A gomba friss.

In Hungarian, the verb to be is usually left out in the present tense, third person when the predicate is a noun or an adjective.

So:

• A gomba friss. = The mushroom is fresh.
• Literally: The mushroom fresh.

But in other persons, Hungarian does use the verb:

• Friss vagyok. = I am fresh.
• Friss vagy. = You are fresh.
• Friss. = He/she/it is fresh.

This omission is one of the first things English speakers notice, because English requires is, but Hungarian often does not.

A is the definite article, so it means the.

• a = the before a consonant sound
• az = the before a vowel sound

Since gomba begins with the consonant g, you use a:

• a gomba = the mushroom

If the next word began with a vowel, you would normally use az instead:

• az alma = the apple

Hungarian has two forms of the definite article:

• a
• az

The choice depends on the sound that follows:

• a before a consonant
• az before a vowel

Because gomba starts with g, a consonant, the correct form is a gomba.

No. Hungarian adjectives do not agree with nouns in gender, and Hungarian has no grammatical gender like he/she nouns in many European languages.

So friss stays friss.

Examples:

• a friss gomba = the fresh mushroom
• a friss kenyér = the fresh bread
• a friss almák = the fresh apples

Notice that friss does not change.

This is much simpler than in languages where adjectives must match masculine/feminine or singular/plural forms.

It is singular.

• gomba = mushroom
• gombák = mushrooms

So:

• A gomba friss. = The mushroom is fresh.
• A gombák frissek. = The mushrooms are fresh.

In the plural sentence, both the noun and the predicate adjective show plural:

• gombák = plural noun
• frissek = plural predicate adjective

When an adjective is used as the predicate (the part after to be, as in is fresh), Hungarian often marks it for number in the plural.

So:

• A gomba friss. = singular
• A gombák frissek. = plural

But when the adjective is used before a noun, it usually does not take a plural ending:

• friss gomba = fresh mushroom
• friss gombák = fresh mushrooms

So the position and function matter:

• attributive adjective: before the noun → usually unchanged
• predicative adjective: after the noun / as the predicate → can show plural

A gomba friss is a normal, neutral word order meaning The mushroom is fresh.

Hungarian word order is flexible, but changes in order often change focus or emphasis.

Compare:

• A gomba friss. = neutral statement
• Friss a gomba. = emphasis on fresh; something like The mushroom is fresh / It’s the mushroom that is fresh
• A gomba a friss. = not natural here in ordinary usage

For a beginner, A gomba friss is the best basic form to learn first.

A simple English-friendly guide:

• a ≈ short aw
• gomba ≈ GOM-baw
• friss ≈ frish

A few useful pronunciation notes:

• Stress in Hungarian is always on the first syllable of the word:
  • GOM-ba
  • FRISS
• Hungarian s sounds like English sh
• Hungarian ss is a longer sh sound

So friss is not pronounced like English friss with an s sound. It sounds more like frish.

No, not in the middle of a sentence.

Hungarian capitalization is similar to English in this respect:

• only the first word of the sentence is capitalized
• ordinary nouns are not capitalized

So the correct sentence is:

• A gomba friss.

Not:

• A Gomba friss.

Sometimes Hungarian singular with the definite article can be used in a general sense, depending on context. However, taken by itself, A gomba friss most naturally sounds like The mushroom is fresh or This mushroom is fresh.

If you clearly mean mushrooms in general, Hungarian often uses other wording, for example:

• A gomba egészséges. = Mushrooms are healthy / The mushroom is healthy depending on context
• A gombák frissek. = The mushrooms are fresh

So yes, Hungarian can use the article in broader statements, but in a simple learner sentence like this, it is safest to read it as referring to a specific mushroom.

It is in the nominative form, which is the basic dictionary form of the noun.

There is no special ending here:

• gomba = basic form
• a gomba = the mushroom

Hungarian adds endings for many other roles, but here the noun is simply the subject of the sentence, so the basic form is used.