Learn Hardcore Hungarian: A magyar óra ma nehéz. - The Hungarian class is difficult today.

Bold a/az is the definite article “the.” Use bold a before a consonant and bold az before a vowel: bold A magyar óra…, but bold Az angol óra….
Here we’re talking about a specific class (today’s Hungarian class), so the definite article is natural.
Bold egy is the indefinite article “a/an” (and also the numeral “one”). Bold Egy magyar óra ma nehéz would mean “A/one Hungarian class is difficult today,” which sounds odd unless you mean some non‑specific class or “one particular class.”

Why is there no bold van (“is”) in this sentence?

In present tense, 3rd person (singular or plural), Hungarian drops bold van when the predicate is a noun, adjective, or most adverbs. So bold A magyar óra ma nehéz is correct with no bold van.
You do use bold van when the predicate is about location or time-of-occurrence: bold Ma van a magyar óra. “The Hungarian class is today.”
Past and future keep the copula: bold A magyar óra tegnap nehéz volt. / A magyar óra holnap nehéz lesz.
Even in negation and yes/no questions with an adjective/noun predicate, you still omit bold van: bold A magyar óra ma nem nehéz. / A magyar óra ma nehéz?

Can I move bold ma (“today”)? Does the word order change the meaning?

Common, natural variants:
- Bold A magyar óra ma nehéz. (neutral)
- Bold Ma nehéz a magyar óra. (light emphasis on “today”)
- Bold Ma a magyar óra nehéz. (can suggest it’s the Hungarian class, specifically today, that’s difficult, e.g., in contrast to other classes)
Hungarian word order signals information structure. Fronting a word (putting it earlier) tends to emphasize it, but all three above are acceptable in everyday speech.

What exactly does bold óra mean here?

Bold óra can mean:
- “hour” (a unit of time),
- “class/lesson” (as in a school period),
- “clock/watch.”
In this sentence it means “class/lesson.” For time-telling you’d say bold Öt óra van. “It’s five o’clock.”

Should it be one word: bold magyaróra, not bold magyar óra?

For school subjects + “class,” standard spelling prefers the compound: bold magyaróra, bold angolóra, bold matekóra.
Many people also write it as two words in informal contexts; everyone understands it. In careful writing, use one word for the “class” meaning.
So you could also say: bold A magyaróra ma nehéz.

Why isn’t bold magyar capitalized?

In Hungarian, names of languages and nationalities are lowercase (unless at the start of a sentence): bold magyar, angol, francia.
Proper country names are capitalized: bold Magyarország “Hungary.”

How do I pronounce the tricky bits (bold gy, bold ó, bold é, final bold z)?

Bold gy ≈ a soft “dy” (like the “d” in “dune” in some accents). Bold magyar ≈ “MA-dyar.”
Bold ó is a long “oh” (hold it a bit longer): bold óra ≈ “OH-rah.”
Bold é is a long “eh/ay”-type vowel but monophthongal (no glide): bold nehéz ≈ “NEH-ehz.”
Bold r is tapped (quick, light r).
Final bold z is voiced “z,” not “s.”

Does bold nehéz mean “hard” or “heavy”? Which should I use?

Bold nehéz covers both “difficult” and “heavy.”
- Difficult: bold Ez a feladat nehéz. “This task is difficult.”
- Heavy: bold A táska nehéz. “The bag is heavy.”
Useful near-synonyms:
- Bold bonyolult = “complicated/complex” (structural complexity).
- Bold kemény = “tough/harsh” (demanding, strict, or physically hard).
In class/subject contexts, bold nehéz is the default for “hard/difficult.”

How do I say “The Hungarian classes are difficult today.” (plural)?

Bold A magyar órák ma nehezek.
- The noun pluralizes: bold órák.
- Predicative adjectives agree in number: bold nehezek (not bold nehéz).
- Attributive adjectives don’t change before the noun: bold magyar órák (not bold magyarok órák).

How do I negate the sentence?

Bold A magyar óra ma nem nehéz. or bold Ma nem nehéz a magyar óra.
Place bold nem directly before the adjective (the predicate). Do not insert bold van in this structure.

How do I ask a yes/no question with this sentence?

Just use question intonation: bold A magyar óra ma nehéz? or bold Ma nehéz a magyar óra?
More formal/explicit: bold Nehéz-e ma a magyar óra? (the yes/no particle bold -e attaches to the focused word).
Don’t add bold van here.

What if I want to say “Today’s Hungarian class is difficult.”?

Where does stress go in the sentence?

Hungarian has fixed word-initial stress: bold A MAGyar Óra MA NEhéz (each word is stressed on its first syllable).
Sentence-level emphasis is handled mostly by word order and intonation rather than shifting stress within a word.

Can I replace bold ma with another time word (e.g., “tomorrow”)? Do any rules change?

Yes: bold Holnap nehéz a magyar óra. “The Hungarian class is difficult tomorrow.”
If time is the predicate (you’re stating when the class takes place), you use the copula: bold Ma van a magyar óra. / bold Holnap lesz a magyar óra.
But with an adjective predicate like bold nehéz, you omit bold van in the present: bold A magyar óra ma/holnap nehéz.

Can I drop the article and say “Hungarian class is difficult today.”?

Bold Magyar óra ma nehéz sounds unusual in standard Hungarian. For a specific known class, use the definite article: bold A magyar óra ma nehéz.
Zero-article subjects tend to sound generic or headline-like; they’re not how you’d normally say this.

Where do intensifiers like “very” or focus words like “only” go?

Intensifier before the adjective: bold Ma nagyon nehéz a magyar óra. “The Hungarian class is very difficult today.”
Focus word before what it scopes: bold Csak a magyar óra nehéz ma. “Only the Hungarian class is difficult today.” / bold A magyar óra csak ma nehéz. “The Hungarian class is only difficult today.”