Questions & Answers about A zsák tele van.
Why is it a zsák and not az zsák?
A is the Hungarian definite article, equivalent to the.
Hungarian has two forms:
- a before a consonant sound
- az before a vowel sound
zsák begins with zs, which is a consonant sound, so it must be a zsák.
How do you pronounce zsák?
zs is pronounced like the s in measure or the g in genre: /ʒ/.
So zsák is approximately:
- /ʒaːk/
- roughly zhaak in English-style spelling
Also:
- á is a long vowel
- the accent mark means the vowel is held longer than a
What does tele mean here?
Tele means full.
In this sentence, tele van works together as the idea is full.
So you can think of:
- tele = full
- van = is
But in practice, learners should memorize tele van as a common unit meaning to be full.
Why is van included? I thought Hungarian often leaves out is in the present tense.