a háta mögött

Hungarian

Etymology

a (“the”) +‎ hát (“back”) +‎ -a (“his/her/its”, possessive suffix) +‎ mögött (“behind”), literally “behind one’s back”

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɒ ˈhaːtɒ ˈmøɡøtː]

Phrase

a háta mögött

1. (idiomatic) behind someone's back (when someone is not present)

   A munkatársam szemben hízeleg a főnöknek, de a háta mögött gúnyt űz belőle. ― My coworker is nice to the boss when he’s here, but makes fun of him when he’s not present.

2. (idiomatic) behind someone's back (without somebody's knowledge, deliberately leaving someone out)

   Kati háta mögött eladták mindenét. ― They’ve sold all Kati’s property behind her back.

Declension

• The noun hát (“back”) takes the appropriate possessive suffix according to the subject of the sentence: hátam (“my back”), hátad (“your back”, singular), háta (“his/her/its back”), hátunk (“our back”), hátatok (“your back”, plural), hátuk (“their back”).
• The postposition mögött remains unchanged.

Related terms

• az isten háta mögött