Miss out

L

Lazar_Bgd

Member
Serbian - Serbia
Dear all,

This is my first question on this forum about vocabulary. This is normally not rocket science with all the online dictionaries, however I’ve been struggling with how to express appropriately ’to miss out on something’, like when you should take part in something but for some reason you don’t. In German the word is: verpassen. In my language we also have just one word for it but in Hungarian there seems to be a lot and I never know which one is good in which context. The options the dictionary gives are mainly these: lemarad valamiről, elszalaszt, elmulaszt, lekésik valamit.

However, in a recent online article I could see two other verbs: kihagy and kimarad, like in:

’Neked kimarad pár hónap, valaki más meg elveszti benne az életét’ (I guess this could mean ’you lose a few months’ but maybe also ’you miss a few months’...?)
Or:
’Nagyon sokat hagytunk ki’, in the sense of ’we have missed out on a lot of things’ (while the bars were closed)

So, what would be a common way of saying this ’miss out on something’, like in:
’If you haven't tried this recipe, you're really missing out’
Or how would you say: ’Don’t miss out on it!’ (In Spanish: ’No te lo pierdas’.)?

Thank you!
 
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    • Hi Lazar,

    I'm not sure if all the uses of the English phrase translate well into idiomatic Hungarian, but I would say the most common options are "lemarad valamiről" and "kihagy valamit".

    Lazar_Bgd said:
    However, in a recent online article I could see two other verbs: kihagy and kimarad, like in:

    ’Neked kimarad pár hónap, valaki más meg elveszti benne az életét’
    Click to expand...
    I just saw the same video yesterday. :)
    "Kimarad" is more like "to be left out" or "to be not included":

    Ebből a könyvből kimaradt húsz oldal.
    A videóból kimaradtak a legviccesebb részek.
    A legszegényebb gyerekek kimaradtak a digitális oktatásból.

    Lazar_Bgd said:
    ’Neked kimarad pár hónap, valaki más meg elveszti benne az életét’ (I guess this could mean ’you lose a few months’ but maybe also ’you miss a few months’...?)
    Click to expand...
    :thumbsup: Yes, I think it can mean both.

    Lazar_Bgd said:
    ’If you haven't tried this recipe, you're really missing out’
    Click to expand...
    Maybe: Nem tudod, mit hagysz ki, ha nem próbálod ki ezt a receptet!

    Lazar_Bgd said:
    ’Don’t miss out on it!’
    Click to expand...
    Ezt ne hagyd ki! (...or to make it more emphatic: Ezt ki ne hagyd!)
    Erről ne maradj le!

    I think both phrases are quite common.
     
    Dear Andras,

    Great, thanks a lot! And just one last question about ‘kihagy’: the above examples are with the noun as an object, but what about ’kihagy’ + verb? I guess the verb should be in infinitive...

    For example, (in this case the English equivalent would be ’to fail to do something’):

    I failed to take the right turn and now I have to drive through half the city to get back.

    My try: Kihagytam befordulni ahol kellett volna, és most keresztül kell hajtanom a város felén, hogy visszatérjek.

    Or would you rather say: ’Elmulasztottam...’ (that’s what the dictionary offers as translation for ’fail’)?
     
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    Lazar_Bgd said:
    but what about ’kihagy’ + verb? I guess the verb should be in infinitive...
    Click to expand...
    Unfortunately the construction 'kihagy' + verb is not possible.

    The English phrase 'to fail to do something' doesn't translate easily into Hungarian.:(

    Lazar_Bgd said:
    My try: Kihagytam befordulni ahol kellett volna,
    Click to expand...
    Maybe:
    Nem fordultam be, ahol kellett volna...
    Elfelejtettem befordulni, ahol kellett volna...
    Elmulasztottam a jobbra kanyarodást...

    I'm trying to come up with something better but I'm failing miserably...:)
     
    When "fail to do sg" surely works as a synonim, you can simply use a negative sentence:
    Lazar_Bgd said:
    I failed to take the right turn and now I have to drive through half the city to get back.
    Click to expand...
    Nem fordultam jobbra (ahol kellett volna), így most átvezethetek a fél városon, mire visszaérek (oda v. az elgazáshoz).

    There is another useful colloquial verb you can use for "miss out (on sg)": elszalaszt (vmit). It usually refers to opportunities (that "run away without you being able to catch them in time").
    E.g. Ezt az alkalmat elszalasztottam, de remélem, legközelebb sikerül időben észrevennem, ha lesz ilyen. -> I missed (out on) this opportunity but I hope I'll recognise it in time if/when it props up next.
     
    Zsanna said:
    Nem fordultam jobbra (ahol kellett volna), így most átvezethetek a fél városon, mire visszaérek (oda v. az elgazáshoz).
    Click to expand...
    Dear Zsanna,

    Thank you! I just have a follow-up question about your translation of my example. I fail to understand why you use the -hat/-het structure (which, as far as I know, expresses permission or a possibility) for ’to have to do something’ which is an external obligation... Could it be that I have missed out on one of its meanings? (Lehet, hogy kihagytam az egyik jelentését?)

    And also, what does ’elgazás’ mean?
     
    Thank you, AndrasBP, for the correction of the typo.

    As to the use of -hat/-het: it may also express an emotional 'plus' (= the speaker's annoyance, dispair and/or his complainig mood) one may wish to convey (at least in Hungarian) in such a case, as opposed to describing the simple facts.
    In this case, the use of -hat/-het 'replaces' its principal use for expressing may or can.
    As the situation you described is likely to imply the speaker's annoyance, I used this form for the translation into Hungarian, even though it does not turn out from the words in your original sentence itself.

    Another example expressing the speaker's (maybe more) obvious annoyance or moaning ;):
    Három hónapot vártam a vízvezetékszerelőre mire kijött, de nem csinálta meg rendesen a munkát, és most hívhatom megint!
    -> I waited for the plumber for 3 months before he came, but - as he didn't do the job properly - I have to call him again!
     
    Lazar_Bgd said:
    .... I fail to understand why you use the -hat/-het structure (which, as far as I know, expresses permission or a possibility) for ’to have to do something’ which is an external obligation... Could it be that I have missed out on one of its meanings? (Lehet, hogy kihagytam az egyik jelentését?)
    Click to expand...
    In my opinion this -hat/-het it is not a Hungarian peculiarity. In Zsanna's example a verb corresponding to -hat/-het would be used in all the languages I know a bit (including the Slavic ones).
     
    Francis, it is possible but I am not sure whether can could really be used in English (or in French) in this sense. (Unless expressing dispair with the right intonation...?)
     
    Zsanna said:
    Francis, it is possible but I am not sure whether can could really be used in English (or in French) in this sense. (Unless expressing dispair with the right intonation...?)
    Click to expand...
    When I wrote "a verb corresponding to -hat/-het", I didn't mean necessarily the verb can (maybe may or have to or something else would be better, depending on the context). The same in Romance languages ...

    (Practically, I wanted to say that this -hat/-het is a different theme/topic, independent on the original question about "miss out" .....)
     
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