud of Hungarian cuisine. (Oops, French word!)

16. Hungarians drink a lot.
17. Hungarians drink really a lot!
18. Hungary produces tastiest sorts of wines and palinkas!
19. Hungarians drink in style. (Maybe, I will write a research paper about drinking ceremonies in Hungary one day.)
20. In general, Hungarian men and women are known to be pretty and sensual.


The list might be extended one day. So far, this is it about a fascinating country and Hungarian culture. Okay, now I have to do my homework. I have to learn how to ask and tell the time in Hungarian by next Tuesday… :)

25 comments:

  1. Yes, I agree: Hungary has the best sorts of palinkas!
    :D

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  2. It is the first for me to read a blog not in Hungarian and it was a lot of fun to read. I think most of the points about Hungarians are not stereotypes but really truth :). Congratulation!

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  3. @Kirscheee: Indeed! Hungarian palinka is my top favourite now. But this turns out to be a problem for me as well. You see, 1) now I do not enjoy Russian, Kyrgyz, German spirits that much, 2) it is hard to find Hungarian palinka in DORTMUND (I do meet Hungarians with... German beer), 3) I am no avid beer-drinker, 4) so how am I supposed to improve the party mood this Friday afternoon?.. With political soup and prunes for dessert? This is terrible!

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  4. @Zsolt M.
    Glad to meet You here! Thank You for commenting! It is an honour to receive a response from a Hungarian blogger! :)))

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  5. Hi, I was searching for stereotypes about us, I'm Hungarian. However a lot of your stereotypes are true, but they are stereotypes of nationalist Hungarian people... Regarding the rest of us: We really don't have any problem with American and French people/culture. The last is funny I've never noticed it myself. Actually in Budapest we have lot of French restaurants and even French interior design shops, clothes shops and a lot of people who learn French and love the culture. :) And most of us really don't have any problem if you ask where is Budapest/Hungary. We understand that it is a small and not so important country (even if nationalists want to believe it is). The USSR thing is true, for most of the people, we have a reason for it, but the same is true as above: only nationalist people hate Russians.
    And a good advice for tourists in Hungary: ask young people in English, we all learn English in schools now.

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  6. No, we don't drink a lot compared to all Slavic nations, the English and all Scandinavia.
    But we do drink with style.

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  7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_alcohol_consumption

    We DO drink a lost. And I'm proud of it.

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  8. We don't drink a lot. We just drink enough :D

    A hungarian man

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  10. "There is absolutely no reason to hate the French." Says who? Hungarians are not dumb and 99% of us know exactly the results of the "treaty" in 1920. Hungary lost 2/3 of her territory, and 1/2 of her total population! This is why we hate the French!!!
    It is called The Treaty of Trianon, and it was a Hungarian tragedy!!!

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  11. Zsolt,please.you were't even born yet.why do you care so much?this blog is't about that...

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    Replies
    1. a ket vilaghabaru kozt 200ezer magyar menekul ki Erdelybol

      a ket vilaghabaru kozt ahol nem volt magyar tobbseg bezart magyar iskolak

      a kommunizmus alatt bezart magyar iskolak

      erdelybe betelepitett romanok a karpatokon tulrol kb. 500ezer

      ezek kovetkezteben felgyorsult asszimilacio

      es ezek kovetkezteben meg kb 300ezer magyar elhagyta erdelyt [ 1945-2010]

      na de nem gond mert ha REND lesz akkor az olahokkal egyutt te is huzol kifele innen es a tobbi szarral egyutt.

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  12. we had as ally the french,italian,german in 1848 war against habsburg-russian dominance.
    there were writed even books by french about this,but 'our' academy not presents this books to the public.

    but after the world wars i admit i dont like them,also the english and russians and i hate the habsburg-funs like hell!

    but i could hate the germans too because when we were fighting with ottomans,mongols they attecked us in same time.

    we dont have friends and in fact we not even need because we as were scythians we never needed.

    the other part of story is that many peoples in ancient times were related to us from Bavaria to central Asia because this place was domanited by scythian peoples.

    today we mostly have friends the poles,bulgars


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  13. It`s quite funny to read these things written by a non-Hungarian. Good observation, well done! Though I am not sure when it comes to drinking. In fact I live in Finland and that says it all. Finns can drink a river to be cheerful or to forget without showing off signs of being intoxicated at any level. Anyway, we, Hungarians, certainly eat a lot of rich foods and my Finnish girlfriend had been stuffed properly by my Mom last time when we were there visiting my family...Gosh, now I want goulash, schnitzel & beer...

