A piknik májusban lesz.

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

So A piknik means the picnic.

Hungarian has two forms of the definite article:

• a before most consonants
• az before vowels

Since piknik starts with a consonant, it takes a.

The ending -ban means in.

So:

• május = May
• májusban = in May

Hungarian often uses suffixes where English uses separate prepositions. Instead of saying in May with two words, Hungarian attaches the idea of in directly to the noun.

This is because of vowel harmony, a very important feature of Hungarian.

Hungarian suffixes often come in two versions:

• -ban
• -ben

Words with mostly back vowels usually take -ban, and words with mostly front vowels usually take -ben.

május contains back vowels, so it becomes májusban.

A few examples:

• házban = in the house
• iskolában = in the school
• kertben = in the garden

Lesz means will be. It is the future form of the verb lenni, which means to be.

So:

• van = is
• lesz = will be

In this sentence:

• A piknik májusban lesz. = The picnic will be in May.

Because the sentence refers to the future.

Compare:

• A piknik májusban van. = The picnic is in May.
  This can sound like a statement about a scheduled event or a general fact.
• A piknik májusban lesz. = The picnic will be in May.
  This clearly points to the future.

Hungarian can sometimes use the present tense for future meaning, especially when the time is already clear, but lesz makes the future explicit.

Not completely. Hungarian word order is more flexible than English word order.

A piknik májusban lesz is a neutral, natural sentence:
The picnic will be in May.

But you could also say:

• Májusban lesz a piknik.

This version puts more attention on májusban:
It is in May that the picnic will be / The picnic will be in May.

So the basic meaning stays similar, but the emphasis can change.

In Hungarian, names of months are not capitalized unless they begin the sentence.

So:

• május = May
• január = January
• december = December

That is normal Hungarian spelling.

No, piknik is a loanword. It is similar to English picnic.

Hungarian has many borrowed words, and piknik is one of them. Even though it comes from another language, it behaves like a normal Hungarian noun in the sentence:

• a piknik
• a piknik lesz
• a pikniken = at the picnic

Lesz is pronounced roughly like less in English, but with a clear Hungarian sz sound.

A very important spelling rule in Hungarian is:

• sz = English s
• s = English sh

So in lesz, the sz sounds like the s in see, not like sh.

Roughly, májusban sounds like maa-yoosh-ban.

A few helpful points:

• á is a long vowel, somewhat like a in father
• j sounds like English y
• s by itself sounds like English sh
• ban has a short a

So:

• má ≈ maa
• jus ≈ yoosh
• ban ≈ ban

In a sentence like this, yes, it is natural to use the article if you mean a specific picnic.

• A piknik májusban lesz. = The picnic will be in May.

If you said just Piknik májusban lesz, it would usually sound incomplete or unnatural in ordinary usage.

Hungarian often uses articles in places where English also uses them, though article usage does not always match perfectly between the two languages. Here, a is the normal choice.

The sentence breaks down like this:

• A piknik = the picnic
• májusban = in May
• lesz = will be

So the structure is basically:

subject + time expression + verb

That gives: A piknik májusban lesz.
The picnic will be in May.