A kár nagy.

A is the Hungarian definite article, meaning the.

So:

• a kár = the damage / the loss

Hungarian has two forms of the definite article:

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

Since kár begins with a consonant, it is a kár, not az kár.

In this sentence, kár means damage, loss, or harm.

So A kár nagy means something like:

• The damage is great
• The loss is big
• The harm is considerable

A useful warning: kár can also mean a pity / shame in other contexts, for example:

• Kár. = It’s a pity.
• Kár, hogy... = It’s a pity that...

But in A kár nagy, it clearly means damage/loss.

In Hungarian, the verb to be is usually omitted in the third person singular and third person plural in the present tense when making simple statements.

So English:

• The damage is great

becomes Hungarian:

• A kár nagy

Literally, it looks like:

• the damage big

This is completely normal in Hungarian.

Compare:

• A ház nagy. = The house is big.
• A baj súlyos. = The problem is serious.

But in other persons, Hungarian does use the verb:

• Nagy vagyok. = I am big/tall
• Nagy vagy. = You are big/tall

Yes, adjectives usually come before a noun when they directly describe it inside a noun phrase:

• nagy kár = great damage / big loss

But in A kár nagy, nagy is not just modifying the noun inside a noun phrase. It is the predicate adjective, equivalent to English is great.

So:

• nagy kár = great damage
• A kár nagy = The damage is great

This is an important distinction in Hungarian word order.

Yes. Nagy a kár is also correct.

Both mean roughly:

• The damage is great

But the word order changes the emphasis.

• A kár nagy = more neutral, straightforward statement
• Nagy a kár = puts more focus on nagy (great / big), something like The damage is great or The damage is really big

Hungarian word order often reflects emphasis and information structure, not just grammar.

It is grammatical and clear, but in many everyday contexts, Nagy a kár may sound a bit more natural because Hungarian often places the focused or important descriptive element first.

Still, A kár nagy is perfectly valid, especially if the topic is already the damage, and you are now saying something about it.

So the difference is mostly about emphasis, not basic meaning.

Kár is pronounced approximately like kaar, with a long á.

A few points:

• k is like English k
• á is a long vowel, roughly like the a in father, but held longer
• r is a rolled or tapped Hungarian r

So kár is roughly kaar.

Also, the accent mark matters:

• kar and kár are different spellings and different pronunciations

Nagy is pronounced roughly like nody or nady, but the final sound is specifically Hungarian gy, which does not exist exactly in standard English.

A few details:

• a here is a short Hungarian a, not the same as á
• gy is a single consonant sound, not g + y

The Hungarian gy is a soft sound somewhat similar to the d in British-style during for some speakers, or a soft dy sound.

So nagy is approximately:

• nody
• nady

—but those are only rough guides.

Not always. Nagy can mean:

• big
• large
• great
• sometimes important or major, depending on context

In A kár nagy, great or serious may sound more natural in English than just big.

So although nagy literally often means big, the best translation depends on context.

Here is the breakdown:

• A = definite article (the)
• kár = noun, the subject (damage / loss)
• nagy = predicate adjective (big / great)

So the structure is:

• subject + predicate adjective

Even though there is no visible verb is, the sentence functions exactly like:

• The damage is great

No, egy kár nagy would not sound right.

First, English usually does not say a damage in this sense, and Hungarian also does not normally use kár that way.

Kár is usually treated as an uncountable or abstract noun in this meaning, so a kár or just kár in the right context is natural, but egy kár is generally not what you want here.

So for this idea, stick with:

• A kár nagy.
• Nagy a kár.

Yes, like other Hungarian nouns, kár can take endings.

For example:

• károk = damages / losses
• kárt = accusative form
• kárban = in damage / in the loss depending on context
• kárral = with damage / causing damage

But in A kár nagy, kár is in the basic dictionary form, with no extra ending.

Yes, absolutely.

For an English speaker, it may feel incomplete because English requires is:

• The damage is great

But in Hungarian, A kár nagy is a fully complete sentence.

This is one of the first important differences English speakers notice in Hungarian: present-tense to be is often left out in simple third-person statements.