Learn Hardcore Hungarian: Ez a kabát vastag.

A very literal translation would be: “This the coat thick.”
Natural English: “This coat is thick.” (or “This jacket is thick,” depending on context).

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

Hungarian often drops the verb “to be” (lenni) in the present tense, 3rd person singular and plural, when the predicate is a noun or an adjective.

So instead of:

Ez a kabát van vastag. ❌ (wrong in this meaning)

Hungarian simply says:

Ez a kabát vastag. ✅

You only use van / vannak (forms of “to be”) in the present tense when:

Talking about location:
- A kabát a szék en van. – The coat is on the chair.
Making existential statements (“there is / there are”):
- Van egy kabátom. – I have a coat. / There is a coat (that I have).
Putting focus/emphasis in certain ways, or in some fixed expressions.

But in a simple descriptive sentence like “This coat is thick,” no “is” word appears in Hungarian.

What is the difference between ez and ez a?

Ez by itself is a pronoun: this (referring to something already clear from context).
- Ez vastag. – This is thick.
Ez a + noun is like “this + noun”:
- Ez a kabát vastag. – This coat is thick.

In Hungarian, when “this / that” stands before a noun, it normally combines with the definite article:

ez a kabát – this coat
ez az alma – this apple
az a kabát – that coat
az az alma – that apple

So:

Ez = “this (one)”
Ez a kabát = “this coat”

Why is the article a used here? Is it the same as English “a”?

No, Hungarian a is a definite article, equivalent to “the”, not English “a”.

a = the before a word starting with a consonant
az = the before a word starting with a vowel

With demonstratives:

ez a kabát – literally “this the coat” → “this coat”
ez az alma – “this the apple” → “this apple”

So in Ez a kabát vastag.:

a is definite, not indefinite.

The Hungarian indefinite article (English “a/an”) is egy, which is not used here.

When do I use ez a / ez az / az a / az az?

It depends on distance (this vs that) and on whether the next word begins with a vowel or consonant.

“This” (near the speaker)
- ez a
  - consonant-initial noun:
    - ez a kabát – this coat
- ez az
  - vowel-initial noun:
    - ez az alma – this apple
“That” (farther away / not near the speaker)
- az a
  - consonant-initial noun:
    - az a kabát – that coat
- az az
  - vowel-initial noun:
    - az az alma – that apple

In your sentence, kabát starts with a consonant (k), and you’re talking about “this”, so:

Ez a kabát vastag. – This coat is thick.

Why does the adjective vastag come at the end? Can I say vastag ez a kabát?

In a neutral descriptive sentence like this, Hungarian typically places the subject (topic) first, and the adjective predicate last:

Ez a kabát – topic (what we’re talking about)
vastag – what we say about it

So the neutral sentence is:

Ez a kabát vastag.

You can say Vastag ez a kabát, but that changes the emphasis:

Vastag ez a kabát. – More like: “This coat is thick (indeed)”, maybe in contrast with something else (e.g. you expected it to be thin). It has a focused or slightly marked word order.

For a simple, neutral statement, Ez a kabát vastag. is the default.

How would I say “These coats are thick”?

You need to make all three elements plural: demonstrative, noun, and predicate adjective.

Ez a kabát vastag. – This coat is thick.
Ezek a kabátok vastagok. – These coats are thick.

Breakdown:

ezek = these
kabátok = coats (plural of kabát)
vastagok = thick (plural form, because it’s a predicative adjective)

Note: In Hungarian, adjectives in predicate position (with “to be”) usually take a plural ending -k when the subject is plural:

A kabátok vastagok. – The coats are thick.

How do I ask “Is this coat thick?” in Hungarian?

The simplest yes–no question keeps the same word order and relies on rising intonation:

Ez a kabát vastag? – Is this coat thick?

You just raise your voice at the end.

If you want to emphasise “thick”, you can front the adjective:

Vastag ez a kabát? – Something like “Is this coat thick?” (maybe you’re doubting it).

For a neutral information-seeking question, Ez a kabát vastag? is perfect.

How do I say “This coat is not thick”?

You negate the adjective with nem:

Ez a kabát nem vastag. – This coat is not thick.

nem usually comes right before the element you are negating. Here, you’re negating the thickness, so:

nem vastag – not thick

For contrast, you could add:

Ez a kabát nem vastag, hanem vékony. – This coat is not thick, but thin.

Does kabát have gender? Does vastag change for masculine/feminine?

Hungarian has no grammatical gender:

No masculine/feminine/neuter for nouns.
Adjectives do not change for gender.

So:

Ez a kabát vastag. – same form regardless of who is wearing it.
vastag is used for any noun, male or female wearer, singular or plural (though it takes -ok in plural predicate position: vastagok).

What is the difference between vastag and meleg when talking about a coat?

vastag = thick (describes physical thickness: a lot of material, padding, layers)
- Ez a kabát vastag. – This coat is thick.
meleg = warm (describes how warm it feels / keeps you, not just the physical thickness)
- Ez a kabát meleg. – This coat is warm.

A coat can be:

vastag, de nem meleg – thick but not warm (e.g. bad material)
nem túl vastag, de meleg – not very thick but warm (e.g. good insulation)

So vastag is about size/thickness, meleg is about temperature/comfort.

How do you pronounce Ez a kabát vastag?

Approximate IPA:

Ez – /ɛz/
a – /ɒ/ (like a short, back “o”, somewhat like British “cot”)
kabát – /ˈkɒbaːt/
vastag – /ˈvɒʃtɒɡ/

Key points:

Stress is always on the first syllable of each word:
- EZ a KA-bát VAS-tag
Vowel length:
- á is a long vowel: /aː/ – hold it slightly longer in kabát.
- Plain a (as in a, kabát, vastag) is /ɒ/, shorter.
The letter s in Hungarian is pronounced like English “sh”:
- vastag ≈ “vosh-tog” (not vas-tag with an English s).

Said smoothly: Ez a kabát vastag. (with even rhythm, stress on the first syllable of each word).