A dobókocka kicsi.

In Hungarian, the verb van (to be) is usually left out in the present tense, third person when you say something like X is Y.

So:

• A dobókocka kicsi. = The die is small.
• Literally: The die small.

But the verb does appear in other situations, for example:

• A dobókocka kicsi volt. = The die was small.
• A dobókocka kicsi lesz. = The die will be small.
• Kicsi vagyok. = I am small.

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

Hungarian has two forms of the definite article:

• a before a consonant
• az before a vowel

So:

• a dobókocka = the die
• az alma = the apple

It has nothing to do with gender. Hungarian does not have separate words for the based on masculine/feminine/neuter.

Because kicsi is not directly describing the noun inside the noun phrase; it is the predicate adjective: is small.

Compare:

• A dobókocka kicsi. = The die is small.
• A kis dobókocka = the small die

So:

• after the noun = the die is small
• before the noun = the small die

That is a very important difference in Hungarian.

Dobókocka is a compound noun meaning die (the singular of dice).

It is made from:

• dobó = throwing / for throwing
• kocka = cube

So the literal idea is something like throwing-cube.

Hungarian very often builds words this way, combining smaller words into one larger compound.

Because kocka by itself usually means cube (and in some contexts square), not specifically a gaming die.

If you want to be clear that you mean a die used in a game, dobókocka is the normal word.

So:

• kocka = cube
• dobókocka = die

Dobókocka is singular: die.

The plural is:

• dobókockák = dice

So:

• A dobókocka kicsi. = The die is small.
• A dobókockák kicsik. = The dice are small.

Notice that in the plural sentence, kicsi also becomes plural:

• kicsi → kicsik

No. Hungarian has no grammatical gender.

That means nouns are not masculine or feminine, and adjectives do not change for gender either.

So kicsi stays the same regardless of whether you are talking about a person, an object, or an animal.

This is one thing English speakers often find pleasantly simple in Hungarian.

Both relate to small, but they are used differently.

In this sentence, kicsi is correct because it is the predicate:

• A dobókocka kicsi. = The die is small.

Before a noun, the usual form is kis:

• a kis dobókocka = the small die

So a helpful rule is:

• kis + noun
• noun + kicsi

You may sometimes see kicsi before a noun too, but kis is the normal, neutral choice there.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

• a ≈ short aw
• dobókocka ≈ DO-bo-kots-ka
• kicsi ≈ KI-chee

A few useful pronunciation points:

• Stress in Hungarian usually goes on the first syllable of the word.
• ó is a long o sound.
• c is pronounced like ts.
• cs is pronounced like ch.

So in kicsi, the cs gives the ch sound.

Yes. That would mean A die is small or One die is small, with egy meaning a/an or one.

Compare:

• A dobókocka kicsi. = The die is small.
• Egy dobókocka kicsi. = A die is small.

So:

• a / az = the
• egy = a/an or one

Which one sounds best depends on the context.

Because this is the basic, simple form of the sentence.

• dobókocka is the subject, so it appears in the basic dictionary form.
• kicsi is a predicate adjective, also in its basic singular form.

Hungarian uses lots of endings, but not every sentence needs them. In this example, the plain forms are enough:

• dobókocka = die
• kicsi = small

That is why the sentence looks so clean and compact.