muszáj

Hungarian

Etymology

From German muss sein (“must be”), from müssen (“to have to”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈmusaːj]
• Hyphenation: mu‧száj
• Rhymes: -aːj

Noun

muszáj (invariable in this sense)

1. (only predicatively, often used with an infinitive) must, have to, be obliged to

   Synonyms: kell, szükséges, köteles, kénytelen

   Muszáj mennem. ― I must go.

Usage notes

Even though its most natural English equivalents are verbs, this Hungarian word is not classified as a verb because it cannot have any inflection characteristic of a verb. Instead, it is used in the past and the future tense just like a noun or an adjective, i.e., supplemented with a form of van, such as muszáj volt (“it was necessary [for one to…]”; “[one] had to…”) and muszáj lesz (“it will be necessary [for one to…]”, “[one] will have to…”), similarly to its synonyms szükséges (“necessary”) (impersonal in this sense), köteles (“[be] obliged [to]”), and kénytelen (“[be] compelled [to]”).

Noun

muszáj (plural muszájok)

1. (literary, only in certain phrases) necessity, constraint, pressure

   Synonyms: kényszer, kényszerűség, szükség, szükségesség, szükségszerűség, nyomás

Usage notes

It is practically only used in this sense in the form muszájból (“out of necessity”) and in the phrase nagy úr a muszáj (“necessity knows no law”, literally “necessity is a powerful master”).

Further reading

• muszáj in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh: A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (’An Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN