# mélyhűtó / fagyasztó



## leticiapuravida

Sziasztok 

I am currently reviewing a translation into English from Hungarian. I am not fluent in Hungarian, but I can get by, and the main purpose of my review is to make sure the English is colloquial and doesn't have any odd phrases resulting from the translation. 

In the text, there are translations of the words _mélyhűtó_ and _fagyasztó_ -- _mélyhűtó_ is translated as "deep-freeze" and _fagyasztó_ is translated as "freezer".  I don't recognize two different terms here in English (at least not American English). For me, the thing in your kitchen that keeps food frozen is called a "freezer", and there is no thing I would refer to as "a deep-freeze" (there is a verb, to deep-freeze, but not a noun). So I'm not really clear on what distinction is being made.

So do _mélyhűtó_ and _fagyasztó_ really mean two different things? Can someone explain a bit further?


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## Zsanna

Hello,

I don't think there is a difference between _mélyhűtő_ and _fagyasztó_ even in Hungarian. (I would also think they are both _freezer_ in English.)
But it may be useful to see some sentences these words are in because there are several possibilities I can imagine.

Although they both can be just a part of a "normal" fridge, the one that is colder than the rest and where you put e.g. fresh meat, deep frozen vegetables, etc.,
but I could imagine that e.g. _mélyhűtő_ is used instead _hűtőszekrény_ (fridge). (_Fagyasztó_ surely couldn't be mixed up with a fridge.)
Fagyasztó could also be used for a separate, independent "object" for deep frozen meat, veg, etc. but it is much bigger (than just a compartment inside a fridge), for more stuff (half a pig could go into it, together with other, smaller stuff)*.
Although when both are this sort and size, you would usually call them fagyasztó/mélyhűtő _láda_ or _szekrény_. (But I can imagine that people use the "full terms" less and less now because it is often unimportant whether it is part of a fridge or a separate "instrument" that is used for storing the food in question. However, when you want to buy one, you'll find the difference - at least between ...láda and ... szekrény. See here after "Fagyasztó típusai".)

*Mrs. Koslowsky (?) kept her husband in one of them in Desperate Housewives. (It wasn't "pig" that reminded me of that, of course!)


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## franknagy

*Mély*hűtő= *deep* freezer.
Fagyasztó =froster.

I cannot write yo an exact temperature below 0 °C.
A mélyhűtő shall have much lower temperatura than a fagyasztó.
I expect from a mélyhűtő t<-15 °C and from a fagyasztó t~-5 °.C


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## leticiapuravida

Thank you both for your explanations. I still need a bit more clarification, to be certain.  Let me ask the question this way: If you have just the one thing in your kitchen, which has the regular cold part (for things you keep cold for daily use) and the very cold part (where you put ice cream or meat you will use later on, etc), and I tell you, "Put this in the freezer" -- what word would you use for freezer? _Mélyhűtó_ or _fagyasztó_?

Thanks for the link, @Zsanna -- that's helpful. In the US, we'd call a _fagyasztóláda_ a "chest freezer", and a _fagyasztószekrény _would be an "upright freezer_"._

@franknagy -- Thank you for the details. One thing, however: there is no such thing in English as a "froster".  If both things keep food below 0 °C, then I believe in English we would call both of them a "freezer".


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## SReynolds

The compartment of a refrigerator which is used to store things at temperatures below freezing is a _mélyhűtő_. The separate appliance is a _fagyasztó(láda)_. Both should be translated into English as _freezer_. This is a distinction I've always made.

Note that this is in sharp contrast to franknagy's opinion, who thinks that _mélyhűtő_ is the appliance with the lower operating temperature. To me, a _mélyhűtő_ isn't as cold as a _fagyasztó_ since the same coolant loop is responsible for cooling both compartments of a refrigerator.

The monolingual dictionary I consulted considers the two words syonyms, however:


> *fagyasztó* _fn_:
> TECH. [a hűtővel szembeállítva; nulla fok alatti hőmérsékletű zárt térre]
> GEN. *mélyhűtő*;
> SPEC. [felül nyíló, egy terű, nagyobb] fagyasztóláda;
> SPEC. BIZ. láda;
> SPEC. kissé PONGY. hűtőláda;
> SPEC. [oldalt nyíló, kisebb, ált. fiókos, rekeszes] fagyasztószekrény;
> SPEC. *[hűtőszekrény részeként] fagyasztó rekesz;*
> SPEC. *mélyhűtő rekesz* (beteszi a fagyasztóba)



On a different note, an _icebox_ is called a _jégszekrény_ in Hungarian and similarly to how many older English speakers still use it when talking about a fridge, many Hungarians also seem to use _jégszekrény_ when they refer to a modern refrigerator.

