A vízóránál elzárom a főcsapot.

It means at the water meter, by the water meter, or near the water meter.

Breakdown:

• víz = water
• óra = clock, meter
• vízóra = water meter
• -nál / -nél = at, by, near

So:

• a vízóránál = at the water meter

Hungarian often expresses ideas like at, in, to, from, etc. with endings instead of separate words.

A is the definite article, meaning the.

So:

• a vízóránál = at the water meter
• a főcsapot = the main valve

Hungarian uses definite articles a lot like English does, though not always in exactly the same places. In this sentence, both things are specific:

• a particular water meter
• a particular main valve

Because it is the direct object of the verb, so it takes the accusative ending -t.

• főcsap = main valve / main tap
• főcsapot = main valve (as the object)

The full object is:

• a főcsapot = the main valve

The extra -o- before -t is just a linking vowel that makes the word easier to pronounce.

So:

• elzárom a főcsapot = I shut off the main valve

The base verb is zár, meaning to close or to shut.

With the prefix el-, it becomes elzár, which often means to shut off, to cut off, or to close completely. In plumbing contexts, elzárni is the normal verb for turning off water, gas, etc.

So:

• zárom = I am closing / I close
• elzárom = I shut off / I turn off

In this sentence, elzárom is the natural choice because you are shutting off the water supply at the main valve.

Because this is the definite conjugation.

Hungarian verbs change depending on whether the object is definite or indefinite.

Here the object is definite:

• a főcsapot = the main valve

So the verb is:

• elzárom = I shut it / I shut off the specific thing

Compare:

• elzárok egy csapot = I shut off a valve
• elzárom a csapot = I shut off the valve

This definite vs. indefinite verb system is one of the big differences from English.

Grammatically, it is present tense.

But Hungarian very often uses the present tense to talk about the future when the meaning is clear from context.

So elzárom a főcsapot can mean:

• I shut off the main valve
• I’m shutting off the main valve
• I will shut off the main valve

The exact English translation depends on the situation.

Hungarian word order is flexible, and it often shows topic and emphasis rather than just grammatical function.

Here, A vízóránál comes first to set the scene:

• At the water meter, I shut off the main valve.

This sounds natural if the location is the starting point of the statement.

A different order is also possible:

• Elzárom a főcsapot a vízóránál.

That is not wrong. It just organizes the information a little differently.

A useful rule:

• what comes first is often the topic or background
• the area right before the verb is often important for focus

Literally, főcsap is main tap:

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

But in this context, the best English translation is usually:

• main valve
• main shut-off valve
• sometimes stopcock

So even though csap often means tap, in plumbing compounds it can refer to a valve that controls flow.

Yes, literally it is:

• víz = water
• óra = clock, watch, meter

So vízóra literally looks like water clock, but its real meaning is water meter.

This is very common in Hungarian: compounds are often very transparent once you know the parts.

Because -nál / -nél means at / by / near, while -hoz / -hez / -höz means to / toward.

So:

• a vízóránál = at the water meter
• a vízórához = to the water meter

In this sentence, the speaker is talking about the place where they shut off the valve, not movement toward it.

Because of vowel harmony.

Hungarian suffixes often have different forms depending on the vowels in the word.

• back-vowel words usually take -nál
• front-vowel words usually take -nél

Since vízóra contains the back vowel á in óra, the form is:

• vízóránál

Vowel harmony is a major pattern in Hungarian, and you will see it everywhere.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

A vízóránál elzárom a főcsapot
≈ aw VEE-zoh-raa-naal EL-zaa-rom aw FOE-cha-pot

A few key sounds:

• í = long ee
• á = long a, somewhat like the vowel in father
• ő = a long front rounded vowel, similar to German ö if you know it
• cs = ch as in church

Also, Hungarian stress normally goes on the first syllable of each word:

• VÍzóránál
• ELzárom
• FŐcsapot