# Meg/ és



## Eloy1988

Hi, everyone!

I've just started learning Hungarian and, upon checking the translation for the English conjunction "and", I've come across two words: "meg" and "és". Could you please tell me the difference between them?

Thanks a lot!!


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## Ateesh6800

Hi!

At a beginner's level, *"és"* is the default. It is what we use most of the time.

There is little difference between the two words in themselves:

Én *és *a barátnőm elmentünk vacsorázni... I and my girlfriend went out for dinner.
Én *meg *a barátnőm elmentünk vacsorázni... I and my girlfriend went out for dinner.

For sure, *meg* is a wee bit more colloquial. You rarely find it in written texts: *Obama meg Merkel...* No. 

There are some colloquial expressions where *meg *sounds more natural:

Te *meg* a barátnőid... You and your girlfriends... (always end up in weird situations, etc.).

-- *És *te mit csinálsz itt? (General polite interest)
-- Te *meg *mit csinálsz itt? (Slightly impolite; surprise; speaker is not that happy to see the other person)

So, the basic rule:

*(1)* *"és"* is your general *"and"*; use it wherever you would use *"and"* or *"y"*/*"e"* in Spanish. _This should be your default option._ This is enough until you start speaking with at least some _fluidez_.
*(2)* Then, when you have the time, watch out for how natives use *"meg"* in the sense of *"és"*, and , if you like, learn these specific uses in order to sound more natural. But you should only start using it actively when you are already comfortable with speaking at some level.

All in all, *és *is almost never wrong, and *meg *is only used for variety and an added edge in some colloquial contexts.

_ iBienvenidos a nuestra lengua!_ 

*Attila*


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## Eloy1988

Köszönöm, Attila!


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## Ateesh6800

¡De nada!


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## bibax

Egy *meg* egy az kettő (1 + 1 = 2).


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## Ateesh6800

bibax said:


> Egy *meg* egy az kettő (1 + 1 = 2).



You're right, Bibax, this is one of the specific uses of *"meg"*; exceptionally, we never use "és" in this context.


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