A vágódeszka tiszta.

A is the Hungarian definite article, the equivalent of English the.

Hungarian has two forms of the definite article:

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

So here it is a vágódeszka because vágódeszka starts with v, a consonant.

Compare:

• a könyv = the book
• az alma = the apple

In Hungarian, the verb to be is often left out in the present tense, third person, when you are saying that something is something or is some quality.

So:

• A vágódeszka tiszta. = The cutting board is clean.

There is no visible word for is, but it is understood.

This happens in sentences like:

• A leves forró. = The soup is hot.
• A szoba nagy. = The room is big.

However, Hungarian does use van / vannak in other situations, especially for location or existence:

• A vágódeszka az asztalon van. = The cutting board is on the table.

Also, in past tense, the verb appears:

• A vágódeszka tiszta volt. = The cutting board was clean.

Because tiszta is being used as the predicate adjective: it tells you what the cutting board is like.

In Hungarian:

• A tiszta vágódeszka = the clean cutting board
  
  • here tiszta comes before the noun because it directly describes the noun
• A vágódeszka tiszta. = The cutting board is clean.
  
  • here tiszta comes after because it is the main statement about the subject

So the position changes depending on the job the adjective is doing.

No. Vágódeszka is in its basic dictionary form, with no case ending added.

Here it is the subject of the sentence, so Hungarian uses the plain form:

• vágódeszka = basic form
• a vágódeszka = the cutting board

Hungarian adds case endings when a noun has a different role, for example as a direct object:

• A vágódeszkát mosom. = I am washing the cutting board.

Here the -t marks the object.

A simple approximate pronunciation is:

• vágódeszka ≈ VAA-go-deh-ska
• tiszta ≈ TEES-taw

A few useful pronunciation points:

• Stress in Hungarian is always on the first syllable:
  • VÁ-gó-desz-ka
  • TISZ-ta
• á is a long vowel, roughly like a in father
• ó is a long o
• sz is pronounced like English s
• s by itself would sound like English sh
• ti in tiszta is just ti, not like English sh or ch

So tiszta begins with a clear tis-, not sh.

Yes, vágódeszka is a compound word, which is very common in Hungarian.

It is built from:

• vágó = cutting / for cutting
• deszka = board

So literally it is something like cutting-board.

Hungarian often forms everyday nouns this way, by combining parts into one word.

Yes, Hungarian word order is flexible, but different word orders create different emphasis.

The neutral, straightforward sentence is:

• A vágódeszka tiszta.

If you say:

• Tiszta a vágódeszka.

that can sound more like The cutting board is clean with extra focus on clean, perhaps contrasting it with something else.

So the original order is the most neutral and natural if you are just stating a fact.

Hungarian does not have grammatical gender, so adjectives do not change for masculine, feminine, or neuter the way they do in many European languages.

So tiszta stays the same regardless of gender, because Hungarian nouns do not have gender categories at all.

Number can matter in some predicate uses:

• A vágódeszka tiszta. = singular
• A vágódeszkák tiszták. = plural

But when an adjective comes directly before a noun, it normally does not take a plural ending:

• tiszta vágódeszkák = clean cutting boards

So in your sentence, tiszta is the correct singular predicate form.

Normally, no, not in ordinary standard speech for this meaning.

If you mean the cutting board is clean, Hungarian normally uses the article:

• A vágódeszka tiszta.

Leaving out the article would sound unnatural in most everyday contexts unless you were speaking in a very special style, such as notes, labels, headlines, or very telegraphic speech.

So for a normal full sentence, keep a.