A fém hideg.

the

Breakdown of A fém hideg.

• hideg: cold
• fém: metal; metallic material

Questions & Answers about A fém hideg.

What does a mean in A fém hideg?

A is the Hungarian definite article, so it usually means the.

• a fém = the metal
• Hungarian has two forms of the definite article:
  • a before consonant sounds
  • az before vowel sounds

Because fém starts with f, Hungarian uses a.

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Why is there no word for is in this sentence?

In Hungarian, the verb to be is often left out in the present tense, third person singular when the sentence is equational or uses an adjective.

So:

• A fém hideg. = The metal is cold.

There is no separate word for is here, but it is understood.

Compare:

• Én hideg vagyok. = I am cold.
• Te hideg vagy. = You are cold.
• A fém hideg. = The metal is cold.

So the omission happens specifically in forms like he/she/it is or X is Y in the present tense.

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Why does hideg come after fém? Shouldn’t cold come before the noun?