Feltűnés nélkül érkeznek a vendégek.

Literally, feltűnés nélkül means without noticeability / without drawing attention.

It has two parts:

• feltűnés = noticeability, conspicuousness, drawing attention
• nélkül = without

Together, the phrase means without attracting attention, unnoticed, or quietly / inconspicuously, depending on context.

So this is a very natural Hungarian way to express the manner of arriving.

Because nélkül is a postposition, not a preposition.

English uses prepositions:

• without noise
• without attention

Hungarian often uses postpositions, which come after the word:

• feltűnés nélkül = without drawing attention
• segítség nélkül = without help
• cukor nélkül = without sugar

So for an English speaker, the key thing to remember is that Hungarian often puts these little grammar words after the noun.

Because feltűnés is being used in a general, abstract sense here.

Hungarian often leaves out the article in expressions like this when the noun is not referring to a specific, concrete thing:

• feltűnés nélkül = without drawing attention
• probléma nélkül = without a problem / without problems
• engedély nélkül = without permission

If you added an article, it would usually suggest a more specific meaning, and in this expression it would sound unnatural. So feltűnés nélkül is the normal idiomatic form.

Érkeznek is the 3rd person plural form of the verb érkezik = to arrive.

So:

• érkezik = he/she/it arrives
• érkeznek = they arrive

It agrees with a vendégek = the guests, which is plural.

Also, this verb here is in the present tense. In Hungarian, the present tense can often be used where English might also use a present or even a near-future sense, depending on context.

Hungarian word order is much more flexible than English word order, and it often reflects focus, topic, or what is being highlighted, rather than just basic sentence structure.

Here:

• Feltűnés nélkül comes first, setting the manner: without drawing attention
• érkeznek comes next
• a vendégek comes after the verb

This is a very natural Hungarian sentence pattern.

It does not mean the guests are somehow less important grammatically. A vendégek is still the subject. Hungarian simply does not require the subject to come before the verb as rigidly as English does.

Yes, you could.

That version is also grammatical, but the emphasis changes a little.

Compare:

• Feltűnés nélkül érkeznek a vendégek.
  • This foregrounds how they arrive: without drawing attention
• A vendégek feltűnés nélkül érkeznek.
  • This starts with the guests, so it feels more like you are talking about them as the topic

Both are correct. Hungarian word order often changes the information structure rather than the basic meaning.

It is an adverbial phrase of manner.

It tells us how the guests arrive.

You can ask:

• Hogyan érkeznek a vendégek?
• How do the guests arrive?

Answer:

• Feltűnés nélkül.
• Without drawing attention.

So even though feltűnés is a noun, the whole phrase functions adverbially in the sentence.

A vendégek means the guests.

• a = the
• vendégek = guests

If you said just vendégek, that would usually mean guests in a more indefinite or less specifically identified sense.

So:

• a vendégek = the guests
• vendégek = guests

Hungarian uses definite articles a lot, and here a vendégek is the normal way to refer to a specific group of guests.

Vendégek is the plural nominative form of vendég = guest.

Breakdown:

• vendég = guest
• vendég-ek = guests

The ending -ek is a plural marker here.

Hungarian has vowel harmony and different plural endings, so the plural is not always exactly -ek, but in this word it is.

In this sentence, vendégek is in the nominative because it is the subject.

Yes, though they can overlap in meaning.

• érkezik = arrive
• jön = come

Érkezik is a bit more formal or neutral and focuses on the arrival itself. Jön is more everyday and focuses on the motion coming.

So:

• A vendégek érkeznek. = The guests are arriving / arrive.
• A vendégek jönnek. = The guests are coming.

In many contexts either could work, but érkeznek sounds especially natural when talking about people arriving at an event, place, or destination.

Because érkeznek and megérkeznek are related but not identical.

• érkeznek = they arrive / are arriving
• megérkeznek = they arrive, they make it there, they complete the arrival

The prefix meg- often adds a sense of completion or result.

So:

• A vendégek érkeznek. can describe the process or general event of arrival.
• A vendégek megérkeznek. emphasizes that they do arrive / have arrived at the destination.

In your sentence, plain érkeznek works well because the focus is on the manner of arrival: feltűnés nélkül.

Yes, it is in the present tense.

However, in Hungarian, present tense can often refer to the near future if the context makes that clear.

So érkeznek can mean:

• they are arriving
• they arrive
• sometimes even they will arrive

depending on the situation.

For example, in a narrative or event context, this sentence could describe what is happening now, or what happens next.

A few pronunciation points are especially useful here:

• ű in feltűnés is a long front rounded vowel, something English does not really have
• é is a long ay-like vowel, but pure and steady
• cs in Hungarian is pronounced like English ch
• sz is pronounced like English s
• plain s is pronounced like English sh

Approximate help:

• feltűnés ≈ fel-tuu-naysh
• érkeznek ≈ air-kez-nek
• vendégek ≈ ven-day-ghek

These are only rough guides, but they can help you get started. The most important thing is to notice that Hungarian spelling is quite regular once you learn the sound system.

Yes, very easily. It is a useful general expression.

For example:

• Feltűnés nélkül távozott. = He/She left without drawing attention.
• Feltűnés nélkül beléptek. = They entered unnoticed.
• Feltűnés nélkül figyelte őket. = He/She watched them without being noticed.

So this is a good chunk to learn as a whole phrase. It is idiomatic and widely usable.