A szabadpolc az olvasóterem mellett van.

The open-access shelf is beside the reading room.

Breakdown of A szabadpolc az olvasóterem mellett van.

• lenni: to be
• mellett: next to
• az: the
• olvasóterem: a reading room

Questions & Answers about A szabadpolc az olvasóterem mellett van.

Why is it A szabadpolc but az olvasóterem?

Both a and az mean the. Hungarian chooses between them based on the following sound:

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

So:

• szabadpolc starts with sz, which is a consonant sound
• olvasóterem starts with o, which is a vowel sound

It works a bit like English a/an.

What does szabadpolc mean literally, and why is it one word?

Szabadpolc is a compound noun:

• szabad = free, open
• polc = shelf

In library language, it means something like open-access shelf or open stacks.

It is written as one word because Hungarian very often writes compound nouns as single words.

What is olvasóterem made of?

This is also a compound noun:

• olvasó = reader / reading
• terem = room, hall

So olvasóterem means reading room.

Hungarian uses compounds very productively, so learners will see a lot of words built this way.