A főcsap zárva van.

Főcsap is a compound noun meaning the main tap, main valve, or main shut-off valve.

• fő = main, chief
• csap = tap, valve, faucet

In plumbing contexts, English often says main valve or stopcock, while Hungarian commonly uses főcsap.

Because Hungarian usually writes compound nouns as one word.

So:

• fő
  • csap → főcsap

This is very common in Hungarian. English often uses separate words where Hungarian prefers a compound.

A is the definite article, meaning the.

Hungarian has two forms of the definite article:

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

Since főcsap begins with f, the sentence uses a:

• A főcsap = the main valve

Zárva van is the most natural way to say that something is closed / is in a closed state.

It comes from the verb zár = to close, to shut.

This structure is very common in Hungarian:

• Az ajtó zárva van. = The door is closed.
• Az üzlet zárva van. = The shop is closed.

You may also see zárt, which is an adjective meaning closed or sometimes closed-off/locked depending on context, but for ordinary statements about the current state of a door, shop, tap, valve, etc., zárva van is usually the more idiomatic choice.

The -va/-ve ending forms a participle-like state expression from a verb.

Here:

• zár = to close
• zárva = closed, having been closed, in a closed state

So zárva van literally means something like is in a closed state.

Other common examples:

• nyitva van = is open
• kapcsolva van = is switched on / connected
• bezárva van = is locked/shut in

This is a very useful pattern in Hungarian.

That is a very common question.

In Hungarian, the verb van is often omitted in the 3rd person singular present with noun or adjective predicates:

• A ház nagy. = The house is big.
• A csap új. = The tap is new.

But with forms like zárva, Hungarian very often keeps van:

• A főcsap zárva van.

You may sometimes hear or see shorter versions, especially in signs or concise speech:

• Zárva. = Closed.
• Az üzlet zárva. = The shop is closed.

Still, for a full neutral sentence, zárva van is the safest pattern to learn.

Because főcsap is the subject of the sentence, and the subject in Hungarian is normally in the nominative, which usually has no ending.

So:

• A főcsap = the main valve (subject)

If it were the direct object, it would usually take -t:

• A szerelő elzárja a főcsapot. = The plumber closes the main valve.

Notice how főcsap becomes főcsapot as an object.

Yes, you could say Zárva van a főcsap.

Both are grammatical, but the emphasis changes.

• A főcsap zárva van. = neutral; the topic is the main valve
• Zárva van a főcsap. = puts more focus on being closed

Hungarian word order is often about topic and focus, not just grammar. So different orders can sound more natural in different situations.

A rough pronunciation guide:

• A = a short vowel somewhat like the o in British hot
• fő = a long rounded vowel; similar to French eu in deux, but longer
• cs = ch as in church
• zárva = roughly ZAAR-vaw
• van = roughly vawn

A rough full pronunciation:

aw FUU-chop ZAAR-vaw vawn

A few important points:

• Hungarian stress is normally on the first syllable of each word.
• Vowel length matters: ő and á are long vowels.

Yes. This sentence shows a very common Hungarian pattern:

noun + state form + van

For example:

• Az ajtó zárva van. = The door is closed.
• Az ablak nyitva van. = The window is open.
• A bolt zárva van. = The shop is closed.

So once you learn zárva van and nyitva van, you can use them with many everyday nouns.

Negative:

• A főcsap nincs zárva. = The main valve is not closed.

Past:

• A főcsap zárva volt. = The main valve was closed.

You can also make it future-like with context or another verb, but for basic learning, van / nincs / volt are the key forms to know.