Az út hosszú, mégis elindulunk.

Hungarian has two forms of the definite article:

• a before most consonants
• az before vowels

Because út begins with a vowel, the correct form is az út.

Examples:

• a ház = the house
• az autó = the car
• az út = the road / the way

Út literally means road, way, or route. In this sentence, it can be understood literally as the road or more generally as the journey / the way ahead, depending on context.

So Az út hosszú can mean:

• The road is long
• The way is long
• The journey ahead is long

Hungarian often allows this kind of broader interpretation.

In Hungarian, the verb to be is usually left out in the present tense, third person.

So instead of saying something equivalent to The road is long with an explicit is, Hungarian simply says:

• Az út hosszú.

This is completely normal.

Compare:

• Én fáradt vagyok. = I am tired.
• Te fáradt vagy. = You are tired.
• Ő fáradt. = He/she is tired.

Notice that in the third person singular, van is not used here.

Hosszú means long.

Here it is a predicate adjective, describing út:

• Az út hosszú. = The road is long.

In this basic structure, the adjective does not need to agree with the noun in gender or number, because Hungarian does not have grammatical gender and adjectives usually do not change for agreement the way they do in some other languages.

Also note the final ú: it is a long vowel, and vowel length matters in Hungarian.

Mégis means still, yet, nevertheless, or all the same.

In this sentence it introduces a contrast:

• Az út hosszú = The road is long
• mégis elindulunk = yet / nevertheless we set off

So the idea is: Even though the road is long, we still set off.

It is a very common word for expressing contrast when something happens despite an obstacle or reason not to do it.

The comma separates two clauses:

• Az út hosszú
• mégis elindulunk

This is similar to English punctuation with yet or nevertheless:

• The road is long, yet we set off.

In Hungarian, a connector like mégis often appears after a comma when linking two related clauses with contrast.

Elindulunk means we set off, we start out, or we leave.

It comes from:

• indul = to start, to depart
• el- = a verbal prefix that often gives the sense of starting off or moving away
• -unk = we ending

So:

• indulunk = we start / we depart
• elindulunk = we set off / we get going

The prefix el- makes the action feel more like actually beginning the journey.

The ending -unk shows:

• first person plural = we

So elindulunk already includes the subject we. Hungarian usually does not need a separate subject pronoun unless it is being emphasized.

Compare:

• indulok = I start
• indulsz = you start
• indul = he/she starts
• indulunk = we start

Because the verb ending carries the subject information, there is no need to say mi elindulunk, unless you specifically want to stress we.

Hungarian word order is flexible, but it is not random. It often reflects focus, topic, and the flow of information.

In this sentence:

• Az út hosszú, mégis elindulunk.

the structure is very natural. The first clause states the situation, and the second clause gives the response to it. Putting elindulunk at the end sounds neutral and complete.

Hungarian often places a conjunction or adverb like mégis before the verb:

• mégis elindulunk = nevertheless, we set off

So the sentence order feels quite natural and idiomatic.

Yes, you could, but it is slightly different in tone.

• de = but
• mégis = nevertheless / still / all the same

Compare:

• Az út hosszú, de elindulunk. = The road is long, but we set off.
• Az út hosszú, mégis elindulunk. = The road is long, yet/nevertheless we set off.

Mégis usually expresses a stronger sense of doing something despite the obstacle. It highlights the contrast more sharply than de.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

• Az út hosszú, mégis elindulunk.
• ahz oot hos-soo, may-geesh eh-lin-doo-loonk

A few key points:

• ú is a long oo sound
• sz is pronounced like English s
• s by itself is pronounced like English sh
• g is always hard, as in go
• stress in Hungarian usually falls on the first syllable of each word:
  • AZ út
  • HOSZ-szú
  • MÉG-is
  • EL-in-du-lunk

It is neutral and natural. It works in both spoken and written Hungarian.

Nothing in the sentence is especially formal, informal, poetic, or slangy. It is simply a clear, standard Hungarian sentence expressing contrast:

• the journey is difficult or long
• even so, we begin it