Mindegy, hol kötünk ki, csak legyen közel egy stég.

Mindegy means it doesn’t matter or it’s all the same.

In this sentence, it sets up the idea that the exact place is not important:

• Mindegy, hol kötünk ki... = It doesn’t matter where we end up / dock...

A very common Hungarian pattern is:

• Mindegy, hogy... = It doesn’t matter that / whether...
• Mindegy, hol... = It doesn’t matter where...
• Mindegy, mikor... = It doesn’t matter when...

So mindegy is often followed by a clause explaining what is unimportant.

This is a very good question, because Hungarian distinguishes between location and direction more clearly than English does.

• hol = where (location, being somewhere)
• hová = where to (direction, motion toward somewhere)

The verb kikötni can mean to dock / to end up somewhere, and in this sentence Hungarian uses hol because the focus is on the resulting place, not the movement toward it.

So:

• hol kötünk ki = where we end up / where we dock

Even though English might feel more directional, Hungarian often uses hol with verbs that describe the final location.

Kötünk ki comes from the verb kikötni.

This verb can mean:

• to dock
• to tie up a boat
• more generally, to end up somewhere

In this sentence, both ideas are close enough to fit the context, especially because stég means pier / dock / jetty.

Form breakdown:

• kötünk = we tie / we dock
• ki = a verbal prefix, part of kikötni

Together:

• kikötünk / kötünk ki = we dock / we end up

Because the verbal prefix ki- often moves away from the verb when another element is in focus or when certain sentence structures are used.

The basic dictionary form is:

• kikötni

But in the sentence:

• hol kötünk ki

the question word hol is in focus, so the prefix goes after the verb.

Compare:

• Kikötünk a partnál. = We dock at the shore.
• Hol kötünk ki? = Where do we dock / end up?

This is a very common Hungarian pattern with prefixed verbs.

Kötünk is:

• 1st person plural
• present tense
• from the verb kötni

So it means we tie / we dock, and with the prefix ki, it becomes we dock / we end up.

In this sentence:

• hol kötünk ki = where we end up / where we dock

Hungarian present tense is often used where English also uses present tense in subordinate clauses.

Yes, csak often means only / just, but here it has a different function.

In this sentence:

• csak legyen közel egy stég

it means something like:

• as long as
• provided that
• the only thing that matters is that...

So the whole structure means:

• It doesn’t matter where we dock, as long as there’s a pier nearby.

This is a very natural use of csak in Hungarian.

Because Hungarian often uses the imperative/subjunctive form to express wishes, requirements, or conditions.

Legyen is the imperative/subjunctive form of lenni (to be).

Here it does not mean a command like be! in a literal sense. Instead, it has a softer meaning:

• let there be
• may there be
• there should be

So:

• csak legyen közel egy stég
  means roughly
• as long as there is / there should be a pier nearby

This kind of form is very common after expressions of desire, necessity, or condition.

Not really in the normal commanding someone sense.

Hungarian imperative forms are also used as subjunctive-like forms. So legyen here expresses a condition or desired situation, not an order directed at a person.

It is closer to:

• let there be a pier nearby
• provided there’s a pier nearby
• as long as there is a pier nearby

So this is more about a requirement than a command.

Because Hungarian often uses an indefinite noun in existential-style sentences like there is / there should be.

• egy stég = a pier
• a stég = the pier

Here the speaker does not mean a specific known pier. They just want some pier nearby, not a particular one.

That is why egy stég is the natural choice.

Stég usually means:

• pier
• jetty
• small dock
• sometimes landing stage

It suggests a structure by the water where a boat can stop or where people can get on or off.

Depending on context, English translations may vary a little, but pier or dock is usually good.

Közel means near or nearby.

In this sentence:

• legyen közel egy stég

it means there should be a pier nearby.

Hungarian can use közel in a fairly flexible way:

• közel van = is near
• legyen közel = be near / be nearby

A slightly more explicit version could also be:

• legyen a közelben egy stég = there should be a pier nearby

But the original sentence is perfectly understandable and natural.

No. Here közel is functioning more like nearby, not like an adjective directly describing the noun.

So:

• legyen közel egy stég

means:

• let there be a pier nearby

not:

• let there be a nearby pier in the same grammatical sense as egy közeli stég

If you wanted to say a nearby pier more adjectivally, you could say:

• egy közeli stég

But the original sentence focuses more on the existence of a pier in the vicinity.

It can suggest both, which is part of why the sentence works well.

• kikötni literally relates to docking / tying up
• figuratively, it can also mean to end up somewhere

Because the sentence also mentions stég (pier), the boating meaning is strongly present. So a natural interpretation is:

• It doesn’t matter where we dock, as long as there’s a pier nearby.

But you may also feel a slight sense of wherever we end up.

Yes. The word order helps show what is in focus.

The main important points are:

1. Mindegy comes first to set the frame: it doesn’t matter
2. hol is focused, so the verbal prefix moves after the verb:
   • hol kötünk ki
3. csak introduces the condition:
   • csak legyen közel egy stég

Hungarian word order is often driven more by focus and information structure than by a fixed subject-verb-object pattern.

You might hear or imagine something like that, but hol kötünk ki is the more natural choice here.

Why? Because kikötni often points to the place where one ends up, and Hungarian commonly treats that as a location question with hol.

So for this sentence, hol kötünk ki is the idiomatic version.

It has two parts:

1. Mindegy, hol kötünk ki

   • It doesn’t matter where we dock / end up

2. csak legyen közel egy stég

   • as long as there’s a pier nearby

So the overall pattern is:

• Mindegy, X, csak Y.
• X doesn’t matter, as long as Y.

This is a very useful Hungarian sentence pattern to learn.

Yes, it sounds quite natural and conversational.

It has several features that are very common in spoken and everyday Hungarian:

• mindegy for it doesn’t matter
• split verbal prefix: kötünk ki
• csak legyen... for as long as... / provided that...

So even though some of the grammar is tricky for learners, the sentence itself sounds normal and idiomatic.