Karc van a vázán.

The sentence breaks down like this:

• karc = scratch
• van = is / there is
• a vázán = on the vase

So the sentence is an existential/location sentence: it says that a scratch exists on the vase.

A very literal gloss would be something like:

• scratch is on-the-vase

But the natural English meaning is There is a scratch on the vase.

That is a very common question, and the short answer is:

Hungarian often drops the present-tense copula in 3rd person when the sentence is about identity or description, but not when the sentence expresses existence or location.

For example:

• A váza szép. = The vase is beautiful.
• Ez egy váza. = This is a vase.

In those, there is no van.

But in sentences like these, van stays:

• A váza az asztalon van. = The vase is on the table.
• Karc van a vázán. = There is a scratch on the vase.

So here van is needed because the sentence says that something exists in a particular place.

Because Hungarian often uses a bare singular noun in existential sentences where English would use a/an.

So:

• Karc van a vázán.

naturally means:

• There is a scratch on the vase.

If you say:

• Egy karc van a vázán.

that is also correct, but it makes one scratch more explicit and can sound a bit more specific or more contrastive.

So both are possible, but the version without egy is very normal in Hungarian.

Because a is the definite article, meaning the.

So:

• a váza = the vase
• a vázán = on the vase

In Hungarian, the article stays separate, and the case ending goes on the noun itself.

So in a vázán:

• a = the
• vázán = on vase

Together: on the vase.

The ending -n here is the superessive case ending, which often means on or on the surface of something.

So:

• vázán = on the vase

This is exactly the case you would expect for something like a scratch, because a scratch is on the surface of the vase.

Compare:

• az asztalon = on the table
• a falon = on the wall
• a könyvön = on the book

Because Hungarian case endings change shape depending on the noun.

The superessive ending can appear as:

• -on
• -en
• -ön
• or just -n

With many vowel-final nouns, the ending is just -n.

Also, when a noun ends in a or e, that final vowel often lengthens before a suffix:

• a → á
• e → é

So:

• váza
  • -n → vázán

That is a normal and common Hungarian sound/shape change.

Yes. Hungarian word order is flexible, and different orders give different emphasis.

You may also hear:

• Van karc a vázán.
• A vázán van karc.

All of these can be grammatical, but the nuance changes.

Very roughly:

• Karc van a vázán. = gives prominence to scratch
• Van karc a vázán. = a fairly neutral existential statement
• A vázán van karc. = emphasizes the location, on the vase

In Hungarian, word order is strongly connected to focus and what is already known in the conversation.

Normally, no.

That would sound incomplete in standard Hungarian, because this sentence is expressing existence/location, and those usually require van in the present tense.

So:

• Karc van a vázán. = correct

but:

• Karc a vázán. = not the normal full sentence for this meaning

This is different from sentences like:

• A váza szép.
• A váza drága.

where the present-tense copula is omitted.

Yes. A possible version is:

• A vázának van egy karca.

This is a possessive-style structure and literally works something like:

• To the vase there is a scratch of its own

That is grammatical, but Karc van a vázán is often more natural when you are simply describing a visible mark on the surface.

So Hungarian often prefers the location-based version in this kind of situation.

You can change the noun and the verb like this:

• Karcok vannak a vázán. = There are scratches on the vase.
• Nincs karc a vázán. = There isn’t a scratch on the vase.

Useful forms:

• karc = scratch
• karcok = scratches
• van = there is / is
• vannak = there are / are
• nincs = there is not / is not

So this sentence pattern is very useful to learn:

• X van Y-on / Y-en / Y-ön / Y-n
• X nincs Y-on / Y-en / Y-ön / Y-n

A rough English-friendly guide would be:

• karc ≈ karts
• van ≈ von with a short Hungarian a
• vázán ≈ VAA-zaan

A more technical approximation is:

• karc = /kɒrts/
• van = /vɒn/
• a vázán = /ɒ vaːzaːn/

A few pronunciation tips:

• Hungarian stress is on the first syllable of each word.
• á is a long vowel.
• c is pronounced like ts.
• The article a is pronounced as a short vowel, not like English a in day.