A magyar óra hamarosan kezdődik.

The Hungarian class starts soon.

Breakdown of A magyar óra hamarosan kezdődik.

• magyar: Hungarian
• hamarosan: soon
• óra: the class
• kezdődni: to start

Questions & Answers about A magyar óra hamarosan kezdődik.

What does A mean here, and why is it A and not Az?

A is the Hungarian definite article meaning “the”.

Hungarian has two forms of “the”:

• a – used before words that start with a consonant
  
  • A magyar óra – The Hungarian lesson
• az – used before words that start with a vowel
  
  • Az angol óra – The English lesson (because angol starts with a vowel sound)

So it’s A magyar óra because magyar begins with m, a consonant.

Does magyar óra literally mean “Hungarian hour”? How does it come to mean “Hungarian lesson / class”?

Literally, yes, magyar óra is “Hungarian hour”, but in context it normally means:

• magyar óra = Hungarian class / Hungarian lesson

In Hungarian, óra has several common meanings:

• hour (unit of time):
  
  • egy óra – one hour
• o’clock / time on the clock:
  
  • öt óra – five o’clock
• lesson / class period (at school):
  
  • fizikaóra / fizika óra – physics class
  • magyaróra / magyar óra – Hungarian class

So in a school or course context, X óra is very naturally understood as “X class / period”.

Is magyar an adjective or a noun here? Could it also mean “the Hungarian person”?

In A magyar óra, magyar functions as an adjective meaning “Hungarian (language)” or “Hungarian (subject)”, describing óra (lesson/class).

magyar by itself can be:

• an adjective:
  
  • magyar nyelv – Hungarian language
  • magyar zene – Hungarian music
• a noun:
  
  • egy magyar – a Hungarian (person)
  • a magyarok – the Hungarians

But in magyar óra, the structure is adjective + noun, so it means Hungarian class, not “Hungarian person hour”.

Why is it magyar óra and not óra magyar? What’s the basic word order for adjectives and nouns?

The normal order in Hungarian is:

• adjective + noun

So:

• magyar óra – Hungarian lesson
• nagy ház – big house
• piros autó – red car

Reversing it (óra magyar, ház nagy, etc.) is either ungrammatical or would require very special emphasis / poetic style. For a learner, you can safely treat adjective → noun as the rule.

Can magyar óra also be written as one word, magyaróra? Is there any difference?

Yes, you will also see magyaróra written as one word.

• magyar óra (two words)
• magyaróra (one word, compound)

In everyday usage, both can mean “Hungarian lesson / Hungarian class”, and both are understandable.

However, Hungarian tends to form compounds for fixed school subjects:

• matekóra – math class
• fizikaóra – physics class
• magyaróra – Hungarian class

Spelling rules (and style) increasingly prefer the compound form (magyaróra), especially when it clearly refers to a school subject. As a learner, you can treat them as equivalent in meaning, but expect to see magyaróra quite often.

What exactly does hamarosan mean? Is it the same as English “soon”?

hamarosan is an adverb meaning roughly “soon / shortly / before long”.

Nuance:

• It suggests something will happen in the near future, but not immediately this second.
• Rough English equivalents: “soon”, “before long”, “in a little while”.

Other similar Hungarian words:

• hamar – soon, quickly (more basic form)
• mindjárt – very soon, any moment now
• nem sokára – not long from now, soon

So:

• A magyar óra hamarosan kezdődik. – The Hungarian class will start soon.
• A magyar óra mindjárt kezdődik. – The Hungarian class is about to start (very soon).

What tense is kezdődik? How can it mean “will start” if there is no separate future tense shown?

Formally, kezdődik is present tense, 3rd person singular:

• kezdődik – it starts / it is starting

Hungarian often uses the present tense with a future meaning, especially when:

• the future event is scheduled, planned, or certain
  (timetables, classes, trips, etc.)

So:

• A magyar óra hamarosan kezdődik.
  Literally: The Hungarian class starts soon.
  Natural English: The Hungarian class will start soon.

You can use the explicit future auxiliary fog:

• A magyar óra hamarosan el fog kezdődni. – The Hungarian class will start soon.

But in everyday speech, the simple present (kezdődik) is very normal for near, certain future events.

Why is it kezdődik and not kezd? What does the -dik ending do?

kezd and kezdődik are related but not the same:

• kezd – to start, to begin (something) – usually transitive
  
  • A tanár kezdi az órát. – The teacher starts the lesson.
• kezdődik – to start, to begin – intransitive / “middle voice”
  
  • Az óra kezdődik. – The lesson is starting / The lesson begins.

The -dik suffix often forms intransitive or “self-starting” verbs from transitive ones, or verbs that focus on the subject undergoing the event rather than who causes it.

In A magyar óra hamarosan kezdődik, the focus is on the lesson itself starting, not on who is starting it, so kezdődik is the natural choice.

Can I drop hamarosan and still have a correct sentence?

Yes:

• A magyar óra kezdődik. – The Hungarian class is starting / starts.

This is grammatically correct, but:

• Without hamarosan, you are simply stating that it (habitually) starts, or that it is (now) starting, depending on context.
• With hamarosan, you clearly talk about a near-future event: will start soon.

So hamarosan adds the “soon” time information; it’s not grammatically required, but it is part of the original meaning.

Is the word order A magyar óra hamarosan kezdődik fixed, or could I say Hamarosan kezdődik a magyar óra?

Both are possible and correct:

1. A magyar óra hamarosan kezdődik.
   
   • Fairly neutral; light emphasis on “the Hungarian class” as the topic.
2. Hamarosan kezdődik a magyar óra.
   
   • Emphasis shifts more to “soon it will start”; “soon” is highlighted at the front.

Hungarian word order is flexible and often used to express focus and emphasis, not grammatical roles (subject, object) as strictly as in English.

For you as a learner:

• Both versions mean essentially “The Hungarian class will start soon.”
• The original word order is completely natural; just be aware that moving words to the front can change what is emphasized.

What is the subject of kezdődik? Could I just say Hamarosan kezdődik. without A magyar óra?

In the full sentence:

• Subject: A magyar óra – The Hungarian class
• Verb: kezdődik – starts / is starting

You can omit the explicit subject if it is clear from context:

• Hamarosan kezdődik. – It will start soon.

In that case, the subject is understood from the situation (e.g., everyone is waiting for a specific class, movie, meeting, etc.). Hungarian, like many languages, allows the subject to be dropped when it’s obvious.

How do you pronounce A magyar óra hamarosan kezdődik? Where is the stress, and what should I watch out for?

Basic pronunciation (rough guide, not strict IPA):

• A – like “aw” in father (short)
• magyar – MAH-dyar (more precisely: MAɟɒr; the gy is a soft dy sound)
• óra – OH-ra (long ó, clearly held longer than o)
• hamarosan – HA-ma-ro-shan (all a like in father, s = sh)
• kezdődik – KEZ-dő-dik (sz-like z sound in kez, long ő)

Important points:

• Stress is almost always on the first syllable of each word:
  A MAGyar Óra HAmarosan KEZdődik.
• ó and ő are long vowels; length is meaningful in Hungarian.
• gy in magyar is a single consonant, a soft dy-like sound.

Putting it together slowly: A MAG-yar Ó-ra HA-ma-ro-san KEZ-dő-dik.