A lámpa az asztal felett van.

Hungarian has two forms of the definite article:

• a before a consonant sound
• az before a vowel sound

So in this sentence:

• a lámpa = the lamp because lámpa starts with l
• az asztal = the table because asztal starts with a

This is similar to how English uses a and an, but Hungarian does it with the, not with the indefinite article.

Because Hungarian often uses postpositions instead of prepositions.

English says:

• above the table

Hungarian says:

• the table above
• az asztal felett

So felett means above/over, but it comes after the noun phrase it belongs to.

Felett means above or over.

It usually means that something is in a higher position than something else, without necessarily touching it.

So:

• az asztal felett = above the table / over the table

If you wanted to say on the table, Hungarian would use something different, such as az asztalon.

Because felett and -on/-en/-ön express different ideas.

• az asztalon = on the table
  this suggests contact with the surface
• az asztal felett = above the table
  this suggests a position higher than the table, not necessarily touching it

So if the lamp is hanging over the table, felett is the right choice.

Van is the verb to be.

In this sentence, it is used because the sentence describes location:

• A lámpa az asztal felett van. = The lamp is above the table.

This is important because Hungarian does not always use van in the present tense.

For example:

• A lámpa nagy. = The lamp is big.
  No van here.

But with location, Hungarian normally does use van:

• A lámpa itt van. = The lamp is here.
• A lámpa az asztal felett van. = The lamp is above the table.

Because both nouns are definite in the sentence.

• A lámpa = the lamp
• az asztal = the table

Hungarian uses the definite article much like English does in this kind of sentence. If you are talking about a specific lamp and a specific table, both can take the article.

No. Felett is a separate word, a postposition.

So:

• az asztal felett = noun phrase + postposition

This is different from endings attached directly to the noun, such as:

• asztalon = on the table
• asztalhoz = to the table
• asztaltól = from the table

So felett behaves more like a separate grammatical word, not like a suffix.

Yes, Hungarian word order is flexible, but changes can affect emphasis.

The neutral sentence is:

• A lámpa az asztal felett van.

This simply states where the lamp is.

You may also hear:

• Az asztal felett van a lámpa.

This can sound more like Above the table is the lamp or put more focus on the location.

So the original version is a very natural basic way to say it, but other orders are possible depending on emphasis.

Yes. Felett and fölött are both used and both mean above/over.

So these are both possible:

• az asztal felett
• az asztal fölött

They are very close in meaning. In many situations, the difference is mainly stylistic or regional rather than a big difference in meaning.

A few useful pronunciation points:

• Hungarian stress is usually on the first syllable of each word.
• lámpa has a long á, so it sounds longer than a short a.
• asztal begins with a vowel, which is why it takes az.
• felett is pronounced with stress on the first syllable: FE-lett.
• van is short and simple, like vawn but with a more Hungarian vowel.

So the rhythm is roughly:

• A LÁM-pa az ASZ-tal FE-lett van.

More or less, yes.

A very literal breakdown would be:

• A lámpa = the lamp
• az asztal felett = above the table / literally the table above
• van = is

So Hungarian organizes the sentence differently from English, but the structure is perfectly normal in Hungarian:

• thing being talked about
• location
• is

That is a very common pattern for location sentences.