Az épület régi.

Az means the.

Hungarian has two forms of the definite article:

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

Because épület begins with é, you say az épület.

Compare:

• a ház = the house
• az épület = the building

In Hungarian, the verb van = to be is usually omitted in the present tense, third person when the predicate is a noun or adjective.

So:

• Az épület régi. literally looks like The building old.
• But it means The building is old.

This is completely normal Hungarian.

However, in other tenses, the verb does appear:

• Az épület régi volt. = The building was old.
• Az épület régi lesz. = The building will be old.

Because here régi is not directly modifying the noun; it is the predicate adjective, meaning old in The building is old.

Compare these two patterns:

• Az épület régi. = The building is old.
• A régi épület = the old building

So:

• after the noun: part of the sentence predicate
• before the noun: directly describes the noun inside a noun phrase

This is a very important distinction in Hungarian.

Not here. The t is part of the basic word itself.

So épület is the normal dictionary form meaning building.

This matters because beginners often learn that -t can mark the accusative, and then wonder whether épület is an object form. It is not.

The accusative form would be:

• épületet = building as a direct object

So in Az épület régi, épület is just the subject, not an object.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

• épület = [ˈeːpylɛt]
• régi = [ˈreːɡi]

A few useful points:

• é is a long vowel, somewhat like the vowel in say, but purer
• ü has no exact English equivalent; it is like German ü or French u
• g in régi is a hard g, like in give
• Hungarian stress is normally on the first syllable of the word:
  • Épület
  • RÉgi

None of those. Hungarian does not have grammatical gender.

So épület is not masculine or feminine, and adjectives/articles do not change based on gender.

That means Hungarian avoids a lot of things English learners may expect from languages like German, French, or Spanish.

Yes, but it does not mean exactly the same thing.

• Az épület régi. = The building is old.
  This is a complete sentence.

• A régi épület = the old building
  This is just a noun phrase, not a full sentence.

So if you say a régi épület, you are naming which building, not making a full statement about it.

For a building, régi is the normal word.

• régi usually means old in the sense of not new, from long ago, or long-standing
• öreg is more often used for living beings, especially people and animals, or for something felt as aged in a more personal or physical sense

So for a building:

• régi épület = the natural, neutral choice

You may sometimes see öreg with objects or buildings in certain styles or contexts, but régi is the standard word a learner should use here.

Yes. Hungarian word order is fairly flexible, and changes in order often affect emphasis rather than the core meaning.

The given sentence:

• Az épület régi.

is the neutral way to say it.

You may also see:

• Régi az épület.

This still means The building is old, but it puts more focus on régi — something like The building is old or It’s old, the building depending on context.

For beginners, the original version is the safest neutral pattern.

You add nem before the adjective:

• Az épület nem régi. = The building is not old.

Notice that there is still no separate word for is in the present tense here.

Usually, you simply use question intonation in speech and a question mark in writing:

• Az épület régi? = Is the building old?

Hungarian often forms yes/no questions this way, without changing the word order the way English does.