Ez a játék döntetlen.

Word by word:

• ez = this
• a = the
• játék = game
• döntetlen = draw, tied, drawn

So the structure is basically:

• ez a játék = this game
• döntetlen = the description of that game

A very literal breakdown would look like:

• this the game draw/tied

Natural English is something like:

• This game is a draw
• This game is tied

Because in Hungarian, when this or that directly modifies a noun, you normally use:

• ez + article + noun = this + noun
• az + article + noun = that + noun

So:

• ez a játék = this game
• az a játék = that game

You generally cannot say ez játék in standard Hungarian when you mean this game.

This is a very common Hungarian pattern, and English speakers often notice it right away because English does not need an article there.

The form of the article depends on the sound that follows it.

• a is used before a consonant
• az is used before a vowel

Since játék starts with j, which is a consonant, you get:

• a játék

Compare:

• ez a játék = this game
• ez az eredmény = this result

because eredmény starts with a vowel.

This is one of the most important features here.

In Hungarian, the present-tense form of to be is usually omitted in the third person when it links the subject to a noun or adjective.

So English:

• This game is tied

becomes Hungarian:

• Ez a játék döntetlen

with no separate word for is.

But the verb appears in other situations, for example:

• Ez a játék döntetlen volt. = This game was tied.
• Ez a játék döntetlen lesz. = This game will be tied / end in a draw.

So the missing is is not a mistake. It is the normal Hungarian pattern.

It can behave a bit like both, depending on context.

In this sentence, döntetlen is most naturally understood as a predicate word meaning:

• tied
• drawn
• a draw

So in practice, you can think of it as an adjective-like predicate here:

• The game is tied

But semantically it is also related to the noun a draw.

This kind of overlap is very normal in Hungarian. What matters most for a learner is that döntetlen is the part that tells you the result or state of the game.

Because döntetlen is being used as the predicate in a very natural, compact Hungarian way.

Hungarian often does not use egy in this kind of sentence when the predicate is functioning more like a state or category label:

• Ez a játék döntetlen.

This is the normal way to say it.

A version with egy would usually sound less neutral here and is not the standard choice for a simple statement like this.

So for learners, the best pattern to remember is:

• A meccs döntetlen.
• Ez a játék döntetlen.

not normally:

• Ez a játék egy döntetlen.

The subject is the whole phrase:

• ez a játék = this game

So the sentence divides like this:

• Ez a játék = subject
• döntetlen = predicate complement

In other words:

• This game = what we are talking about
• tied / a draw = what we say about it

The word order here is the most straightforward, neutral one:

• Ez a játék döntetlen.

It simply presents the topic first and then gives the information about it.

You may also hear other word orders in Hungarian, but they usually change the emphasis. For example:

• Döntetlen ez a játék.

This can sound more emphatic, something like:

• This game is tied
• or even It is a draw, this game

So yes, word order can change, but the version you have is the most basic and learner-friendly pattern.

You add nem before the predicate:

• Ez a játék nem döntetlen. = This game is not tied / not a draw.

Notice that there is still no present-tense is. Hungarian still leaves it out here.

So:

• döntetlen = tied
• nem döntetlen = not tied

In the past, Hungarian uses the verb volt:

• Ez a játék döntetlen volt. = This game was tied / ended in a draw.

This is a useful contrast with the original sentence:

• Ez a játék döntetlen. = present
• Ez a játék döntetlen volt. = past

So the present tense has no visible is, but the past tense does show the verb.

A simple pronunciation guide:

• Ez sounds roughly like ez in bed, but with a z at the end
• a is a short open vowel, roughly like aw but shorter
• játék is approximately YAA-take
• döntetlen starts with dön, where ö is a rounded vowel that English does not really have

A rough approximation could be:

• ez aw YAA-take DERN-teh-tlen

That said, the vowel in dön is not an English sound, so the rough guide is only approximate.

If you want to be more accurate:

• stress falls on the first syllable of each Hungarian word

So:

• EZ a JÁ-ték DÖN-te-tlen