fordítani

Fordítani is a Hungarian verb whose primary meaning is "to translate"—to render text or speech from one language into another. It can also refer to turning or rotating something in a physical sense, though this usage is less common in everyday language. The word forms a regular verb of the -ítani conjugation class.

In usage, the infinitive is fordítani. The present indicative forms are: én fordítok, te fordítasz, ő fordít, mi fordítunk, ti fordítotok, ők fordítanak. Past tenses are formed with a past suffix: én fordítottam, te fordítottál, ő fordított, mi fordítottunk, ti fordítottatok, ők fordítottak. Future meaning is typically expressed with compound forms such as "fogok fordítani" (I will translate) or "majd fordítani fogok" depending on context.

Common constructions include lefordítani, which emphasizes translating into another language or completing the translation: "lefordította angolra" (he translated it into English). Other related phrases are "fordítás" (translation, the act of translating) and "fordító" (translator; in computing, "fordító" also means a compiler).

In addition to linguistic use, fordítani appears in technical contexts where the sense is to turn or rotate components, though this is typically clear from the broader context rather than from the verb alone.

Etymology traces the root related to turning or bending, foundational to the broader sense of transforming information or objects. In modern Hungarian, the term is widely used in language services, publishing, education, and computing, with specialized forms such as "fordító program" for compiler software.