Tegnap óta látjuk, hogy kihajt a vetőmag.

Tegnap óta means since yesterday.

• óta is used for something that started at a point in time and has continued up to now.
• -tól/-től usually means from in a more general starting-point sense, often without the idea of continuing until the present.

So:

• tegnap óta = since yesterday
• tegnaptól = from yesterday onward / starting yesterday

In this sentence, óta is the natural choice because the meaning is that this has been true continuously since yesterday.

Because látjuk is the definite conjugation of lát (to see).

Hungarian verbs often have two kinds of conjugation:

• indefinite: used when there is no definite object
• definite: used when the object is definite

Here the verb is followed by a hogy clause:

• látjuk, hogy... = we see that...

Hungarian treats this as if there were an implied azt (that/it):

• Látjuk (azt), hogy kihajt a vetőmag.
• Literally: We see it, that the seed is sprouting.

Because of that implied definite object, látjuk is used, not látunk.

Hungarian often uses the present tense with óta to describe a situation that started in the past and is still continuing now.

So even though English might prefer something like:

• We have been seeing since yesterday that...
• Since yesterday, we can see that...

Hungarian simply says:

• Tegnap óta látjuk...

This is very normal. The present tense shows that the seeing/observing is still true now.

Hogy means that and introduces a subordinate clause.

So the sentence breaks down like this:

• Tegnap óta látjuk = Since yesterday we see / have been seeing
• hogy kihajt a vetőmag = that the seed is sprouting

This is a very common Hungarian structure:

• Tudom, hogy... = I know that...
• Látom, hogy... = I see that...
• Halljuk, hogy... = We hear that...

In English, that is sometimes optional, but in Hungarian hogy is very often expressed.

Here kihajt means something like:

• sprouts
• starts to grow out
• puts out shoots
• comes up

It comes from ki- + hajt.

• ki- often adds the idea of out
• hajt can relate to driving/growing/pushing

So the image is that something is pushing out / growing out.

In plant-related language, kihajt often suggests that a shoot or growth is visibly emerging. Depending on context, English might translate it as sprout, germinate, or come up, but sprout is probably the simplest match here.

A vetőmag literally means the seed or the seed stock / seed grain, depending on context.

A few useful points:

• mag = seed
• vetőmag = seed meant for sowing, often more technical or agricultural

In Hungarian, a singular noun can sometimes refer to a material or collective idea more naturally than in English. So a vetőmag may refer to:

• a particular seed
• a batch of seed
• seed as the thing being observed

If you wanted to talk about clearly separate individual seeds, Hungarian might use a plural like magok, but vetőmag as a singular collective noun is perfectly natural.

Both are possible, but they are not exactly identical in feel.

• a vetőmag kihajt is a more straightforward, neutral topic + comment order
• kihajt a vetőmag puts the action more in the foreground and can sound a bit more like the seed is sprouting / up comes the seed

Hungarian word order is much more flexible than English word order, and it often reflects emphasis, information structure, or what is being presented as new.

In this sentence, kihajt a vetőmag has a natural, observation-like feel after látjuk, hogy...:

• we can see that the seed is sprouting

So it is not random word order; it helps shape what feels most prominent in the clause.

It can mean both.

In this sentence, látjuk could mean:

• literally we see with our eyes
• more generally we can tell / we observe / we notice

So the sentence may mean not only that you physically see the seed sprouting, but also that it has become clear from visible evidence.

This is very common in Hungarian, just as in English:

• I see that you’re tired.
• Látom, hogy fáradt vagy.

That does not have to mean only literal eyesight; it can also mean I can tell.

Yes. A is the definite article, meaning the.

Hungarian uses the definite article when the speaker has a specific, identifiable thing in mind. Here, a vetőmag suggests a particular seed or seed batch that both speaker and listener can identify from context.

English sometimes uses no article where Hungarian still prefers one, but here a vetőmag is very normal because the noun is definite and specific.

A very literal breakdown would be:

• Tegnap óta = since yesterday
• látjuk = we see it
• hogy = that
• kihajt = sprouts / grows out
• a vetőmag = the seed / the seed stock

So a very literal version is:

Since yesterday we see it, that the seed is sprouting.

That is not natural English, but it helps show the Hungarian structure. A more natural English translation would be something like:

• Since yesterday, we can see that the seed is sprouting.
• We’ve been seeing since yesterday that the seed is sprouting.