Felmerül

Felmerül is a Hungarian verb meaning to arise, to surface, to come up, or to emerge. It is used when something becomes evident or is brought to attention, such as a thought, a question, a problem, or an opportunity. In English it is often rendered as “to arise,” “to come up,” “to surface,” or “to occur.”

Origin and form: Felmerül is formed from the verb merül (to dive) with the prefix fel-, which conveys the idea of moving toward the surface. It is a prefix verb and is conjugated as a standard Hungarian verb (felmerül, felmerült, felmerülnek, etc.).

Usage: It is intransitive and commonly takes an indefinite subject. Typical patterns include “felmerül valami” (something arises) or “felmerül bennem” (it occurs to me). The phrase “felmerül a kérdés” (the question arises) is a common collocation.

Common senses and collocations: The sense can be literal (a surface appearing) or figurative (an idea, issue, or problem appearing). Noun phrases often describe what emerges, such as “felmerülő problémák” (emerging problems) or “felmerült gondolatok” (emerged thoughts).

Examples:

- A gondolat hirtelen felmerült bennem. The thought suddenly occurred to me.

- Felmerült egy új kérdés a megbeszélésen. A new question arose during the meeting.

- A probléma felmerülhet a projekt során. The problem may arise during the project.

See also: related Hungarian prefix verbs describing emergence or appearance, such as felbukkan (to appear suddenly) and kiderül (to become evident).