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  14. Hi

    I have to add two things to your incorrect views.

    1) Hungarians LOVE America, that is why there are 1000s of "American" references in hungarian culture. They even have songs about America, and when people on TV compare stuff to things they always reference America.

    Hungarians all dream about going to America, in all they are an ass kissing country of America.

    2) Hungarian people are extremely jelous and jaded. They are likely to formulate opinions of you if you show up in a new Mercedes or BMW (opinions that aren't good) and in turn be rude to you.

    In short, hungarians tend to formulate an opinion of what you are like without the need to talk to you and get to know - what you are really like.


    I know 1 + 2 from experience, having lived in Hungary for many years.

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    Replies
    1. he he he... I am forming an opinion of you now and I am a proud Hungarian so technically that is true, but this can also be said of so many races / people. But yes we are well known for our sometimes "sour" look upon the world and sometimes the people in it.

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  16. I like their love for music, for books and for thermal baths. Hungarians can be very kind and helpful (the lesser part of the population) or very rude, closed up and/or aggressive. It is hard to get truly close to them, few people are ready to become friends to the extend of sharing their hopes, anxieties, problems etc, even after a long relation with you. It is a country of truly reserved people.. there are of course exceptions.
    The men tend to be hard on women, saying openly negative stereotypes about "how women are", even if they love and like the persons they speak about. It is socially accepted to do so, it is a "joke". Women are mostly working but also running the houses, the families and paying a lot of attention in dressing and looking fashionable. The support of the grandparents to the upraising of the children is big. Poverty and mental diseases are always present. The streets and public transport as well as the gypsy ghetos on the countryside or outskirts of the towns show many examples of poverty, people with mental conditions and the margination and exclusion in which the gipsies live.
    Jewish are a very common and daily topic for jokes - they do not support our country, the are tricky and get the best working positions etc)... Gypsies are despised - seen as marginal, criminal and dangerous (also by persons with jewish religion). Gypsies look often very marginal and marginated, depressed or poor. On the other hand they are able to offer some of the rare examples of kind people and cheerful celebrations that you can find on Hungary.

    Budapest and indeed all the country is a very interesting part of the world if you want to see pretty buildings built up the XIX and early XX century, some are in a very bad shape, some in a good one.
    The thermal baths are fantastic all through the country, and some of the landscapes and peoples of the country are truly beautiful unique (around Miskols, around Balaton sea, aroung the big plateau, around the border to Serbia etc etc).

    Their fruits and paprika are fantastic and their wines fine. Their cousine is great if we speak about their most traditional dishes.. chicken soup, meat dishes "goulash type". The rest is not so interesting for me.

    Hungary lays in a big part of what once the Romans called "the fertile Panonia". This means they have got a very reach and fertile soil in with they practice "modern" agriculture methods since the XIX century. This means that he lakes have been dried up in big style in order to increase their agriculture production. Few regions of the country look somehow truly rural, it is in my eyes a region with almost no real villages - the people live and behave as they were living in towns, there are very few old peasant traditions.
    Very sadly the hungarians dislike many of their neighboring countries, particularly Serbia, Romania and Slovakia. They are very much victims of a long term nationalist propaganda and continue mourning and remembering the splitting of the country in the beginning of the XX century by the Trianon Treaty. It is believed that the communities speaking Hungarian in Romania, Slovakia and Serbia are discriminated and persecuted.. so they go on seeing themselves as a victims, not understood, not respected, and on the other hand as special and intelligent people able to handle their rare language of which they are very proud of since it is complicated.....

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  17. Yes we all hate the french! We have more prettier women, better cuisine, better agriculture (=tastier fruits and vegetables), and better wine. We are actually jealous why they dominate over us on these fields as they are world known but we aren't. And sure, We think we are unique, however, we might not be more unique than any of our neighbors. We usually acknowledge the czech and the polish cultural achievments, and we think we 3 are the key cultures in the Eastern-Bloc. Anything to the east from Hungary is blank area, we don't really know anything about people there... :)

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  18. You might be forgetting some.
    Hungarian children and teens are super perverted! Even girls...
    I know this...
    And, yes we drink a lot...
    But actually we don't hate France... We hate the hole EU. Okay, this was a joke.
    But, pálinka can only be hungarian. Wa can only call palinka wich is made from hungarian fruits, and hungarians made it. And people who live in Transylvania.
    (Sorry for my grammar.)

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