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Learn Hardcore Hungarian: A havi számla drága. - The monthly bill is expensive.

Hardcore Hungarian
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/A havi számla drága.

A havi számla drága.

A havi számla drága.

The monthly bill is expensive.

Breakdown of A havi számla drága.

Questions & Answers about A havi számla drága.

What does a mean at the beginning of the sentence?

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

So:

a havi számla = the monthly bill

Hungarian has two forms of the:

a before most consonant sounds
az before vowel sounds

Here havi begins with a consonant sound, so a is used.

What does havi mean?

Havi means monthly or per month, depending on context.

In this sentence:

a havi számla = the monthly bill

It is an adjective formed from the word for month with the suffix -i, which often turns a noun into an adjective meaning related to something.

So havi is not a separate noun like month here; it is already an adjective meaning monthly.

Why is it havi számla and not something like számla havi?

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In Hungarian, when an adjective directly modifies a noun, it normally comes before the noun.

So:

havi számla = monthly bill
drága számla = expensive bill

That is the normal attributive order: adjective + noun.

What does számla mean exactly?

Számla usually means bill or invoice.

Depending on context, it can also mean account in some situations, but in this sentence bill/invoice is the natural meaning.

So:

a havi számla = the monthly bill
a számla drága = the bill is expensive

Where is the word for is?

It is left out in Hungarian.

In the third person singular in the present tense, the verb van (is) is usually omitted.

So English:

The monthly bill is expensive.

Hungarian:

A havi számla drága.

Literally, it looks like:

The monthly bill expensive.

This is completely normal in Hungarian.

Why is drága after the noun phrase instead of before it?

Because here drága is not directly modifying the noun inside the noun phrase. It is the predicate of the sentence.

Compare:

a drága számla = the expensive bill
- here drága is an adjective directly describing számla
a számla drága = the bill is expensive
- here drága is what is being said about the bill

So in A havi számla drága, the structure is:

A havi számla = subject
drága = predicate adjective

Is the word order fixed in this sentence?

The sentence A havi számla drága is a normal, neutral way to say it, but Hungarian word order is fairly flexible and can change the emphasis.

For example:

A havi számla drága. = neutral: The monthly bill is expensive.
Drága a havi számla. = puts more focus on expensive

Both are grammatical, but the emphasis changes.

Does drága only mean expensive?

Not always. Drága can mean:

expensive
dear / beloved in other contexts

In this sentence, because it refers to a bill, the meaning is clearly expensive.

So here:

drága = expensive

Are there any case endings in this sentence?

No. All the words are in their basic dictionary form here.

a = definite article
havi = adjective
számla = noun in the nominative/basic form
drága = adjective in predicate position

There are no special case endings because the sentence is simply stating something about the subject.

How would I negate this sentence?

You add nem before the predicate.

So:

A havi számla drága. = The monthly bill is expensive.
A havi számla nem drága. = The monthly bill is not expensive.

This is the standard way to negate this kind of sentence.

How is this sentence pronounced?

A rough pronunciation guide is:

A havi számla drága.
≈ aw HAW-vee SAAM-laa DRAA-gaa

A few helpful notes:

sz is pronounced like English s
á is a long vowel, somewhat like a in father
stress in Hungarian usually falls on the first syllable of each word:
- HA-vi
- SZÁM-la
- DRÁ-ga

Could I also say A számla havi drága?

No, that would not sound natural for this meaning.

If you want to say the monthly bill is expensive, the normal form is:

A havi számla drága.

Why?

havi belongs with számla as part of the noun phrase: havi számla = monthly bill
drága is the predicate: is expensive

So Hungarian keeps those roles clear in the sentence.

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