A fogorvos legfeljebb öt percig vár.

The dentist waits for at most five minutes.

Breakdown of A fogorvos legfeljebb öt percig vár.

• várni: to wait
• az: the
• perc: the minute
• öt: five (cardinal number)

Questions & Answers about A fogorvos legfeljebb öt percig vár.

What does a mean here? Is it a or the?

Here a means the, not a/an.

Hungarian has two forms of the definite article:

• a before a consonant
• az before a vowel

So:

• a fogorvos = the dentist
• az orvos = the doctor

Hungarian also has an indefinite article egy, which means a/an.

Why is fogorvos one word?

Because Hungarian very often forms compounds as a single word.

• fog = tooth
• orvos = doctor

So fogorvos literally means tooth-doctor, i.e. dentist.

This is very normal in Hungarian. Many job names and everyday nouns are built this way.

What does legfeljebb mean exactly?

Legfeljebb means at most, no more than, or up to.

In this sentence, it sets a maximum limit:

• legfeljebb öt percig = for at most five minutes

It does not mean exactly five minutes. It means the waiting time could be less, but not more.