As for your question, what I would say is:

_Rakd ezt be a hűtőbe._ (_= Put this in the fridge (the non-freezer compartment)._)
_Rakd ezt be a mélyhűtőbe._ (_= Put this in the freezer (compartment)._)
_Rakd ezt be a fagyasztóba._ (_= Put this in the freezer (appliance)._)


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## Encolpius

Although my dictionary doesn't make any difference either,  I felt fagyasztó a little bit more informal...we haven't ever said mélyhűtő at home, but regions might vary


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## leticiapuravida

Thank you again, all, for the clarifications -- and your especially detailed/thorough one, @SReynolds! With this I feel confident that for the purpose of the text I am reviewing, we shouldn't be making a distinction in English. I think it's enough for students to know that if you want to say either _mélyhűtó_ or _fagyasztó _in English, it's safe to say "freezer" in both cases.

Thanks!


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## francisgranada

For me spontaneously _mélyhűtő _is something "bigger", a separate appliance, not part of a normal refrigerator commonly used at home. We call _fagyasztó _both the one built in the refrigerator and also the separate "small" one (often placed on top of the refrigerator).


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## leticiapuravida

Aha! What you posted, @francisgranada, makes me realize something I may have been leaving out in my understanding of the objects we are talking about.



francisgranada said:


> We call _fagyasztó _both the one built in the refrigerator and also the separate "small" one (often placed on top of the refrigerator).



When you say "the one built in the refrigerator", do you mean like this: http://trstil.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/danby_deluxe_compact_refrigerator_vngim.jpg
?

In that situation, in the US we'd still call that a freezer, or perhaps if we wanted to be very specific, a "freezer compartment".  But maybe this is the distinction for some people -- maybe what @franknagy considers a "froster" ?

And, @francisgranada, when you say the "separate 'small' one (often placed on top of the refrigerator", do you mean two separate appliances, or do you mean one of these: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/images/products/energisk-refrigerator-freezer__0122812_PE279037_S4.JPG


And just to fill out our visual dictionary of freezers  here are two more images:

Chest freezer: http://www.staticwhich.co.uk/media/images/in-content/a-large-chest-freezer-328578.jpg
Upright freezer (US) / Tall freezer (UK): http://www.freezerhub.com/images/kenmore-upright-freezer.jpg


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## francisgranada

leticiapuravida said:


> ... When you say "the one built in the refrigerator", do you mean like this: http://trstil.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/danby_deluxe_compact_refrigerator_vngim.jpg
> ?


 Yes.



> ... when you say the "separate 'small' one (often placed on top of the refrigerator", do you mean two separate appliances, or do you mean one of these ...


 Both. E.g. we have a separate appliance at home (put on top of the refrigerator, of course ). As they have normalized dimensions, there is almost no visual difference between the two solutions (two separate appliances and the one in your link).

All in all, for me _mélyhűtő _is a bigger appliance designed rather for industrial purposes, supermarkets, etc ... than for usage at home in the kitchen.  But I can imagine also a _kis (=little) mélyhűtő_ _ _(the word itself doesn't tell us anything about the dimensions).


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## leticiapuravida

Aha. OK, this is helpful.


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## francisgranada

Also, _mélyhűtő_ is rather a technical term (literally "deep-cooler") while _fagyasztó _is linguistically a participle from the commonly used verb _fagyasztani  _("to freeze"). This might explain both the "impression" of mine and the "feeling" of Encolpius (post #6).


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## Zsanna

Maybe, francis, but I think we have proved to what extent there is a confusion about usage and meaning. This is exactly why translators have a difficult job: they have to find the "right" term inspite of all the mixed up usage and sometimes mistaken impressions (of native speakers). (And this is partly why it is a profession and not just a "job anybody can do with sufficient knowledge of languages".)
So I maintain that the two are the same (even if they can appear in different forms).


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## leticiapuravida

Zsanna said:


> And this is partly why it is a profession and not just a "job anybody can do with sufficient knowledge of languages".


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