Ez a hónap nehéz.

Yes, this is a very common question.

In ez a hónap, the word ez means this, and a is the definite article the.
Hungarian normally uses this pattern with a noun:

• ez a könyv = this book
• ez a ház = this house
• ez a hónap = this month

So even though English says just this month, Hungarian usually says literally this the month.

A useful contrast:

• a hónap = the month
• ez a hónap = this month

In Hungarian, the verb to be is often omitted in the present tense, especially in sentences like:

• Ez a hónap nehéz. = This month is difficult.
• A ház nagy. = The house is big.
• A kávé forró. = The coffee is hot.

So in the present tense, Hungarian often says:

• X difficult instead of
• X is difficult

But in other tenses or with some other structures, the verb appears:

• Ez a hónap nehéz volt. = This month was difficult.
• Ez a hónap nehéz lesz. = This month will be difficult.

Nehéz most often means difficult or hard in this kind of sentence.

So here:

• Ez a hónap nehéz. = This month is difficult / hard.

But nehéz can also mean heavy in a physical sense:

• A táska nehéz. = The bag is heavy.

Hungarian uses the same adjective for both ideas, and the context tells you which meaning is intended.

A simple learner-friendly pronunciation guide is:

• Ez ≈ ez
• a ≈ aw or a short open o/a sound
• hónap ≈ HOH-nawp
• nehéz ≈ neh-HAYZ

A few important points:

• ó is a long vowel.
• é is pronounced like ay in say, but cleaner and without much glide.
• The stress in Hungarian is always on the first syllable of each word:
  • HÓ-nap
  • NE-héz

So the rhythm is:

EZ a HÓnap NEhéz

The accent marks in Hungarian are very important. They usually show that the vowel is longer, and sometimes also slightly different in quality.

In this sentence:

• ó in hónap
• é in nehéz

These are not optional spellings. They are part of the word.

For example, vowel length can change meaning in Hungarian, so it is important to notice and learn it carefully.

No. Hónap is in the nominative form, which is the basic dictionary form.

In this sentence:

• ez a hónap = this month
• nehéz = difficult

The sentence is a simple statement: This month is difficult.

No extra case ending is needed because hónap is the subject of the sentence.

Normally, no. Standard Hungarian uses:

• ez a hónap

not

• ez hónap

When ez or az directly modifies a noun, Hungarian usually includes the definite article:

• ez a nap = this day
• ez a város = this city
• ez a hónap = this month

So Ez a hónap nehéz is the natural standard form.

Yes, Hungarian word order is flexible, but changes in word order often change the focus or emphasis.

The neutral sentence is:

• Ez a hónap nehéz. = This month is difficult.

You might also hear:

• Nehéz ez a hónap.

This still means roughly This month is difficult, but it gives more emphasis to nehéz:
Difficult, this month is. / This month really is difficult.

So the original sentence is the most neutral and straightforward version for learners.

Hungarian adjectives usually do not agree with the noun in the way they do in many Indo-European languages.

So:

• nehéz hónap = a difficult month
• ez a hónap nehéz = this month is difficult

The adjective nehéz stays the same.

This is much simpler than in languages where adjectives change for gender, number, or case. In Hungarian, adjectives are often unchanged in these basic uses.

These mean different things.

• Ez a hónap nehéz. = This month is difficult.
  This is a full sentence.

• Ez a nehéz hónap. = This is the difficult month.
  This is also a full sentence, but now nehéz is part of the noun phrase a nehéz hónap = the difficult month.

So:

• Ez a hónap nehéz. → the month has the property difficult
• Ez a nehéz hónap. → identifies this as the difficult month

No. In modern Hungarian:

• hónap = month
• hold = moon

Historically the ideas are related in many languages, but in everyday Hungarian hónap means month, not moon.

So in this sentence, there is no ambiguity:

• Ez a hónap nehéz. = This month is difficult.