A feladvány új.

A is the definite article in Hungarian, equivalent to the in English.

Hungarian has two forms of the definite article:

• a before most consonant sounds
• az before vowel sounds

So:

• a feladvány = the puzzle / the riddle
• az alma = the apple

Because feladvány begins with a consonant sound, Hungarian uses a.

Because új is functioning as a predicate adjective here, not as an adjective directly attached to the noun.

Compare:

• A feladvány új. = The puzzle is new.
• Az új feladvány = the new puzzle

So:

• noun + adjective in this kind of sentence often means X is adjective
• adjective + noun means the adjective is directly modifying the noun

This is a very important difference in Hungarian word order.

In Hungarian, the verb van (to be) is usually left out in the present tense, third person singular and plural when the sentence says that something is something or is some way.

So:

• A feladvány új. literally looks like The puzzle new
• but it means The puzzle is new

This omission is normal.

Compare:

• Én új vagyok. = I am new.
• Te új vagy. = You are new.
• A feladvány új. = The puzzle is new.

In first and second person, the verb appears. In third person present, it is usually omitted.

No. That would be incorrect.

In a simple present-tense sentence like this, you do not use van in third person:

• correct: A feladvány új.
• incorrect: A feladvány új van.

However, van does appear in other situations, for example:

• past tense: A feladvány új volt. = The puzzle was new.
• future-like meaning: A feladvány új lesz. = The puzzle will be new.

Feladvány is a noun. In sentences like this, it is the subject.

It commonly means something like a puzzle, riddle, or problem to solve, depending on context.

The ending -vány is part of the noun itself; it is not a case ending here.

A simple pronunciation guide:

• feladvány ≈ feh-lod-vaany
• új ≈ something like ooj

A few useful points:

• Hungarian stress is usually on the first syllable, so FELadvány
• á is a long vowel, somewhat like the a in father
• ny is pronounced like ny in canyon
• ú is a long u sound
• j is pronounced like English y

So új sounds roughly like ooy.

Because új is the basic dictionary form of the adjective new.

Hungarian adjectives often stay in their basic form when used predicatively:

• A feladvány új. = The puzzle is new.

If the adjective were used in other grammatical roles, it might take endings, but not here.

Yes, but changing the word order can change the focus or emphasis.

For example:

• A feladvány új. = neutral: The puzzle is new.
• Új a feladvány. = emphasis on new, something like The puzzle is new / It’s the puzzle that is new

Hungarian word order is often influenced by what the speaker wants to emphasize, not just by fixed subject-verb-object rules.

You would make both the noun and the adjective plural:

• A feladványok újak.

Breakdown:

• a = the
• feladványok = puzzles
• újak = new in the plural

Notice that in third person plural present tense, the verb are is also omitted, just like is was omitted in the singular sentence.

They are different structures with different meanings:

• A feladvány új. = The puzzle is new.
• Egy új feladvány. = a new puzzle

So:

• A feladvány új is a full sentence
• Egy új feladvány is just a noun phrase, not a complete sentence by itself

This is one of the most useful contrasts for beginners to notice in Hungarian.