Flag of Hungary

Hungary, a landlocked country in Central Europe whose capital is Budapest. Its flag is a plain horizontal tricolour, red over white over green, with no emblem on it. The three colours come from the medieval Hungarian coat of arms and became the national colours during the 1848 revolution against Habsburg rule. Hungary’s constitution gives them a meaning that schoolchildren still learn: red for strength, white for fidelity and green for hope.

The plain stripes carry a famous story. In October 1956, when Hungarians rose against Soviet-backed rule, protesters cut the communist coat of arms out of the centre of the flag and marched under a tricolour with a hole in it. That flag with a hole remains a symbol of the uprising, and the emblem-free flag used today was fixed by law shortly afterwards, in 1957.

Hungarians call their country Magyarország and themselves magyar, which is why you will see the word Magyar next to this flag online. In English, Magyar usually refers to the Hungarian language or the Hungarian people as an ethnic group rather than to citizenship.

What does it mean when someone sends 🇭🇺?

It means Hungary, or something Hungarian: a person, a place, a team or a dish. In a profile or beside a name, it says the person is Hungarian or has Hungarian family, often alongside a second flag for where they live now. Hungarians abroad use it this way a great deal, and so do people in neighbouring countries with Hungarian-speaking communities, such as Romania, Slovakia, Serbia and Ukraine.

In chats and posts, the flag marks travel plans (Budapest, the thermal baths, Lake Balaton), food such as goulash, lángos or paprika, and national holidays: 15 March for the 1848 revolution, 20 August for St Stephen’s Day and 23 October for 1956. During tournaments it stands for the Hungarian team, whether in football, water polo, swimming, fencing or kayaking, where Hungary has a long record of Olympic success. A string of 🇭🇺🇭🇺🇭🇺 is cheering, not information.