Learn Hardcore Hungarian: Szombaton általában tovább alszom, mert nincs munka. - On Saturday I usually sleep longer because there is no work.

The base word is szombat = Saturday.
The ending -on is a superessive case ending, which often corresponds to English "on" (on a surface, on a day, etc.).

So:

szombat = Saturday
szombat + -on → szombaton = on Saturday

You usually need this ending when you talk about activities happening on a particular day:

Hétfőn dolgozom. – I work on Monday.
Vasárnap pihenek. – On Sunday I rest. (here vasárnap is an adverb form that can be used without a case ending)

With szombat, the natural everyday form for “on Saturday” is szombaton.

Could I just say Szombat without -on to mean “on Saturday”?

Not in this context.

Szombat by itself is typically “Saturday” as a bare noun (e.g. naming the day, like in a list).
To mean “on Saturday” in a sentence about what you do then, Hungarian normally uses szombaton.

So:

✅ Szombaton általában tovább alszom. – correct, natural
❌ Szombat általában tovább alszom. – incorrect here

Where can I put általában in the sentence? Is the position fixed?

Általában means “usually / generally.” It’s an adverb of frequency and it can move around somewhat, but word order affects emphasis.

Your sentence:

Szombaton általában tovább alszom, mert nincs munka.

Other natural possibilities:

Általában szombaton tovább alszom, mert nincs munka.
Szombaton tovább alszom általában, mert nincs munka. (less neutral, sounds a bit more “afterthought”-like)

Neutral, most common options are:

Szombaton általában tovább alszom…
Általában szombaton tovább alszom…

Hungarian word order is strongly linked to focus and what is new/important in the sentence. Putting általában early gives it more weight (You are stressing that this is the usual pattern).

What exactly does tovább alszom mean? Is tovább like “more”?

Tovább literally means “further / onward / longer (in time)”.

With alszom (I sleep), it means:

tovább alszom = “I sleep longer”,
in the sense of “I continue sleeping for a longer time” or “I sleep in.”

So the phrase:

tovább aludni / tovább aludok / tovább alszom = to sleep longer, to keep sleeping

Tovább is used with many verbs to show continuation:

tovább megyek – I go further / I keep going
tovább dolgozom – I keep working / I continue working

Why is it alszom and not something like alsok?

The verb aludni (to sleep) is a bit irregular.

Infinitive: aludni – to sleep
3rd person singular: alszik – he/she sleeps
1st person singular: alszom – I sleep

Points to note:

The stem used in the present tense is alsz- (not alud-).
For many verbs whose stem ends in a consonant, the 1st person singular indefinite ending is -om / -em, so: alsz + om → alszom.

Alszok is very common in colloquial speech, but alszom is the standard and correct form in writing and in careful speech.

What tense is alszom? Why does it mean “I usually sleep” and not “I am sleeping”?

Alszom is present tense, indicative, 1st person singular. Hungarian does not have a separate continuous tense like English (I am sleeping).

Hungarian present tense covers:

general facts / habits:
- Szombaton általában tovább alszom. – On Saturdays I usually sleep longer.
actions happening right now:
- Most alszom. – I am sleeping now.

Context and adverbs (like általában, most, mindig) show whether it is habitual or happening right now.

Why is there a comma before mert?

Mert means “because” and it introduces a subordinate clause (a reason clause).

Hungarian punctuation rule:
When a conjunction like mert introduces a subordinate clause, you normally put a comma before it.

So:

Szombaton általában tovább alszom, mert nincs munka.
→ main clause: Szombaton általában tovább alszom
→ subordinate clause: mert nincs munka

It’s similar to English in “I sleep longer, because there is no work.”, where a comma is also possible.

What does nincs munka literally mean? Why not nem van munka?

Nincs munka literally is “there is no work” or “work does not exist (in this context).”

van = there is / is
nincs = there is no / is not (the negative of van in existential/possession contexts)

In these cases, Hungarian does not say nem van, but uses nincs (singular) or nincsenek (plural):

Van munka. – There is work.
Nincs munka. – There is no work.
Vannak könyvek. – There are books.
Nincsenek könyvek. – There are no books.

So nem van munka is ungrammatical; nincs munka is the correct form.

Why is there no article in munka? Why not a munka?

Munka = work (in general).

Hungarian often omits the article when talking about something in a general, non-specific, uncountable sense:

Nincs munka. – There is no work. (no work at all, in general)
Van munka. – There is work.

If you say a munka, it becomes more specific:

Nincs a munka. – This sounds strange; you would normally only use a munka if you are talking about some particular job / the work you mentioned already (and even then you’d usually say something like nincs meg a munka, “the work hasn’t been found / isn’t completed”).

So here, munka is used in a general sense: “there is no (any) work.”

Could I say mert nem dolgozom instead of mert nincs munka? Is there a difference?

You can say it, but the meaning shifts slightly.

Original:

mert nincs munka – because there is no work (no work is available / no job on that day)

Alternative:

mert nem dolgozom – because I don’t work (then)

Both can explain why you sleep longer on Saturday, but:

nincs munka focuses on the absence of work (externally: it’s a day off, no job to go to).
nem dolgozom focuses on your action (you are not working), without automatically saying why you’re not working.

In everyday speech, both are acceptable ways to justify sleeping longer on Saturdays, but nincs munka makes it sound more like an objective fact: “There is simply no work on that day.”

Why is there no én in the sentence? How do we know it means “I”?

Hungarian is a pro-drop language: subject pronouns (like én = I, te = you) are often left out because the verb ending shows who the subject is.

alszom has the personal ending -om, which clearly marks 1st person singular (“I”).

So:

(Én) szombaton általában tovább alszom.
Both versions are grammatical, but the natural everyday one is without én.

You usually include én only for emphasis or contrast:

Én szombaton általában tovább alszom, de a feleségem korán kel.
– I usually sleep longer on Saturdays, but my wife gets up early.

Could I move mert nincs munka to the beginning of the sentence?

Yes. That’s also grammatical:

Mert nincs munka, szombaton általában tovább alszom.
– Because there is no work, I usually sleep longer on Saturdays.

The meaning stays the same. Starting with mert nincs munka puts more emphasis on the reason. In everyday speech, both orders are fine:

Szombaton általában tovább alszom, mert nincs munka.
Mert nincs munka, szombaton általában tovább alszom.

Could I express “usually” in another way, for example with szoktam instead of általában?

Yes. Szoktam is another common way to express habit / usual action.

A natural alternative:

Szombaton tovább szoktam aludni, mert nincs munka.
– On Saturdays I usually sleep longer, because there is no work.

Differences:

általában alszom – “I usually sleep” (using an adverb of frequency)
szoktam aludni – “I am in the habit of sleeping / I tend to sleep”

They’re very close in meaning. Using szoktam makes the idea of habit slightly more explicit and sometimes a bit stronger. Both are perfectly normal here.