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Learn Hardcore Hungarian: A bazsalikom az erkélyen van. - The basil is on the balcony.

Hardcore Hungarian
/Starting a balcony herb garden
/A bazsalikom az erkélyen van.

A bazsalikom az erkélyen van.

Word

A bazsalikom az erkélyen van.

Meaning

The basil is on the balcony.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Hardcore Hungarian

Lesson

Starting a balcony herb garden

Breakdown of A bazsalikom az erkélyen van.

Questions & Answers about A bazsalikom az erkélyen van.

Why are there two forms of the here: a and az?

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

a before a consonant sound: a bazsalikom
az before a vowel sound: az erkélyen

So this works a bit like English a/an, except it is the definite article, not the indefinite one.

What does erkélyen mean, and how is it built?

Erkélyen means on the balcony.

It is made from:

erkély = balcony
-en = a case ending meaning on

So Hungarian often uses a case ending where English uses a separate preposition. Instead of on the balcony, Hungarian says something more like the balcony-on.

Also notice that the article stays separate:

az erkélyen = on the balcony

The ending attaches to the noun, not to the article.

Why is the ending -en used here, and not -on or -ön?

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-on, -en, and -ön are different forms of the same case ending, often called the superessive case, which usually means on a surface or place.

Which form you use depends mostly on vowel harmony and the shape of the word.

Very roughly:

back-vowel words often take -on
front-vowel words often take -en
front rounded-vowel words often take -ön

Since erkély has front vowels, -en is the correct form: erkélyen.

Some examples:

asztal → asztalon = on the table
szék → széken = on the chair
tükör → tükrön = on the mirror

Why is van included? I thought Hungarian often leaves out is.

That is a very common question. In Hungarian, van (is) is often omitted in the present tense, but not always.

It is usually omitted in simple statements like:

A bazsalikom zöld. = The basil is green.
A bazsalikom növény. = The basil is a plant.

But when you say where something is, van is normally kept:

A bazsalikom az erkélyen van. = The basil is on the balcony.

So with location, van is normally required.

Is the word order fixed in this sentence?

No, Hungarian word order is more flexible than English word order.

A bazsalikom az erkélyen van. is a neutral sentence:
As for the basil, it is on the balcony.

But you could also say:

Az erkélyen van a bazsalikom.

This puts more focus on the location, as if answering Where is the basil?

So the words can move, but the emphasis changes. Hungarian word order often shows topic and focus, not just grammar.

Does A bazsalikom mean basil in general, or one specific basil plant?

In this sentence, it most naturally means a specific basil plant or the basil already known from context.

That is because a/az is the definite article. So a bazsalikom usually means the basil rather than basil in general.

Because the sentence mentions a place, English speakers will usually picture a particular basil plant, probably one growing in a pot on the balcony.

Why is there no separate word for it?

Hungarian does not need a separate subject pronoun here, because the subject is already stated:

A bazsalikom = the basil

English often uses pronouns very explicitly, but Hungarian often leaves them out unless they are needed for emphasis or clarity.

So you do not need a separate word meaning it in this sentence.

How do you pronounce bazsalikom and erkélyen?

A few useful pronunciation points:

Hungarian stress is usually on the first syllable
zs sounds like the s in measure
modern Hungarian ly is pronounced like j, similar to y in yes
é is a long vowel, roughly like ay in say, but pure and steady

Approximate pronunciations:

bazsalikom ≈ BAH-zhaw-lee-kom
erkélyen ≈ ER-kay-yen

A more IPA-style version:

bazsalikom = /ˈbɒʒɒlikom/
erkélyen = /ˈɛrkeːjɛn/

Could I leave out the articles and say Bazsalikom erkélyen van?

In standard Hungarian, that would not be the normal way to say this sentence.

Because you are talking about a specific basil and a specific balcony, Hungarian normally uses the definite articles:

A bazsalikom az erkélyen van.

Leaving out the articles can sound unnatural, poetic, headline-like, or like a special stylistic choice. For ordinary everyday speech, keep them in this sentence.

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