A vételár nagy.

The purchase price is high.

Breakdown of A vételár nagy.

• nagy: big
• az: the
• vételár: the purchase price

Questions & Answers about A vételár nagy.

What does a mean here?

A is the Hungarian definite article, so it usually means the.

So A vételár nagy. literally corresponds to The purchase price is big/high.

A few useful notes:

• a is used before words that begin with most consonants
• Hungarian also has az, used before vowel sounds
• unlike English, Hungarian a/az does not change for singular vs. plural

Examples:

• a ház = the house
• 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, third person.

So:

• A vételár nagy. = The purchase price is high.

There is no need to say a separate word for is here.

This happens with sentences like:

• A ház nagy. = The house is big.
• Az autó drága. = The car is expensive.

But in other persons, Hungarian normally does use the verb:

• Nagy vagyok. = I am big/tall
• Nagy vagy. = You are big/tall

And in past or future tense, the verb appears too.