Csinos

Csinos is a Hungarian adjective meaning neat, tidy, attractive, or pretty. It is used to describe a person’s appearance or clothing, and less frequently to describe spaces or objects that have a pleasant, well-kept look. The term conveys charm and visual appeal without implying beauty in a formal sense.

In grammar, csinos precedes the noun it describes, and adjectives in Hungarian do not shift for gender but do agree in number and case with the noun. For example, csinos nő (a pretty woman), csinos férfi (a good-looking man), csinos ruha (a pretty dress). The degree forms are csinosabb for the comparative and legcsinosabb for the superlative. Phrases like nagyon csinos are common for emphasis. The word is somewhat informal or affectionate and may sound flirty in certain contexts; in more formal writing, words like szép or vonzó might be preferred.

The etymology of csinos is uncertain, with usage attested in Hungarian for at least a century. It contrasts with broader synonyms such as szép or vonzó by emphasizing a neat, well-dressed, and aesthetically pleasing appearance rather than overall beauty alone. Cultural usage tends to favor describing people’s appearance or outfits more than inanimate objects, where csinos can still appear in a figurative sense.

Examples: egy csinos lány, csinos öltözet, egy csinos kisasszony (an elegant, well-dressed young woman). Overall, csinos is a versatile term in everyday Hungarian, signaling pleasant and stylish presentation without making a strong beauty claim.