Two Hungarian Words for Red

The Hungarian language has two words for red. They are piros and vörös. The two words are not interchangeable.

The word vörös is often used for the colour found in nature, plants and animals. For example, vörös róka is red fox, vörös vér is red blood, vörös haj is red hair and vöröshagyma is red onion.

In contrast, the word piros is often used for man-made objects. For example, piros toll is red pen, piros autó is red car, piros labda is red ball and piros pötty is red dot.

The distinction between piros and vörös does not always correspond to man-made objects and objects of nature. The phrase for red apple is piros alma but for red carpet it is vörös szőnyeg. Roses and tulips are both flowers, but the phrase for red rose is vörös rózsa and for red tulip it is piros tulipán.

Hungarian has two words for red, piros and vörös. The word piros is used more than vörös, but both are common. With objects found in nature it is more common to use vörös, and with man-made objects it is more common to use piros.