A fedő a lábason van.

Because Hungarian uses the definite article a / az much like English the, and both nouns here are definite:

• a fedő = the lid
• a lábason = on the pot / saucepan

So Hungarian says the lid and the pot, not just one the for the whole sentence.

Also, even when a noun gets a case ending, the article stays separate:

• a lábas = the pot
• a lábason = on the pot

Hungarian has two forms of the definite article:

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

Since fedő and lábas both begin with consonants, the article is a:

• a fedő
• a lábason

For comparison:

• az alma = the apple
• az edény = the container / dish

Lábason is made from:

• lábas = pot / saucepan
• -on = a case ending meaning on

So:

• lábas → lábason
• on the pot / saucepan

This ending is called the superessive case. Hungarian often uses case endings where English uses prepositions.

A very literal breakdown would be:

• A fedő = the lid
• a lábason = on the pot
• van = is

Because Hungarian makes an important distinction between:

• location
• movement toward something
• being inside something

Here the lid is already resting on the pot, so Hungarian uses the location ending -on.

Compare:

• a lábason van = it is on the pot
• a lábasban van = it is in the pot
• a lábasra teszem = I put it onto the pot

So:

• -on / -en / -ön = on
• -ban / -ben = in
• -ra / -re = onto

That is a very common beginner question.

Hungarian often omits van in the present tense in simple X is Y sentences, especially with nouns and adjectives:

• A fedő tiszta. = The lid is clean.
• A fedő új. = The lid is new.

But in location sentences, van is normally kept:

• A fedő a lábason van. = The lid is on the pot.

So this is one of the important cases where English is corresponds to an actual Hungarian van.

Yes, A fedő a lábason van is a natural sentence.

A simple way to understand it is:

• A fedő = what the sentence is about
• a lábason van = what is being said about it

Hungarian word order is flexible, but changing the order often changes the emphasis or what is treated as the topic.

For example:

• A fedő a lábason van. = natural if you are talking about the lid and saying where it is
• A lábason van a fedő. = also possible, but the emphasis is different, more like drawing attention to what is on the pot

So the sentence order is not random; it helps show what is already known and what is important.

Lábas usually means a saucepan, cooking pot, or similar kitchen vessel. In many contexts, pot is a perfectly good translation, but the Hungarian word is a bit more specific than a completely generic container.

So in this sentence, a lábason most naturally means:

• on the pot
• on the saucepan

Depending on the picture or context, either English word could fit.

A few helpful pronunciation points:

• Hungarian stress is almost always on the first syllable
• ő is a long vowel, somewhat like the vowel in German schön or French peu, but held longer
• Hungarian s sounds like English sh
• Hungarian sz sounds like English s

So roughly:

• fedő ≈ FEH-dő
• lábason ≈ LAA-ba-shon
• van ≈ vawn with a short Hungarian a

Not exact English spellings, of course, but they are close enough to help.

Because Hungarian often expresses ideas like in, on, to, from with endings attached directly to the noun, instead of separate prepositions.

So English says:

• on the pot

But Hungarian says, literally:

• the pot-on → a lábason

This is one of the biggest structural differences between English and Hungarian. Instead of memorizing only separate prepositions, learners need to get used to noun endings that carry those meanings.