A vízvezeték-szerelő ma jön.

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

Hungarian has two forms:

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

Since vízvezeték-szerelő begins with v, Hungarian uses a:

• a vízvezeték-szerelő = the plumber

Hungarian very often builds long compound nouns.

This word is made up of:

• víz = water
• vezeték = pipe, line, conduit
• szerelő = fitter, repairman, installer

So the literal idea is something like water-pipe repairman/fitter, which corresponds to plumber.

This is very normal in Hungarian: instead of using several separate words, Hungarian often combines them into one compound.

The hyphen helps mark a long compound word.

In Hungarian spelling, long compounds with multiple elements are often hyphenated. So this is not optional decoration; it follows spelling rules.

Without going too deeply into orthography rules, the important learner point is:

• vízvezeték-szerelő is still one compound noun
• the hyphen just makes its structure clearer

A rough pronunciation guide:

• vízvezeték-szerelő ≈ VEEZ-veh-zeh-tayk SEH-reh-loe
• jön ≈ yurn or yœn (the vowel is not exactly an English sound)

A few helpful points:

• j in Hungarian sounds like English y
• é is a long vowel, roughly like ay in say, but cleaner and shorter
• ö / ő are front rounded vowels, similar to German ö
• í and ő are long vowels

Hungarian stress normally falls on the first syllable of the word:

• VÍZvezeték-szerelő
• JÖN

In Hungarian, accent marks are very important. They are not optional.

They usually show either:

• a different vowel quality, or
• a longer vowel length, or both

For example:

• i vs í
• e vs é
• ö vs ő

So szerelő and a misspelled form like szerelo are not the same. You should treat accented vowels as real parts of the spelling and pronunciation.

Because Hungarian usually leaves subject pronouns out when they are not needed.

The verb form jön already tells you the subject is:

• third person
• singular

So jön can mean:

• he comes
• she comes
• it comes

In this sentence, the noun phrase a vízvezeték-szerelő already gives the subject, so adding a pronoun would be unnecessary.

Jön is the 3rd person singular present tense form of the verb jönni (to come).

So:

• jönni = to come
• jön = he/she/it comes, is coming

Here it agrees with a vízvezeték-szerelő because that noun is singular.

Grammatically, jön is present tense.

But in actual meaning, this sentence is very naturally understood as referring to a near future event:

• The plumber is coming today

That is because ma (today) gives the time reference, and the situation is usually about something expected or scheduled.

Hungarian often uses the present tense where English would use:

• is coming
• or sometimes will come

Because Hungarian does not match English tense usage one-for-one.

English often distinguishes:

• comes
• is coming
• will come

Hungarian often lets context do more of that work. The form jön can cover several English possibilities depending on the situation.

So in different contexts, jön might correspond to:

• comes
• is coming
• will come

In this sentence, the most natural English translation is usually The plumber is coming today.

Hungarian word order is flexible, and word position often shows emphasis or information structure, not just grammar.

In A vízvezeték-szerelő ma jön:

• A vízvezeték-szerelő is the topic: what we are talking about
• ma comes before the verb and highlights the time: today

So the sentence can feel a bit like:

• As for the plumber, he’s coming today
• or It’s today that the plumber is coming

A different order is also possible:

• Ma jön a vízvezeték-szerelő.

That version usually puts even stronger focus on ma.

It is in the nominative singular.

That means it is the subject of the sentence:

• the plumber is the one doing the action of coming

Hungarian subjects in the nominative often have no special ending, so the base noun form appears unchanged here.

Because the Hungarian definite vs. indefinite conjugation matters mainly with transitive verbs that take a direct object.

But jön (comes) is intransitive:

• it does not take a direct object here

So there is no special definite-object verb ending to use in this sentence. The verb is simply jön.

Yes, but the meaning becomes less specific.

• A vízvezeték-szerelő = the plumber
• A szerelő = the repairman / fitter / mechanic / technician

So szerelő is a broader word. In the right context, people may understand it as the plumber, but by itself it is not as precise as vízvezeték-szerelő.