Az idegen itt vár.

Hungarian has two forms of the definite article:

• a before most consonants
• az before vowels

Since idegen begins with i, a vowel, the correct form is az idegen.

Examples:

• a ház = the house
• az ember = the person
• az idegen = the stranger / the foreigner

Idegen can be either an adjective or a noun.

• As an adjective, it means foreign or strange
• As a noun, it can mean stranger or foreigner

In Az idegen itt vár, it is being used as a noun, because it is preceded by the definite article az and functions as the subject of the sentence.

Depending on context, az idegen could mean:

• the stranger
• the foreigner

Both are possible; context tells you which is intended.

Vár is the third person singular present tense form of the verb vár, meaning to wait.

So:

• én várok = I wait / am waiting
• te vársz = you wait
• ő vár = he/she waits
• az idegen vár = the stranger waits

Here it means waits / is waiting.

Hungarian usually does not need subject pronouns unless they are being emphasized.

In this sentence, the subject is already stated: az idegen. So there is no need to add a pronoun.

Also, Hungarian does not mark grammatical gender in the third person the way English does. The same form can refer to he, she, or it, depending on context.

So vár by itself can mean:

• he waits
• she waits
• it waits

But here the subject is explicitly az idegen.

Itt means here.

In this sentence, it comes before the verb:

• Az idegen itt vár.

This is a very natural Hungarian word order. It presents itt as an important piece of information: the stranger is waiting here.

Hungarian word order is more flexible than English word order, and placement often reflects emphasis or focus rather than strict grammatical necessity.

Yes, Hungarian word order is flexible, but different orders can sound different in emphasis.

For example:

• Az idegen itt vár.
  A natural statement: the stranger is waiting here.

• Itt vár az idegen.
  More like: it is here that the stranger is waiting.

• Az idegen vár itt.
  Possible, but less neutral in many contexts.

So the sentence you were given is a normal, natural order.

Yes. Vár can also be a noun meaning castle.

That can confuse learners, but in this sentence it is clearly a verb because of the structure:

• Az idegen itt vár. = The stranger waits here.

If it were the noun castle, the sentence would not make sense grammatically in this form.

So Hungarian vár can be:

• vár = waits
• vár = castle

Context tells you which one it is.

Because idegen is the subject of the sentence, and Hungarian subjects in the basic form do not need an extra ending.

The sentence structure is simply:

• Az idegen = the subject
• itt = an adverb meaning here
• vár = the verb

So idegen is in its basic dictionary form here.

A simple pronunciation guide:

• Az ≈ oz
• idegen ≈ ee-deh-gen
• itt ≈ it with a long tt
• vár ≈ vaar

More approximately in IPA:

• Az idegen itt vár.
  [ɒz ˈidɛɡɛn itː vaːr]

A few useful notes:

• a in az is a short Hungarian a, not the English a
• tt in itt is pronounced long
• á in vár is a long vowel

In normal speech, az idegen means the stranger / the foreigner, referring to a specific person.

If you say Idegen itt vár, it sounds incomplete or unusual in most everyday contexts, unless you are speaking in a special style such as a headline, note, or very compressed message.

So for a normal sentence, Az idegen itt vár is the natural form.

The verb here is in the indefinite conjugation.

Hungarian verbs can use:

• indefinite conjugation when there is no definite object
• definite conjugation when there is a definite direct object

In Az idegen itt vár, there is no direct object at all, so the indefinite form is used:

• vár = waits

If there were a definite object, the verb form would change. For example:

• Az idegen a buszt várja. = The stranger is waiting for the bus.

Here a buszt is a definite object, so the verb becomes várja.