A kenyérpirító ugyan bekapcsol, de azonnal kikapcsol.

Because a is the definite article, meaning the.

Hungarian has two forms of the definite article:

• a before a consonant sound
• az before a vowel sound

Since kenyérpirító starts with k, Hungarian uses a kenyérpirító = the toaster.

Yes. Hungarian commonly writes compound nouns as a single word.

Here it is built from:

• kenyér = bread
• pirító = toaster / thing used for toasting

So kenyérpirító literally means something like bread-toaster, i.e. toaster.

In this sentence, ugyan adds a concessive or contrastive feeling. It often works together with de.

So the pattern ugyan ..., de ... is roughly like:

• it does ..., but ...
• admittedly ..., but ...
• true, ..., but ...

It often does not need a separate English word in translation, but it adds nuance.

So:

• A kenyérpirító bekapcsol, de azonnal kikapcsol. = neutral statement
• A kenyérpirító ugyan bekapcsol, de azonnal kikapcsol. = it does switch on, but it immediately switches off

In Hungarian, this combination is very natural.

• ugyan sets up the concession
• de introduces the contrasting second clause

So the structure is not redundant. It is a standard way to say:

• yes, that part is true, but...
• it may do X, but...

This makes the contrast stronger and clearer than using de alone.

Yes. They are built from the same base verb:

• kapcsol = connect / switch

with different verbal prefixes:

• be- = in, on
• ki- = out, off

So:

• bekapcsol = switch on / turn on
• kikapcsol = switch off / turn off

This is a very common pattern in Hungarian: a prefix changes the direction or result of the action.

Because in a neutral affirmative sentence, Hungarian verbal prefixes are usually written together with the verb.

So you get:

• bekapcsol
• kikapcsol

But these prefixes can separate in other sentence types, especially with negation or strong focus. For example:

• nem kapcsol be = it does not switch on
• azonnal kapcsol ki = it switches off immediately / it is immediately that it switches off

So the one-word form is normal here because the sentence is a neutral statement.

Because Hungarian usually leaves out subject pronouns when they are clear from the context.

The subject here is already stated as:

• A kenyérpirító = the toaster

So Hungarian does not need an extra pronoun like it.

This is very common. Hungarian often sounds more natural without repeating subject pronouns unless they are being emphasized.

They are:

• present tense
• third person singular

So they mean it switches on / it turns on and it switches off / it turns off.

The form has no visible personal ending here, and that is normal for some Hungarian verbs in 3rd person singular present.

Azonnal is an adverb meaning immediately, and Hungarian often places adverbs before the verb phrase.

So:

• de azonnal kikapcsol

is a natural word order.

Here kikapcsol stays together as a verb-plus-prefix unit, and azonnal comes before that whole unit.

If you wanted stronger emphasis on immediately, Hungarian could use a different structure, often with the prefix separating:

• de azonnal kapcsol ki

That version is more emphatic or more focused on azonnal.

Yes, absolutely.

• A kenyérpirító bekapcsol, de azonnal kikapcsol.

is fully correct.

Adding ugyan does not change the basic meaning very much. It mostly adds nuance: yes, it does turn on, but that is not the whole story.

So learners should understand ugyan here as a subtle discourse word, not as something required for the grammar.

Here it is used intransitively: the toaster itself turns on and off.

Hungarian can also use the same verb transitively, with an object:

• Bekapcsolom a kenyérpirítót. = I turn the toaster on.
• Kikapcsolom a kenyérpirítót. = I turn the toaster off.

So in your sentence, the toaster is the subject doing the action, not the object receiving it.

Hungarian often uses the present tense to describe:

• a general property
• a repeated problem
• what typically happens

So this sentence can mean something like:

• that is what the toaster does
• this is its current behavior
• whenever you try it, it turns on and then immediately turns off

This matches English quite well, since English also often uses the present tense for this kind of malfunction description.