Learn Hardcore Hungarian: A nő a tükörben nézi a ruháját, mielőtt munkába megy. - The woman looks at her clothes in the mirror before she goes to work.

Hungarian almost always uses an article when you would in English, so subjects like the woman, the boy, the car normally appear as A nő, A fiú, Az autó.

Use A before words starting with a consonant (nő), and Az before words starting with a vowel (ember → Az ember).

Why is it a tükörben and not a tükörbenben or something longer? What does -ben mean?

-ban / -ben is an inessive case ending and means “in”.

tükör = mirror
tükörben = in the mirror

You don’t add an extra -ban/-ben; it’s just one suffix attached to the noun.

So:

a tükör = the mirror
a tükörben = in the mirror

The article a stays in front, and the “in” meaning is inside the suffix -ben on the noun, not a separate word.

Why is it nézi and not just néz?

Hungarian has two verb conjugations: indefinite and definite.

néz = he/she looks (indefinite: object is not specific or not mentioned)
nézi = he/she looks at it / he/she is looking at the specific thing (definite: specific, known object)

In the sentence, she is looking at a ruháját (her dress, a specific thing), so the verb must be definite:

A nő a tükörben nézi a ruháját.
→ The woman is looking at her (specific) dress in the mirror.

If there were no specific object, you’d use néz:

A nő a tükörbe néz. – The woman looks into the mirror. (no separate direct object, so indefinite)

What exactly does ruháját mean, and what are all its parts?

ruháját breaks down like this:

ruha = dress / clothes
ruhá
- -ja = ruhája = her dress / her clothes
  (the -ja is the 3rd person singular possessive: his/her/its X)
ruhájá
- -t → ruháját
  The -t is the accusative ending (direct object: her dress as the thing being looked at).

So:

ruhája = her dress (as a subject: A ruhája szép. – Her dress is nice.)
ruháját = her dress (as a direct object: Látom a ruháját. – I see her dress.)

Why is it ruháját and not ruhája-t or ruhájat?

When you add the accusative -t to a word already ending in -ja / -je, a small sound change happens: -ja + -t → -ját (and similarly -je + -t → -jét).

So formally:

ruhája → drop the last a sound and merge with -t → ruháját

This is just standard Hungarian phonology and spelling; ruhája-t or ruhájat would be wrong.

Why is the comma before mielőtt necessary?

In Hungarian, mielőtt (“before”) introduces a subordinate clause. By rule, such clauses are normally separated by a comma.

Structure:

Main clause: A nő a tükörben nézi a ruháját
Subordinate clause: mielőtt munkába megy

So Hungarian writes:

A nő a tükörben nézi a ruháját, mielőtt munkába megy.

Leaving out the comma is considered incorrect in standard Hungarian writing.

Why is the verb megy (present tense) used in mielőtt munkába megy even though in English we’d say “before she goes to work” or even “before going to work”?

Hungarian typically uses present tense in time clauses with words like mielőtt (before), amikor (when), miután (after), even when the overall meaning refers to the future.

So:

… mielőtt munkába megy.
literally: … before (she) goes to work.
This can refer to a regular habit or something in the near future, depending on context.

In English we also often use present tense in these clauses:

She looks at her dress before she goes to work.

Hungarian does not need a special “-ing” form here; the simple present megy is the normal choice.

What does munkába mean exactly, and why -ba?

munka = work (the noun)
munkába = to work (literally “into work”)

-ba / -be is the illative case, meaning “into / to (the inside of)”. It’s used for motion toward a place.

bolt = shop
boltba megyek = I’m going to the shop (into the shop)
munka = work (as a place: workplace)
munkába megyek = I’m going to work.

So here, munkába megy = “(she) goes to work.”

Why do we say munkába megy and not something like megy a munkához?

You could say a munkához megy in some contexts, but it sounds more like “goes to (toward) the work”, focusing on “work” more as an abstract task than as a workplace.

The fixed, natural expression for going to one’s workplace is:

munkába megy = goes to work (to her place of work).

So munkába megy is idiomatic and standard for “go to work” as a daily routine.

Why is there no word for “she” in the sentence?

Hungarian usually drops subject pronouns (én, te, ő, mi, ti, ők) because the verb ending shows the person.

nézi can only mean “he/she/it looks at (something definite)”
From context (A nő … nézi), we know that ő is “she” (the woman).

So:

A nő a tükörben nézi a ruháját.
literally: The woman in-the-mirror looks-at her dress.

Hungarian does not need ő (she); including it (Ő a tükörben nézi…) would usually sound unnecessarily emphasized.

Can the word order be different, for example: A nő a ruháját nézi a tükörben? Does that change the meaning?

Yes, Hungarian allows flexible word order, and the focus changes with the position.

Original:

A nő a tükörben nézi a ruháját, mielőtt munkába megy.
Neutral reading: She is looking at her dress in the mirror, before going to work.

Variant:

A nő a ruháját nézi a tükörben.
Focus on a ruháját (“her dress”):
→ It suggests she is (specifically) looking at her dress (as opposed to something else) in the mirror.

In many contexts both are understandable as the same general scene, but Hungarian speakers feel subtle emphasis shifts depending on what stands right before the verb nézi.
That position (just before the verb) is the main focus position.

Why is it a ruháját and not az ruháját?

Hungarian uses a / az like English uses “the”, but which one you use depends on whether the next word starts with a consonant or a vowel.

Before consonants: a
Before vowels: az

Here:

ruha starts with r (a consonant), so we use a: a ruháját
If the word started with a vowel, e.g. autó (car), we’d say az autót.

The fact that ruháját begins with r means the correct article is a, not az.

What’s the difference between a ruháját nézi a tükörben and a tükörben nézi a ruháját?

Grammatically both are correct and can describe the same situation. The difference is what is being highlighted:

A nő a ruháját nézi a tükörben.
→ The part right before nézi is a ruháját, so the focus is on what she is looking at: her dress.
A nő a tükörben nézi a ruháját.
→ The part right before nézi is a tükörben, so it slightly highlights the place/manner: she looks at it in the mirror (perhaps not directly, not in another way).

In everyday speech, both may be used with minimal difference, but to a native ear the focus nuance is there.

Could you replace nézi a ruháját with some kind of continuous form like “is looking at” in Hungarian?

Hungarian does not have a separate continuous tense like English (is looking, is going). The simple present covers both:

A nő a tükörben nézi a ruháját.
can mean:
- The woman looks at her dress in the mirror (habitually).
- The woman is looking at her dress in the mirror (right now).

Context decides whether you understand it as a current action or a repeated habit. There’s no special -ing form in Hungarian for this.