mesélnek

Mesélnek is the third-person plural present indicative form of the Hungarian verb mesélni, which means to tell, narrate, or recount. In English, it corresponds to “they tell” or “they are telling.” The verb is transitive and typically requires an object or a phrase indicating what is being told, such as a story or information about a topic.

Usage notes: Mesélnek is used with plural subjects (ők or a plural noun). It can take a direct object, as in mesélnek egy történetet (“they tell a story”), or introduce a topic with about-phrases, such as mesélnek a múltról (“they tell about the past”). When addressing the listener as a recipient, the dative case is common, for example mesélnek nekik (“they tell them” or “they tell to them”).

Etymology and related forms: The verb mesélni derives from the noun mese, meaning “story” or “tale,” with a general verb-forming suffix. Related present-tense forms include én mesélek (I tell), te mesélsz (you tell), ő mesél (he/she tells), mi mesélünk (we tell), ti meséltek (you all tell), and ők mesélnek (they tell).

In usage across Hungarian discourse, mesélnek appears in everyday speech, journalism, and literature to denote collective narration or recounting by multiple speakers. The term emphasizes sharing information through storytelling, whether recounting events, describing experiences, or elaborating on a topic to an audience.