Learn Hardcore Hungarian: Mindkettő szép, de az egyik piszkos, a másik tiszta. - Both are beautiful, but one is dirty and the other is clean.

Hungarian normally drops the present-tense 3rd-person copula van/vannak when the predicate is a noun or an adjective. So you say Mindkettő szép, Az egyik piszkos, A másik tiszta without any explicit “is/are.” You must keep van/vannak with place/time predicates (e.g., Az autó a garázsban van “The car is in the garage.”), and in past/future: szép volt, szép lesz.

Why is it szép and not plural szépek after Mindkettő?

Because mindkettő is grammatically singular as a pronoun, the predicate is typically singular: Mindkettő szép. Compare:

A házak szépek. (Plural subject → plural predicate adjective)
Mindketten szépek. (People-focused pronoun → plural)
Mindkettő szép. (Neutral/thing-focused pronoun → singular)

Using plural with mindkettő (“Mindkettő szépek”) is nonstandard; stick to singular.

What’s the difference between mindkettő, mindketten, and mindkét?

mindkettő = “both (of them)” as a standalone pronoun, usually for things (can refer to people too, but less personal).
mindketten = “both (of them)” for people; it triggers plural agreement (e.g., Mindketten fáradtak).
mindkét = attributive form used before a noun: mindkét autó (“both cars”). The noun after it stays singular in form but is semantically plural.

Can I say Mind a kettő instead of Mindkettő?

Yes. Mind a kettő szép is fully correct and means the same as Mindkettő szép. Similarly with nouns: Mind a két autó szép ≈ Mindkét autó szép.

What exactly does az egyik … a másik … express? Does it imply there are exactly two?

The pair az egyik … a másik … means “one … the other …” and strongly signals a set of two known items. If there are more than two, use different wording (e.g., az egyik … egy másik … egy harmadik …) or rephrase to avoid the “the other” implication.

Why is it az egyik and not just egyik?

Here we’re referring back to a specific, known pair, so Hungarian uses the definite article: az egyik … a másik. Without the articles (egyik … másik) sounds informal/elliptical and is less standard in careful writing.

Is the az in az egyik the definite article “the” or the demonstrative “that”?

It’s the definite article “the.” In Hungarian the article is a/az. You get az before a vowel-initial word like egyik. It’s not the demonstrative “that” here.

Why is it az (not a) before egyik?

Hungarian uses a before consonant-initial words and az before vowel-initial words. egyik begins with a vowel, so you need az egyik. Likewise, a másik (consonant-initial) uses a.

Could I say Szép mindkettő instead of Mindkettő szép?

Yes, but the nuance shifts. Mindkettő szép is neutral (topic: “both,” comment: “are beautiful”). Szép mindkettő emphasizes the quality (“beautiful”) and then comments that it applies to both. Both are natural.

How would I say this if I kept the nouns explicit?

Use mindkét + noun or repeat the noun with az egyik … a másik …:

Mindkét autó szép, de az egyik autó piszkos, a másik (autó) tiszta. Omitting the second noun is fine because it’s understood from context.

What’s the agreement with verbs if I add one? Singular or plural with mindkettő?

With mindkettő, singular is the safe, standard choice: Mindkettő működik (“Both work”). Plural (működnek) is heard in speech but is less standard in careful writing. With mindketten, use plural: Mindketten működnek.

Why are there commas, especially before de?

Hungarian normally puts a comma before coordinating conjunctions like de (“but”): …, de …. The second comma (before a másik tiszta) separates the parallel clause that contrasts with az egyik piszkos. So the punctuation is standard: Mindkettő szép, de az egyik piszkos, a másik tiszta.

What do egyik, másik, and related forms mean in other common patterns?

(az) egyik = one (of two; or one of a known set)
(a) másik = the other (of two)
egyik sem = neither
mindkettő / mindketten = both
mindkettőjük = of both of them (possessive: mindkettőjük háza “both of their houses”)

Do adjectives agree in number and case in Hungarian?

Attributive adjectives (before a noun) don’t take plural marking: szép házak (“beautiful houses,” not ✗szépek házak).
Predicative adjectives (after the subject, like here) show plural with a normal plural subject: A házak szépek. But with mindkettő (grammatically singular), use singular: Mindkettő szép.

Pronunciation help: how do I read the tricky letters here?

sz = English “s” (as in “see”): szép ≈ “s-ape”
s = English “sh” (as in “she”): final -s in piszkos sounds like “sh”
cs = “ch” (not in this sentence, but good to know)
Long vowels: é is long “e” (like in “café”): szép; ő (in kettő) is a long, rounded “eu” sound. Stress is always on the first syllable: MINDkettő, EGYik, MÁsik, PISZkos, TISZta, SZÉP.

Are piszkos and koszos the same?

They’re near-synonyms for “dirty.” piszkos is common and neutral; koszos is very common and perhaps a bit more colloquial. Stronger options include mocskos (“filthy”); lighter or specific ones include poros (“dusty”).

Does szép always mean “beautiful”?

szép ranges from “pretty/nice” to “beautiful,” depending on context. For stronger praise, use gyönyörű (“gorgeous”), csodaszép (“stunningly beautiful”), etc. For “nice” in the sense of “pleasant/kind,” you’d use different words (e.g., kedves for a person).

Any quick morphology tips for the key words?

mindkettő = mind (“all/both”) + kettő (“two”)
egyik = related to egy (“one”) + suffix indicating “one (of a set/two)”
másik = “other (one)”
tiszta (clean), piszkos (dirty), szép (beautiful) are adjectives used predicatively here (no copula in present 3rd person).