Az utóbbi napokban esett.

Yes. Az is the definite article, meaning the.

Here it goes with utóbbi, so az utóbbi napokban means in the last/recent days or in recent days.

Hungarian has two forms of the:

• a
• az

You use az before words that begin with a vowel sound. Since utóbbi starts with u, it is az utóbbi.

Utóbbi means last, latter, or recent, depending on context.

In az utóbbi napokban, it means something like:

• the last few days
• the recent days
• more naturally in English: in recent days / over the last few days

So this is a common Hungarian expression for talking about something that has happened lately.

Hungarian often adds case endings directly to nouns instead of using separate prepositions.

Here:

• nap = day
• napok = days
• napokban = in days

The ending -ban / -ben means in.

So:

• napban = in a day
• napokban = in days

In this sentence, az utóbbi napokban literally means in the last days, but idiomatically it means in the last few days or over the past few days.

Because the meaning is in the last few days, not in the last day.

• nap = day
• napok = days

So az utóbbi napokban refers to a stretch of several recent days.

If you said az utóbbi napban, that would mean in the last day, which is a different idea and is not what this sentence is expressing.

Eszett? No—the correct form here is esett, from the verb esik.

In this sentence, esett means rained.

The verb esik has several meanings depending on context, including:

• to fall
• to rain
• in some contexts, even to snow with extra clarification

In weather expressions, esik is commonly used for precipitation. Without anything else added, esett here is naturally understood as it rained.

Because Hungarian does not need a dummy subject like English it.

In English, weather verbs usually require it:

• It rained.
• It is snowing.

In Hungarian, you normally just use the verb:

• Esik. = It is raining.
• Esett. = It rained.

So the sentence does not need a separate subject. The verb alone is enough.

Eszett is past tense—more precisely, esett is the past-tense form of esik.

So:

• esik = it rains / it is raining
• esett = it rained

Hungarian past tense is often formed with -t or a related past marker, though the exact shape can vary depending on the verb.

It usually suggests that it has rained during the recent days, not necessarily just once.

Because of az utóbbi napokban (in the last few days), the sentence describes what has been happening over a recent period.

Depending on context, English translations could be:

• It rained in the last few days.
• It has rained over the past few days.
• There has been rain in recent days.

So it is often broader than a single momentary event.

Yes, this word order is very natural.

Hungarian word order is more flexible than English, and it often reflects emphasis or topic structure rather than a fixed subject-verb-object pattern.

Here:

• Az utóbbi napokban = the time frame / topic
• esett = what happened

So Az utóbbi napokban esett is a neutral, natural way to say It rained over the last few days.

You could change word order in other contexts for emphasis, but this version is straightforward and common.

In theory, the verb esik can mean falls or refer to precipitation, so context matters.

But in Az utóbbi napokban esett, with no explicit subject and with a time expression that sounds like a weather report, the normal interpretation is It rained in recent days.

If you wanted to say snow fell more explicitly, Hungarian would often say:

• Hó esett. = Snow fell / It snowed.

If you wanted something fell, you would normally name what fell.

So in this sentence, the weather meaning is the natural one.

Yes, that is a good idea.

Az utóbbi + time period + -ban/-ben is a very useful pattern. It means in the last / recent ....

For example:

• az utóbbi időben = lately / in recent times
• az utóbbi hetekben = in the last few weeks
• az utóbbi hónapokban = in the last few months
• az utóbbi években = in recent years

So az utóbbi napokban is worth learning as a common time expression.

A natural English translation would usually be one of these:

• It has rained over the last few days.
• It rained in the last few days.
• There has been rain in recent days.

Even though the Hungarian sentence is short and simple, English often chooses a slightly more idiomatic phrasing such as over the last few days or in recent days.