légy szíves

Hungarian

Etymology

From légy (“be”, second-person singular imperative) +‎ szíves (“kind”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈleːcsiːvɛʃ]

Phrase

légy szíves

  1. (informal, singular addressee) please
    Synonyms: (also informal) kérlek, (formal) legyen szíves

Usage notes

The phrase is meant to be directed to a single person; the plural informal form is legyetek szívesek. However, although technically incorrectly, the singular form is also frequently used to address multiple people, due to its brevity.

Legyetek szívesek, menjetek a helyetekre! / Légy szíves, menjetek a helyetekre!
Please [students], go to your seats!

The formal equivalent of the phrase is legyen szíves for singular and legyenek szívesek for plural addressees. In this case, no such merging occurs.

Derived terms

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