Az árus félreteszi a nyakláncot a vevőnek.

Félreteszi comes from the verb félretesz, which means to put aside / set aside / reserve.

It is built from:

• félre = aside, to the side
• tesz = puts

So:

• tesz = puts
• félretesz = puts aside

In this sentence, félreteszi means he/she sets it aside.

The -i ending is also important here, because it shows the definite conjugation of the verb. Hungarian uses this when the direct object is definite, and here the object is a nyakláncot = the necklace.

This is because Hungarian verbs have two main conjugation patterns:

• indefinite conjugation
• definite conjugation

Here, the direct object is a nyakláncot = the necklace, which is definite. Because of that, the verb must also be in the definite form.

For tesz in 3rd person singular:

• tesz = he/she puts something indefinite, or no object is stated
• teszi = he/she puts it / the specific thing

So:

• Felretesz egy nyakláncot. = He/she sets aside a necklace.
• Félreteszi a nyakláncot. = He/she sets aside the necklace.

The ending -t marks the accusative case, which is usually the direct object of the verb.

Base noun:

• nyaklánc = necklace

Accusative:

• nyakláncot = necklace, as the thing being acted on

In this sentence, the necklace is what the seller is setting aside, so it takes the accusative ending.

The extra -o- before -t is there for pronunciation. Hungarian often inserts a linking vowel before certain endings.

So:

• nyaklánc
• nyaklánc + -ot
• nyakláncot

The ending -nek is the dative case ending. It often means:

• to
• for

Base noun:

• vevő = customer, buyer

Dative:

• vevőnek = for the customer / to the customer

In this sentence, a vevőnek means that the necklace is being set aside for the customer.

This is very natural in Hungarian. Instead of using a separate word like English for, Hungarian often uses the dative ending.

Because a is the definite article: the.

So:

• vevőnek = for a customer / for customers / for a customer in a more general sense, depending on context
• a vevőnek = for the customer

Hungarian often uses the definite article where English does, and sometimes even where English might leave it out.

In this sentence, a vevőnek suggests a specific customer.

Hungarian has two forms of the definite article:

• a before consonant sounds
• az before vowel sounds

So:

• az árus because árus begins with a vowel sound
• a vevőnek because vevő begins with a consonant sound

This is similar to English a/an, except Hungarian does it with the definite article the.

Árus means something like:

• vendor
• seller
• stallholder
• shop person

It usually refers to someone selling goods, often in a market or shop context.

So in this sentence, az árus is the person who is setting the necklace aside.

It is close to seller, but árus often has a slightly more concrete person engaged in selling goods feel.

Vevő means:

• buyer
• customer

It comes from the verb vesz = to buy.

So vevő is literally something like one who buys.

In this sentence, a vevőnek means for the customer / buyer.

Depending on context, English might translate it as either customer or buyer.

Yes, the word order can change, but the meaning or emphasis may shift.

The sentence:

• Az árus félreteszi a nyakláncot a vevőnek.

This is a natural, neutral way to say:

• The vendor sets aside the necklace for the customer.

Because Hungarian marks grammatical roles with endings, word order is more flexible than in English.

For example:

• A nyakláncot az árus félreteszi a vevőnek.
  • puts more emphasis on the necklace
• A vevőnek teszi félre az árus a nyakláncot.
  • puts more emphasis on for the customer

But the original sentence is a straightforward neutral version.

It can be separated.

In the neutral sentence, the verbal prefix usually stays attached:

• félreteszi

But in some structures, especially with:

• negation
• focus
• certain sentence patterns

the prefix may separate:

• Az árus nem teszi félre a nyakláncot. = The vendor is not setting the necklace aside.

• A vevőnek teszi félre a nyakláncot. = It is for the customer that he/she is setting the necklace aside.

So yes, félre is a verbal prefix, and prefixes in Hungarian are often movable.

Because Hungarian often expresses for by using the dative case.

Instead of a separate preposition, Hungarian adds an ending to the noun:

• vevő = customer
• vevőnek = for the customer

So the idea of for is built into -nek.

This is a very common feature of Hungarian. English often uses separate little words like to, for, in, with, but Hungarian very often uses suffixes instead.

Yes, in some contexts you could say something like:

• Az árus félreteszi a nyakláncot a vevő számára.

That also means The vendor sets aside the necklace for the customer.

But a vevőnek is shorter and very natural here.

Very roughly:

• -nak/-nek is the ordinary dative and is extremely common
• számára can sound a bit more explicit or formal, depending on context

In this sentence, a vevőnek is the most natural everyday choice.

Yes, Hungarian often leaves out the subject if it is already clear from context.

So if everyone knows who is doing the action, you could simply say:

• Félreteszi a nyakláncot a vevőnek.

That would still mean:

• He/she sets aside the necklace for the customer.

But including az árus makes the subject explicit:

• The vendor sets aside the necklace for the customer.

Hungarian commonly omits subject pronouns, but full noun subjects are used when needed for clarity, emphasis, or because the speaker is introducing that person into the sentence.

Yes.

It is made up of:

• nyak = neck
• lánc = chain

So nyaklánc literally means neck-chain, which corresponds to English necklace.

Hungarian forms many nouns this way, by combining smaller words into one compound.

Then both the object and the verb would usually change.

You would say:

• Az árus félretesz egy nyakláncot a vevőnek.

Changes:

• a nyakláncot → egy nyakláncot = a necklace
• félreteszi → félretesz

That is because the object is now indefinite, so the verb switches from definite conjugation to indefinite conjugation.

So compare:

• Az árus félreteszi a nyakláncot a vevőnek. = The vendor sets aside the necklace for the customer.

• Az árus félretesz egy nyakláncot a vevőnek. = The vendor sets aside a necklace for the customer.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

• félreteszi ≈ fayl-reh-teh-see

A few useful points:

• é is a long vowel, roughly like ay in say, but cleaner and without a glide
• e is like eh
• sz is pronounced like English s
• s in Hungarian is actually pronounced like English sh, but there is no plain s letter in this word

So:

• teszi is pronounced more like teh-see, not teh-zee

This is a common spelling point for English speakers:

• Hungarian sz = English s
• Hungarian s = English sh