Learn Hardcore Hungarian: A szomszéd nő vizet kér. - The female neighbor asks for water.

Hungarian marks direct objects with the accusative ending -t. Many nouns take a linking vowel before it, so víz + -t → vizet (with an inserted e).
The long í in víz shortens to i in this form: víz → vizet. Writing vízet is a common mistake.
Similar patterns: kéz → kezet (hand), tűz → tüzet (fire).

Why doesn’t nő have any ending? Isn’t Hungarian full of endings?

Subjects are typically in the unmarked (nominative) form. The ending -t goes on direct objects, not subjects. Here, nő is the subject, vizet is the object.

What’s the difference between kér and kérdez?

kér = to ask for/request/order something (the thing is the direct object): vizet kér (asks for water).
kérdez = to ask (a question): kérdez valamit or kérdez tőle (asks something / asks him-her).

Where is the word “for” (as in “ask for”)?

Hungarian doesn’t use a separate preposition here. kér takes the thing requested as a direct object: vizet kér = “asks for water.”
If you name the person you ask from, use -tól/-től: vizet kér a szomszédtól (asks the neighbor for water).

Is the word order fixed? Can I move things around?

Hungarian word order serves information structure (topic/focus). All of these are possible, with different nuances:

A szomszéd nő vizet kér. Neutral statement; topic = the neighbor woman; focus on the requested item before the verb.
A szomszéd nő kér vizet. Grammatical; puts a bit more emphasis on the action of asking.
Vizet kér a szomszéd nő. Emphasizes that it’s water (not something else) she’s asking for; good as an answer to “What does she want?”

How would I say “The neighbor woman asks for the water” (specific water)?

Make the object definite and switch the verb to definite conjugation:

A szomszéd nő a vizet kéri. (Definite object a vizet triggers kéri instead of kér.)

Could/should szomszéd nő be one word?

You’ll see both:

szomszéd nő (two words) — perfectly fine in everyday speech.
szomszédnő (compound) — also common, especially in writing.
Another frequent option is szomszédasszony (“neighbor lady”), and more formal is szomszéd hölgy.

How do I say “ask X for water”?

Use the pattern kér valakitől valamit:

A szomszéd nő a portástól vizet kér. (The neighbor woman asks the doorman for water.)
With pronouns: tőlem/tőled/tőle/tőlünk/tőletek/tőlük (from me/you/him-her/us/you(pl)/them).

How do I form a yes–no question from this sentence?

Just use question intonation (and a question mark in writing):

A szomszéd nő vizet kér? You can also front the focused element for emphasis: Vizet kér a szomszéd nő?

How do I negate it?

Put nem before the verb (and anything focused remains before the verb):

A szomszéd nő nem kér vizet. (She doesn’t ask for water.)
Vizet nem kér a szomszéd nő. (What she doesn’t ask for is water.)

Why is there no word for “some” before water?

Hungarian typically uses a bare singular object for an indefinite amount of a mass noun:

vizet kér ≈ “asks for (some) water.” If you want to stress the small quantity: egy kis vizet or némi vizet.

Can I say “one water” like in a restaurant?

Yes. Counting implies a portion (glass/bottle):

Egy vizet kérek. (I’ll have a water.) In third person: A szomszéd nő egy vizet kér.

What’s the pronunciation of the tricky letters?

sz = English s (as in see). Note: Hungarian s alone is “sh.”
é is a long close-mid e (like the vowel in “café,” longer, no glide).
ő (double-acute) is a long ö (like German “ö”).
í is a long i (like “ee” in see), but in vizet it’s short i.
Primary stress is always on the first syllable of each word.