Learn Hardcore Hungarian: A titkos szoba mögött van egy kis kert. - Behind the secret room, there is a small garden.

Mögött means behind, and it is a postposition in Hungarian (it comes after the noun rather than before, as we would expect in English). In this sentence, a titkos szoba mögött literally translates to behind the secret room.

Why do we use van here, and can I omit it?

In Hungarian, van is the existential verb meaning there is or it is. You need it to state the existence of something in a particular place (here, egy kis kert = a little garden). You generally cannot omit van in this type of sentence. In contrast, you may omit it when describing someone's profession or nationality, but not for existence/location statements like this.

Could I change the word order to “Egy kis kert van a titkos szoba mögött”?

Yes, you can. In Hungarian, word order is more flexible, and Egy kis kert van a titkos szoba mögött still conveys the same meaning. However, A titkos szoba mögött van egy kis kert might slightly emphasize the location (behind the secret room) more.

What does titkos szoba represent—two separate words or a compound noun?

Titkos szoba is composed of two separate words: titkos (secret) and szoba (room). However, in Hungarian, if these words appear together frequently, they can be thought of as a set phrase, but grammatically, they remain two separate words.

Why do we need egy before kis kert?

Egy is the indefinite article in Hungarian, matching a or an in English. It indicates that we’re talking about a nonspecific, singular garden. Though you can sometimes drop the article in other contexts (especially in general or descriptive statements), here it helps clarify that it’s one small garden behind the secret room.