Learn Hardcore Hungarian: A város legszebb utcája ez az utca. - The most beautiful street of the city is this street.

Ez az utca a város legszebb utcája. Neutral if you’re talking about this street.
A város legszebb utcája ez az utca. You’re thematizing “the city’s most beautiful street” and identifying it as this street (as if answering “Which is the city’s most beautiful street?”).

Why is there an A at the very beginning?

Hungarian possessive noun phrases with a common-noun possessor normally take the definite article before the possessor: a város utcája (the city’s street). You don’t add a second article before the possessed noun, so not ✗ a város a legszebb utcája. The single initial A “covers” the whole possessive phrase.

Should there be another article before legszebb (like a legszebb)? I often see superlatives with an article.

Superlatives typically do take the article (a legszebb utca), but in a possessive structure with a common-noun possessor you already have the article in front of the possessor: a város legszebb utcája. You don’t add another article before legszebb in this configuration.

With a dative-marked possessor, however, the possessed typically does get its own article: a városnak a legszebb utcája (see below).

What does the -ja in utcája mean, and why does utca become utcája?

The suffix -ja / -je is the 3rd-person singular possessive marker (“its/his/her”). Because utca ends in a vowel, you add -ja, and the final a lengthens to á: utca → utcája. A couple more examples:

alma → almája (its apple)
Consonant-final nouns take -a/-e: ház → háza, könyv → könyve (vowel harmony decides a vs e).

Doesn’t utcája mean “his/her street”? How does it mean “the city’s street”?

By itself, utcája means “his/her/its street.” When you add an explicit possessor (here: a város), the suffix still shows 3rd person possession, and the possessor phrase tells you whose it is: a város utcája = “the city’s street.”

Why is it ez az utca and not ez a utca?

Because utca starts with a vowel. Hungarian uses a before consonants and az before vowels. After a demonstrative, you still repeat the article:

ez a ház (this house)
ez az utca (this street)
az a ház (that house)
az az utca (that street)

Is the second az in ez az utca the word for “that”?

No. In ez az utca, the first word ez means “this,” and the second az is the definite article used before a vowel-initial noun. So it’s literally “this the street,” which is how Hungarian forms “this street.”

How is the superlative formed in legszebb? What’s the difference from szebb?

szép = beautiful
szebb = more beautiful (comparative, made with -bb)
legszebb = most beautiful (superlative, made by prefixing leg- to the comparative) You’ll often see an article with superlatives: a legszebb utca (the most beautiful street). Intensified forms like legeslegszebb (“the very most beautiful”) also exist in informal/emphatic style.

Could I say Ez az utca a legszebb a városban instead?

Yes. That version uses an “in the city” phrase (a városban) rather than a possessive (a város legszebb utcája). Both are idiomatic:

Ez az utca a város legszebb utcája. (possessive: the city’s most beautiful street)
Ez az utca a legszebb a városban. (inessive: the most beautiful in the city)

The possessive version feels more “tightly” tied to the noun “street.”

What about A városnak ez a legszebb utcája? When do I use the -nak/-nek possessor?

That’s also correct and common. Marking the possessor with -nak/-nek (dative) is another standard possessive pattern. It often helps with clarity or when the possessor phrase is long, and it tends to give it a bit more emphasis. Typical forms:

A város legszebb utcája ez az utca.
Ez az utca a város legszebb utcája.
A városnak ez a legszebb utcája. (possessor in dative; the possessed keeps its article: a legszebb utcája)

Avoid leaving out the possessed article in the dative pattern: prefer a városnak a legszebb utcája over ✗ a városnak legszebb utcája.

Do I still need the initial article if the possessor is a proper name, like Budapest?

No. With proper names as possessors, the article is usually omitted:

Budapest legszebb utcája a Váci utca. But with a common noun possessor (like város), you normally include the article: A város legszebb utcája…

Which part is the subject here?

In copular (equational) sentences without van, Hungarian doesn’t mark subject vs. predicate with case. Information structure does the heavy lifting. Whichever part you put first is typically the topic (what you’re talking about), and the second part identifies it. In practice, treat both noun phrases as referential equals linked by the (unspoken) copula. If you need a “subject-like” feel, ez (az utca) often functions as the thing being identified.

How do I make it plural? “These streets are the city’s most beautiful streets.”

Ezek az utcák a város legszebb utcái. You pluralize both sides:
ezek az utcák (these streets)
a város legszebb utcái (the city’s most beautiful streets; note the plural possessed ending -ai on utca → utcái)

The reversed order also works: A város legszebb utcái ezek az utcák.

How do I negate the sentence?

Put nem before the predicate part you’re denying:

Ez az utca nem a város legszebb utcája.
Or with the other order: A város legszebb utcája nem ez az utca.

Can I shorten it to avoid repeating utca?

Yes. Common options:

Ez a város legszebb utcája. (“This is the city’s most beautiful street.”)
Ez a legszebb utca a városban. You can also use a pronominal “most beautiful one”: Ez a város legszebbje. But without context it’s vaguer (it could be “the most beautiful one” of whatever set you’re discussing), so adding utca keeps it specific.

Any pronunciation tips for tricky parts?

sz is like English s in “see,” while Hungarian s is like English sh.
c in utca is “ts”: utca ≈ “oot-tsa.”
Long á in utcája is held longer than a.
Word stress is always on the first syllable of each word: A VÁ-ros LEG-szebb UT-cá-ja EZ AZ UT-ca.