# mitévő



## michamotor

Hello!

Can you help me with this word, the text is part of a fary tale

De míg az emelőrúdért jártam, úgy elment a két  ökör a szekérrel, hogy se híre, se nyoma nem volt. Most már mitévő  legyek? Ha hazamegyek, megnyúz az édesapám; kaptam magam, bementem  Váradra, beállottam szűrszabóinasnak. A gazdám adott egy rongyos  darócot, azt a nyakamba gabalyítottam, olyan úr voltam, hogy 

I suppose its derived from "mi" - "what" 
and "tévő" is derived from "tesz" -"to make"
but the entire word makes no sense to me


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## Csaba

"Mitévő" only exists in this expression. "Mitévő legyek?" means "what should I do?", you can of course conjugate it etc.


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## michamotor

Thank you, Csaba.

If you conjugate it, it´s just "Mitévő legyünk?" for "What should we do?"
and do you still use it in modern Hungarian?


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## Csaba

I think it would be "mitévőek legyünk" but personally I've never heard that form before (now I googled it and I got a fair number of hits). It is used mostly in fairy tales and other folklore but I wouldn't call it an extinct form.


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## Zsanna

Although you always have to be suspicious about Google findings, I think this time it reflects quite well reality:

*mitévők* - *41.500* (normal form)
mitevők - 1020 (old form, Arany & Gárdonyi quotations)

mitévőek - 100 (strange!)
mitevőek - 0 (in my opinion it is almost as strange as the one above)


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## Encolpius

Hello, exactly, mitévő is used in two idioms / collocations: 

1) Mitévő legyek?
2) Nem tudom / tudod / tudja..., (hogy) mitévő legyek/légy(legyél)/legyen...

I never use the simple Google searcher in cases like that. I searched on the Hungarian Electronic Library and the result is: 

mitévők - 719, mitevők - 20, mitevőek - 0, mitévőek - 0


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## michamotor

Thanks again to all of you,


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## Freca

On the other hand, there is another Hungarian word:
semmittevő

This is NOT the opposite of mitévő, and is not an answer to mitévő.

Another word like this:
mindenevő
This is neither pro nor contra to neither mitévő nor to semmittevő.


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## Freca

- Which are the most hesitating animals?
- Mitévő legyek.


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## Zsanna

Freca said:


> On the other hand, there is another Hungarian word:
> semmittevő


 
How would you translate that, please?




Freca said:


> Another word like this:
> mindenevő
> This is neither pro nor contra to neither mitévő nor to semmittevő.


 
I beg your pardon? (Idem about translation...)


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## ib343

semittevő -> do-little

mindenevő -> omnivorous (of an animal eats both meat and vegatables) or more scientific: polyphagous (same meaning)


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## galaxy man

michamotor said:


> do you still use it in modern Hungarian?



Although the use of these expressions may have become somewhat less frequent, by no means did they become archaic. If a non-native Hungarian speaker says _Nem tudom mitévő legyek?_ this will come across as a sign of good knowledge of the language and generate only positive emotions in the listener. (Make sure you d-r-a-a-a-g out the long vowels *é* and *ő*


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## Satine15

"tévő" is the gerund of "tenni"


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## gorilla

Satine15 said:


> "tévő" is the gerund of "tenni"



it is the "Present participle" (folyamatos melléknévi igenév)


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## Satine15

gorilla said:


> it is the "Present participle" (folyamatos melléknévi igenév)



Yes, you're right. Thank you!


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