Az asztal alacsony.

Hungarian has two forms of the definite article: a and az.

• a is used before words that begin with a consonant
• az is used before words that begin with a vowel

Since asztal begins with a, the correct form is az asztal.

Examples:

• a könyv = the book
• az alma = the apple
• az asztal = the table

In Hungarian, the verb to be is often left out in the present tense when talking about the third person.

So instead of saying something equivalent to The table is low, Hungarian simply says:

• Az asztal alacsony.

This literally looks like The table low, but it naturally means The table is low.

Compare:

• Én magas vagyok. = I am tall.
• Te fáradt vagy. = You are tired.
• Az asztal alacsony. = The table is low.

Notice that in first and second person, the verb appears, but in third person singular/plural, it is usually omitted in the present tense.

Alacsony can mean both low and short, depending on context.

With asztal (table), the natural translation is usually:

• The table is low.

With a person, alacsony often means:

• short

Examples:

• A fiú alacsony. = The boy is short.
• A fal alacsony. = The wall is low.

So the exact English word depends on what is being described.

In Hungarian, adjectives used in simple statements like this usually do not agree with the noun in number, gender, or case the way they do in many European languages.

So:

• az asztal alacsony = the table is low
• az asztalok alacsonyak = the tables are low

In the singular sentence, alacsony stays in its base form.

Also, Hungarian has no grammatical gender, so there is no masculine/feminine adjective agreement to worry about.

Asztal is in the nominative form, meaning it is the basic dictionary form with no added case ending.

In this sentence, az asztal is the subject:

• Az asztal = the table
• alacsony = low

So the structure is simply:

• subject + adjective

If the noun were in another case, it would usually have an ending:

• asztalt = table (object)
• asztalon = on the table
• asztalnak = to the table

But here it is just asztal.

Yes, you can say Alacsony az asztal.

Both of these are grammatical:

• Az asztal alacsony.
• Alacsony az asztal.

The difference is mainly one of focus or emphasis.

• Az asztal alacsony. = neutral statement: The table is low.
• Alacsony az asztal. = emphasis on low: The table is low / It’s low, the table.

Hungarian word order is more flexible than English, and it often reflects what part of the sentence is being emphasized.

A rough English-friendly guide is:

• Az ≈ awz
• asztal ≈ AHS-tawl
• alacsony ≈ AW-law-choy

A few useful pronunciation notes:

• Hungarian a is not like English a in cat. It is more like a short o sound.
• sz is pronounced like English s
• s by itself is pronounced like English sh
• cs is pronounced like ch

So in alacsony, the cs sounds like ch.

The stress in Hungarian is always on the first syllable of the word:

• ASZ-tal
• A-la-csony

In Az asztal alacsony, the article az makes the noun definite: the table.

Hungarian uses the definite article much like English does when talking about a specific thing:

• Az asztal alacsony. = The table is low.

If you wanted a table is low, you would use the indefinite article:

• Egy asztal alacsony.

However, that sentence is less natural by itself unless you are making a contrast or speaking very generally in a specific context.

So az asztal most naturally means the table.

To make it negative, you use nem before the adjective:

• Az asztal nem alacsony. = The table is not low.

This is the normal way to negate a sentence like this.

Examples:

• A ház nagy. = The house is big.
• A ház nem nagy. = The house is not big.

A simple yes/no question is usually formed with intonation in speech:

• Az asztal alacsony? = Is the table low?

In writing, the question mark shows it is a question. Hungarian does not require changing the word order the way English does.

So English:

• The table is low.
• Is the table low?

Hungarian:

• Az asztal alacsony.
• Az asztal alacsony?

The plural is:

• Az asztalok alacsonyak. = The tables are low.

Here both the noun and the predicate adjective show plural:

• asztal = table

• asztalok = tables

• alacsony = low
• alacsonyak = low (plural predicate form)

So this is a useful pattern:

• Az asztal alacsony. = The table is low.
• Az asztalok alacsonyak. = The tables are low.