A kenu az áramlattal sodródik.

They are the same word: Hungarian the.

The choice depends on the sound that follows:

• a before a consonant sound
• az before a vowel sound

So here:

• a kenu = the canoe
• az áramlattal = with the current

This is a lot like English a/an, except in Hungarian it happens with the definite article.

Here it is the definite article: the.

Hungarian az can also mean that, but in this sentence it is just the article because it stands directly before the noun:

• az áramlattal = with the current

If you wanted with that current, Hungarian would normally say:

• azzal az áramlattal

So the sentence given does not mean with that current.

It is the noun áramlat plus a case ending meaning with.

• áramlat = current
• áramlattal = with the current / with a current

The ending here is the instrumental-comitative case, which usually corresponds to English with and sometimes by means of.

So:

• az áramlattal = with the current

Because the suffix -val/-vel changes when it comes after many final consonants.

The basic suffix is:

• -val / -vel = with

But after a final consonant, the v often assimilates to that consonant, and the consonant is written doubled.

So:

• áramlat + val → áramlattal

What happened?

• the noun ends in t
• the v of -val assimilates to t
• the result is a doubled tt

This is a very common Hungarian pattern:

• kéz + vel → kézzel = with a hand
• vonat + val → vonattal = by train
• híd + val → híddal = with a bridge / by bridge

Sodródik is the 3rd person singular present form, and it is also the dictionary form of this verb.

Some Hungarian verbs belong to the traditional -ik type, where the 3rd person singular ends in -ik. For a learner, the most practical thing is simply to learn:

• sodródik = it drifts / it is drifting

You do not need to treat -ik here as a separate word. It is just part of the verb form.

Not quite.

Sodródik means something like:

• drifts
• is carried along
• is swept along

It suggests that the movement is caused by an outside force, such as water or wind.

By contrast, úszik usually means:

• swims
• floats

So in this sentence, sodródik is a good choice because the canoe is not actively moving under its own control; it is being carried by the current.

Hungarian does not need a separate auxiliary here.

The single word sodródik already means:

• drifts
• is drifting

In many cases, Hungarian simple present can correspond to either English simple present or present progressive, depending on context.

So:

• A kenu az áramlattal sodródik.

can naturally match English:

• The canoe drifts with the current.
• The canoe is drifting with the current.

Hungarian word order is much more flexible than English word order. It is not best described as simply SOV.

A very natural way to understand this sentence is:

• A kenu = topic, what we are talking about
• az áramlattal sodródik = what we say about it

So the sentence has a neutral, natural flow: As for the canoe, it is drifting with the current.

Hungarian word order often depends on topic, focus, and emphasis, not just subject-verb-object order.

Other orders are possible, but they change the emphasis. For example:

• Az áramlattal sodródik a kenu.
  = puts more attention on with the current

In this sentence, using the article is the most natural choice.

• az áramlattal = with the current

It makes the phrase definite and concrete. Without the article, the phrase would sound more general, less specific, or more stylistically compressed, and it would usually not be the first version a learner should use.

So if you want to say with the current in an ordinary, clear way, az áramlattal is the right form to learn.

A few useful points:

• Hungarian stress is normally on the first syllable of each word.
• The accents in á and ó mostly show vowel length/quality, not stress.

So:

• A → short
• á → long
• ó → long

Rough pronunciation:

• A kenu az áramlattal sodródik
• approximately: aw KE-noo azz AA-ram-lat-taal SHOD-roh-deek

A few details:

• áramlattal has a doubled tt, so the t is held a bit longer.
• s in Hungarian is pronounced like English sh, so sodródik begins with a sh sound.
• sz would be the plain English s sound, but there is no sz in this sentence.

So the beginning of sodródik is sho-, not so-.