csípni

Csípni is a Hungarian verb meaning to bite or to sting. It is used for both bites and stings by animals and insects, and it can also describe taking a bite of food. In addition to its literal senses, csípni appears in common phrases that convey nibbling or a quick, light bite.

Etymology: The verb is native to Hungarian. Its corresponding noun csípés means “bite” or “sting” and is derived from the same root, linking the action to the result or sensation.

Usage: The word covers several related senses. For biting or stinging, you can say a bee or a dog csíp. For eating, the idea of taking a bite is expressed with a construction like csíp egy falatot (“takes a bite of a bite of food”). The form is used with various subjects and tenses just as other Hungarian verbs, and it can appear in both literal and informal contexts.

Conjugation: Csípni is treated as a regular Hungarian verb and follows standard conjugation patterns for present, past, and future tenses. The base form csíp- combines with personal endings to yield the different persons and moods, with csíp used in the third person singular in present tense (e.g., A méh csíp).

See also: harap, csípés, rágni.