Questions & Answers about A háztartási gép új.
What does a mean here, and why is it a instead of az?
A is the definite article, so it means the.
Hungarian has two forms of the definite article:
- a before a consonant sound
- az before a vowel sound
Since háztartási starts with h, which is a consonant sound, Hungarian uses a:
- a háztartási gép = the household appliance
Compare:
- a gép = the machine/appliance
- az autó = the car
Why is there no word for is in the sentence?
In Hungarian, the verb to be is often left out in the present tense when the subject is third person and the predicate is a noun or adjective.
So:
- A háztartási gép új. = The household appliance is new.
There is no written is, but it is understood.
This happens very often in Hungarian:
- A ház nagy. = The house is big.
- A könyv érdekes. = The book is interesting.
But the verb does appear in other persons or tenses, for example:
- Új vagyok. = I am new.
- Új volt. = It was new.
Why does új come after the noun instead of before it?
Because here új is not directly describing the noun inside a noun phrase. It is the predicate adjective: it tells you what the subject is like.
So:
- A háztartási gép új. = The household appliance is new.
If you put új before the noun, it becomes an attributive adjective, meaning:
- az új háztartási gép = the new household appliance
So the difference is:
- A háztartási gép új. = The appliance is new.
- Az új háztartási gép = the new appliance
That is a very important distinction in Hungarian.
What exactly is háztartási?
Háztartási is an adjective meaning household or domestic.
It comes from the noun háztartás, which means household, plus the suffix -i, which often turns a noun into an adjective.
So roughly:
- háztartás = household
- háztartási = household / domestic
Then:
- háztartási gép = household appliance
This kind of formation is very common in Hungarian.
Why is háztartási gép written as two words?
Because háztartási is functioning as an adjective, and gép is the noun it modifies.
So this is basically:
- adjective + noun
and it is written as:
- háztartási gép
English often uses compounds like household appliance, and Hungarian sometimes uses compounds too, but in this case the normal spelling is two words.
How do you pronounce A háztartási gép új?
A rough English-friendly approximation is:
aw HAAZ-tar-taa-shee gayp oo-y
A few important pronunciation points:
- á is a long vowel, roughly like aa
- é is a long vowel, roughly like ay
- ú is a long oo
- j sounds like English y
- Hungarian s sounds like English sh
So:
- háztartási has a sh sound near the end
- gép sounds roughly like gayp
- új sounds roughly like oo-y
Also, Hungarian stress is usually on the first syllable of each word.
Does új change form? What about gender and number?
Hungarian has no grammatical gender, so there is no masculine/feminine/neuter form to worry about.
In this sentence, új stays just új because the subject is singular:
- A háztartási gép új. = The appliance is new.
If the subject were plural, the predicate adjective would usually become plural too:
- A háztartási gépek újak. = The household appliances are new.
Notice:
- singular: új
- plural predicate: újak
A useful extra point: when an adjective comes before a noun, it does not take the plural ending:
- új gépek = new appliances
- not újak gépek
Can the word order change?
Yes. Hungarian word order is flexible, and changing it often changes the emphasis rather than the basic meaning.
The most neutral version here is:
- A háztartási gép új.
But you could also say:
- Új a háztartási gép.
That puts more focus on new, something like:
- The appliance is new
- or It’s new, the appliance
So the original sentence is the most straightforward, neutral way to say it.
Is this a complete natural sentence in Hungarian?
Yes, absolutely. It is a complete and natural sentence.
It is simple and neutral:
- A háztartási gép új.
In real conversation, speakers might sometimes add more context, for example:
- Ez a háztartási gép új. = This household appliance is new.
But the original sentence is perfectly normal Hungarian on its own.
Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor
Start learning HungarianMaster Hungarian — from A háztartási gép új to fluency
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
- ✓Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
- ✓Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
- ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions