Breakdown of A kárenyhítés a kárfelmérés előtt kezdődik.
az
the
kezdődni
to start
előtt
before
kárfelmérés
an assessment of damage
Questions & Answers about A kárenyhítés a kárfelmérés előtt kezdődik.
What do kárenyhítés and kárfelmérés mean word by word? Are they compound nouns?
Yes. Both are very typical Hungarian compound nouns.
- kár = damage, harm, loss
- enyhítés = mitigation, easing, reduction
→ kárenyhítés = damage mitigation / loss reduction
And:
- kár = damage
- felmérés = assessment, survey, evaluation
→ kárfelmérés = damage assessment
Hungarian forms compounds very freely, so you will often see long nouns like this in formal or technical language.
Why is there a twice in the sentence?
Because a is the Hungarian definite article, meaning the.
So:
- A kárenyhítés = the damage mitigation
- a kárfelmérés előtt = before the damage assessment
Hungarian uses the definite article very often, sometimes even where English might sound more natural without it. In this sentence, both nouns are treated as definite, specific concepts.
Also note:
- a is used before most consonants
- az is used before vowels
For example:
- a kár
- az értékelés
Why is it előtt after the noun? Does Hungarian use prepositions differently?