A város lakossága nagy.

A is the definite article, meaning the.

Hungarian has two forms of the definite article:

• a before most consonants
• az before vowels

So A város means the city.

Hungarian usually expresses this kind of relationship with a possessor + possessed noun structure.

So:

• város = city
• lakossága = its population / population of it

Together, a város lakossága means:

• the city's population
• or the population of the city

This is very natural in Hungarian. Instead of using a separate word like English of, Hungarian often marks possession on the second noun.

The ending shows possession.

Base word:

• lakosság = population

Possessed form:

• lakossága = his/her/its population

Here it means its population, with its referring to the city.

So the pattern is:

• város = city
• város lakossága = the city's population

This is a very common Hungarian structure: the possessed noun gets a possessive ending.

In Hungarian, the verb to be is often omitted in the present tense, third person singular/plural, when the predicate is a noun or adjective.

So:

• A város lakossága nagy. = The city's population is large.

There is no need to say a separate word for is here.

But in other persons, Hungarian does use the verb:

• Nagy vagyok. = I am big.
• Nagy vagy. = You are big.

Only in sentences like this one, with he/she/it or a noun subject in the present tense, the copula is normally left out.

Here nagy is the predicate adjective: it tells us something about the subject.

Structure:

• A város lakossága = the city's population
• nagy = large

So the sentence literally works like:

• The city's population — large.

This is normal Hungarian word order.

Also, compare:

• nagy lakosság = a large population

  • here nagy comes before the noun because it directly describes it inside the noun phrase

• A város lakossága nagy. = The city's population is large

  • here nagy is the predicate, so it comes after

Yes, you could, but it sounds more marked or emphatic.

Hungarian has two common possession patterns:

1. a város lakossága

   • the neutral, everyday form

2. a városnak a lakossága

   • also correct, but often more emphatic, contrastive, or stylistically heavier

In most basic situations, A város lakossága nagy is the most natural choice.

It can refer to the population as a whole, so it is a collective noun.

Depending on context, it may mean:

• the population in the statistical sense
• the inhabitants collectively

In this sentence, because of nagy = large, it most naturally means that the city has a large population.

So the idea is about size/number, not about the people being physically big.

Because lakosság is the normal everyday Hungarian word here.

• lakosság = population, inhabitants
• populáció exists, but it is more technical, scientific, or less natural in many everyday contexts

For a city, lakosság is the usual word.

So:

• A város lakossága nagy. = natural
• A város populációja nagy. = understandable, but less idiomatic in ordinary speech

The pattern is:

• [definite article] + [possessor] + [possessed noun with possessive suffix] + [predicate adjective]

In this sentence:

• A = the
• város = city
• lakossága = its population
• nagy = large

So a very literal breakdown is:

• The city its-population large.

That sounds strange in English, but it is a helpful way to see how Hungarian builds the sentence.