A vendégek a rejtekhelyen bújnak el.

Because a is the Hungarian definite article, meaning the.

• A vendégek = the guests
• a rejtekhelyen = in/at the hiding place

Hungarian uses the definite article before nouns much like English does. The form is a before a consonant and az before a vowel. Since vendégek and rejtekhelyen both begin with consonant sounds, the article is a.

The singular noun is vendég = guest. The plural is vendégek = guests.

The plural marker in Hungarian is basically -k, but it often appears with a vowel before it. Here the plural form is -ek, giving:

• vendég → vendégek

So vendégek is the nominative plural form.

bújnak is the 3rd person plural present form, so it matches vendégek = the guests.

It means they hide.

Hungarian verbs agree with the subject, so the plural subject requires a plural verb form. Also, this is the indefinite conjugation, because there is no direct object in the sentence.

That is an important point for learners: Hungarian verb conjugation depends on the object, not on whether the subject is definite. Even though the subject is a vendégek (the guests), the verb is still indefinite because there is no direct object being acted on.

Because el is a verbal prefix, and Hungarian prefixes do not always stay attached to the verb.

The basic verb is elbújni = to hide oneself away / to conceal oneself.

In many sentence types, the prefix stays attached:

• A vendégek elbújnak. = The guests hide.

But when another element is placed directly before the verb for emphasis or focus, the prefix often moves after the verb:

• A vendégek a rejtekhelyen bújnak el.

So the split form is normal Hungarian grammar, not a mistake.

It gives the verb a more complete meaning of hiding away, getting out of sight, or concealing oneself.

The verb bújni by itself can have meanings like:

• to crawl
• to creep
• to tuck oneself in
• sometimes to hide

But elbújni specifically means to hide oneself away.

So in this sentence, el helps make it clear that the guests are hiding rather than simply crawling.

It comes from:

• rejtekhely = hiding place / hideout
• -en = a locative ending

So rejtekhelyen means in/at the hiding place.

A useful thing to know is that Hungarian often uses the -on/-en/-ön ending with words involving hely (place) where English would say in or at. So even though English says in the hiding place, Hungarian naturally says a rejtekhelyen.

Because with many nouns built on hely (place), Hungarian normally uses the superessive ending -on/-en/-ön for location.

So:

• rejtekhelyen = the normal way to say in/at the hiding place

This is one of those places where Hungarian does not match English word-for-word. English prefers in, but Hungarian prefers the -en form here.

So even if -ban/-ben often means in, it is not the natural choice for this noun.

Yes. The sentence is understandable as a simple statement, but the word order gives extra prominence to a rejtekhelyen.

Because a rejtekhelyen stands directly before the verb, it is highlighted. That is one reason the prefix el is pushed after the verb.

So the sentence has a feel like:

• It is in the hiding place that the guests hide
• or at least the location is being highlighted

A more neutral version would often be:

• A vendégek elbújnak a rejtekhelyen.

That version sounds more like a plain statement with less emphasis on the location.

Because Hungarian usually leaves subject pronouns out when the verb ending already shows the person and number.

Here bújnak already tells you the subject is they. So adding ők (they) is unnecessary unless you want contrast or emphasis.

That is very normal in Hungarian:

• Bújnak. = They are hiding.
• Ők bújnak. = They are the ones hiding. / They hide. with emphasis

So in your sentence, the subject pronoun is simply not needed.