állítólag

Reportedly

Level 4

Use állítólag when you want to say 'supposedly,' 'allegedly,' or 'I heard that...' It signals that you are reporting information from an outside source and aren't personally vouching for its truth.

How It Works

In Hungarian, állítólag is the primary way to express hearsay. It functions as a modal particle (módosítószó) that qualifies the entire sentence.

1. Function and Nuance:
It is used when the source of information is vague (e.g., 'people say') or when you want to remain neutral about a claim. While it can be used in serious journalism to mean 'allegedly,' it is also extremely common in daily gossip to mean 'supposedly.'

2. Word Order:
It is quite flexible but usually appears in two places:

  • Sentence-initial: Frames the whole sentence as hearsay (e.g., Állítólag esni fog.).
  • Pre-verbal/Focus: Placed right before the verb or the focus position to emphasize that specific part of the claim is what was reported.

3. Adverb vs. Adjective:
Be careful not to confuse the adverb állítólag with the adjective állítólagos. The adverb modifies the action or the whole thought, while the adjective modifies a specific noun (e.g., az állítólagos tolvaj - the alleged thief).

Examples (5)

  1. Állítólag holnap esni fog az eső.

    Reportedly, it will rain tomorrow.

    Word by Word: Supposedly tomorrow rain will-fall the rain.

    Here, 'állítólag' is at the start, framing the entire weather forecast as something the speaker heard elsewhere.

  2. Péter állítólag már eladta a házát.

    Péter has supposedly already sold his house.

    Word by Word: Péter supposedly already sold-it the house-his.

    The adverb is placed before the verb to qualify the action of selling the house as hearsay.

  3. Állítólag nagyon drága az az étterem.

    Supposedly, that restaurant is very expensive.

    Word by Word: Supposedly very expensive that the restaurant.

    Used here to report a general reputation or rumor about a place.

  4. Azt mondják, hogy állítólag új törvényt hoznak.

    They say that they are allegedly passing a new law.

    Word by Word: That-it they-say, that supposedly new law-acc they-bring.

    Though slightly redundant, 'állítólag' is often used alongside 'azt mondják' (they say) for extra emphasis on the uncertainty.

  5. Állítólag tíz emberből egy IKEA-ágyban fogan.

    Supposedly, one in ten people is conceived in an IKEA bed.

    Word by Word: Supposedly ten person-out-of one IKEA-bed-in conceives.

    Used for citing a widely known but perhaps unverified statistic.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the adverb 'állítólag' to modify a noun directly.

    Az állítólag tolvaj elmenekült.
    Az állítólagos tolvaj elmenekült.

    If you are describing a noun (the 'alleged' thief), you must use the adjective form 'állítólagos'. Use 'állítólag' only to modify verbs or whole sentences.

  • Placing 'állítólag' between a verbal prefix and the verb in a neutral sentence.

    Meg állítólag érkezett a csomag.
    Állítólag megérkezett a csomag.

    In a neutral sentence, the verbal prefix stays attached to the verb. 'Állítólag' should come before the whole unit.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

állítólagLevel 4Reportedly

Learn This First

To use 'állítólag' (reportedly), you need to understand where to place modal particles within the Hungarian sentence structure. Since it is used to convey information based on hearsay or reports rather than direct experience, it is often used in contexts similar to reported speech.

Words in This Pattern

állítólag