érdekel

Hungarian

Etymology

ér (to touch) + -dekel (frequentative suffix),[1] originally "to keep touching, poking, or pressing (an enemy)".[2]

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈeːrdɛkɛl]
  • (file)
  • Hyphenation: ér‧de‧kel
  • Rhymes: -ɛl

Verb

érdekel

  1. (transitive) to concern, interest, be interested in something
    Nem érdekel. (az “it” and engem “me” are omitted)I don't care. (literally, “[It] doesn't interest [me].”)
    Nem érdekel az iskola? (téged “you” is omitted)You're not interested in school? (literally, “Doesn't [the] school interest you?”)
    Csak a pénz érdekli őt.All s/he is interested in is money. (literally, “Only [the] money interests him/her.”)

Usage notes

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).[3]

Conjugation

Derived terms

References

  1. érdekel 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.)
  2. érdekel in Tótfalusi, István. Magyar etimológiai nagyszótár (’Hungarian Comprehensive Dictionary of Etymology’). Budapest: Arcanum Adatbázis, 2001; Arcanum DVD Könyvtár →ISBN
  3. 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.

Further reading

  • érdekel in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (‘The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
  • érdekel in Ittzés, Nóra (ed.). A magyar nyelv nagyszótára (‘A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published A–ez as of 2024)
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