azért

Lexicalization of az +‎ -ért.[1]

• IPA^(key): [ˈɒzeːrt]

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: azért

azért (not comparable)

1. (with focus, often followed by “mert”) for that reason, the reason (for/why…) is (that)… (before a clause of cause)

   Synonyms: amiatt, azon oknál fogva

   Azért jöttem, mert meghívtál. ― I have come because you invited me (literally, “The reason why I came is that you invited me.”)

2. (with focus, often followed by “hogy”) so as to…, in order to…, so that…, in order that… (before a clause of purpose)

   Synonym: abból a célból

   Azért suttogtam, hogy ne ébredjenek fel. ― I whispered so that they shouldn't wake up.

3. (without focus, often following “de”) anyway, regardless, all the same, though (at the end of a sentence), nonetheless, notwithstanding, in any case, at any rate (usually after an explicit or implicit concessive clause)

   Synonyms: attól még, attól, ennek ellenére, ezzel együtt, ettől függetlenül, mindamellett, mindemellett, mindazonáltal, mégis, mégiscsak

   Tudom, hogy nincs születésnapja, de azért vihetnél neki virágot.

   I know it's not her birthday but you could (still) bring her a flower all the same.

   Ezt azért nem kellett volna mondanod. ― Nevertheless, you shouldn't have said that. [i.e. “I know you are angry, but…”, an implicit concessive clause)

   Azért köszönöm, hogy megpróbáltad. ― Thanks for trying, though. [i.e. “Even if you didn't succeed, but…”, an implicit concessive clause)

• As shown in the first example, sometimes there is no direct equivalent to azért in English, especially if it expresses the cause, so only the subsequent mert can be translated, or the reason can be emphasized in English.
• If azért is not in the syntactic focus position in the sentence (that is, if it does not directly precede the predicate), its meaning is entirely different, as given above in the third sense. It is also pronounced with a different intonation (starting from low pitch, then slightly raising, as opposed to the other two meanings, expressing cause or purpose, which start from a high pitch and then fall).

azért

1. causal-final singular of az

   Nem vagyok felelős azért az emberért. ― I am not responsible for that man.