Hallatszott

Hallatszott is a Hungarian verb form meaning “was heard” or “could be heard,” and it is the past tense, third-person singular form of the intransitive verb hallatszik, which means to be audible or to sound. The root hall- comes from hallani, “to hear.” The suffix -atszik is used to form verbs that describe perceptible phenomena, such as sounds or other sensory impressions.

In use, hallatszott describes a sound or message that reached listeners. It can refer to literal auditory perception, as in sounds, voices, or music, but it can also be used metaphorically to indicate that something became evident or noticeable to people. For example, hallatszott a harangszó from a distant bell, or hallatszott a beszéd végén a közönség tapsa, though the latter would more commonly be expressed with slightly different wording in natural Hungarian.

Grammatically, hallatszott is applied to a singular subject in the past tense. For a plural subject, the form would be hallatszottak. The verb is typically used with a nominative noun for the source of the sound (e.g., a hang, a harang, a zene) and with a location or context indicating where the sound could be perceived.

Hallatszott is a standard, widely understood term in Hungarian prose and journalism, suitable for describing audible events in narrative and descriptive writing. Related forms include hallatszik (present), hallatszani (infinitive), and hallatszottam/hallatszottál (personal past forms).