Learn Hardcore Hungarian: Egy hosszú regényt olvasok, de a regény nem unalmas. - I am reading a long novel, but the novel is not boring.

Egy hosszú regényt olvasok = I’m reading *a long novel.
You are introducing this novel for the first time, so it’s *indefinite → egy.
de a regény nem unalmas = but *the novel is not boring.
Now you’re talking about that *specific novel you already mentioned, so it’s definite → a.

So they don’t mean the same thing:

egy regény = a(ny) novel, some novel (not specified which)
a regény = the novel (a particular one already known from context)

Why does regény become regényt in egy hosszú regényt olvasok?

The -t at the end marks the accusative case, used for direct objects.

regény = novel (dictionary / basic form)
regényt = novel (as a direct object) → “a novel”

In Egy hosszú regényt olvasok:

olvasok = I read / I am reading
What am I reading? → egy hosszú regényt

Because regény is the thing being read (the direct object), Hungarian adds -t:

regény → regényt

In the second clause, A regény nem unalmas:

Here a regény is the subject, not an object, so it stays in its basic form:
- regény, not regényt.

Why is it olvasok and not olvasom?

Hungarian has two verb conjugations:

indefinite: used when the object is indefinite or not specified
definite: used when the object is definite / specific

olvasni = to read

1st person singular:

indefinite: olvasok = I read / I am reading (something, not specifically marked as the)
definite: olvasom = I read / I am reading it / the X

In Egy hosszú regényt olvasok:

The object is egy hosszú regényt → indefinite (“a long novel”)
Therefore the verb must be indefinite: olvasok

If the object were definite, you’d say:

A hosszú regényt olvasom. = I’m reading *the long novel.*

So:

egy regényt olvasok → I’m reading a novel. (indefinite)
a regényt olvasom → I’m reading the novel. (definite)

Why is there no word for I? Why isn’t it Én egy hosszú regényt olvasok?

Hungarian usually drops subject pronouns like én (I), because the verb ending already shows the person:

olvasok ends in -ok, which marks 1st person singular: I.
So olvasok already means I (am) reading.

You can say Én egy hosszú regényt olvasok, but:

Én is only used if you want to emphasize I (as opposed to someone else), e.g.:
- Én egy hosszú regényt olvasok, nem te.
  I am reading a long novel, not you.

In neutral statements, you usually omit the pronoun:

Egy hosszú regényt olvasok. = I’m reading a long novel.

How can olvasok mean both I read and I am reading?

Hungarian has only one present tense; it doesn’t grammatically distinguish between:

I read (simple present)
I am reading (present continuous)

olvasok can mean:

I read (in general) → I read novels every day.
I am reading (right now) → I’m reading a long novel.

Context clarifies which is meant:

Egy hosszú regényt olvasok.
In everyday use this will very often be understood as I’m in the process of reading a long novel.

Why is the word order Egy hosszú regényt olvasok and not Olvasok egy hosszú regényt?

Both sentences are grammatical, but they differ in focus/emphasis.

Olvasok egy hosszú regényt.
→ More neutral: I’m reading a long novel.
Egy hosszú regényt olvasok.
→ Puts focus on egy hosszú regényt:
It’s a long novel that I’m reading (as opposed to, say, a short story or a magazine).

In Hungarian, the focus position is right before the verb.
Here:

[Egy hosszú regényt] olvasok. → focused element = egy hosszú regényt

This is a very common pattern when you want to highlight the object.

Why isn’t there a form like regényt van or something? Why does A regény nem unalmas have no verb like is?

Hungarian often drops the verb “to be” (van) in the present tense, 3rd person singular and plural, when it’s just linking a subject to an adjective or noun.

So:

A regény unalmas.
Literally: The novel boring.
Meaning: The novel is boring.
A regény nem unalmas.
Literally: The novel not boring.
Meaning: The novel is not boring.

You only use van in 3rd person present when:

talking about existence / location:
- A könyv az asztalon van. = The book is on the table.
- Van egy könyvem. = I have a book. / There is a book of mine.

But with adjectives like unalmas, the copula (is/van) is omitted in present 3rd person.

Why is it nem unalmas and not unalmas nem?

The standard way to negate is:

nem + verb / adjective / adverb

So the natural order is:

nem unalmas = not boring

unalmas nem is ungrammatical as a standalone predicate in this sentence.
You can only get something like unalmas nem, if nem belongs to something else later in the sentence, but not in this structure.

For simple negation of an adjective:

A film jó. → The film is good.
A film nem jó. → The film is not good.
A regény unalmas. → The novel is boring.
A regény nem unalmas. → The novel is not boring.

Could I say de az nem unalmas instead of de a regény nem unalmas?

Yes, that’s possible, and it would be understood.

de a regény nem unalmas
→ literally: but the novel is not boring
You repeat the noun regény, clearly linking back to the same novel.
de az nem unalmas
→ literally: but it is not boring
Here az is a pronoun = that / it.

Both are fine. Differences:

a regény is more explicit and a bit more bookish / clear.
az is more like “that/it” and sounds a bit more colloquial/natural in some contexts.

In many real conversations, people would say:

Egy hosszú regényt olvasok, de az nem unalmas.

Why is the adjective hosszú before the noun in egy hosszú regényt, but the adjective unalmas comes after in A regény nem unalmas?

Hungarian distinguishes attributive adjectives (before the noun) and predicative adjectives (after the noun with “to be”):

Attributive adjective (part of the noun phrase):
- egy hosszú regény = a long novel
- Adjective comes before the noun:
  - hosszú regény, szép ház, nagy kutya
Predicative adjective (a statement about the subject):
- A regény unalmas. = The novel is boring.
- A regény nem unalmas. = The novel is not boring.
- Adjective comes after the subject (as the predicate).

So:

egy hosszú regényt → adjective attached directly to the noun
A regény nem unalmas → adjective describing the subject in a full sentence

Can I leave out egy and just say Hosszú regényt olvasok?

Yes, you can.

Egy hosszú regényt olvasok.
Hosszú regényt olvasok.

Both are correct and both mean something like:

I’m reading a long novel.

Nuances:

egy can make it feel a bit more like “one (particular) long novel”, or slightly more definite than just “some long novel”.
Without egy, it can sound a bit more generic / non-specific, but in practice the difference is often very small.

In everyday speech, both versions are normal.

Why is regény in the nominative in A regény nem unalmas, but regényt in the first clause?

Because in the two clauses, regény has different grammatical roles:

Egy hosszú regényt olvasok.
- regényt is the direct object (what I’m reading).
- Hungarian marks direct objects with the accusative -t:
  - regény → regényt
A regény nem unalmas.
- a regény is the subject of the sentence: the novel.
- Subjects stay in the basic (nominative) form:
  - regény

So:

Subject → plain regény
Object → regényt (with -t)

Why is the conjunction de used here, and not hanem?

Both de and hanem can translate as “but”, but they’re used differently.

de = but, general contrast
hanem = but rather / but instead, used after a negation to correct something

In this sentence:

Egy hosszú regényt olvasok, de a regény nem unalmas.
There is no negation before de, it just introduces a contrast:
- I’m reading a long novel, but the novel is not boring.

hanem is used when you contradict something negated, like:

Nem rövid regényt olvasok, hanem hosszút.
= I’m not reading a short novel, but a long one.

So here, de is the correct choice.

Does regény have a gender (masculine/feminine) in Hungarian?

No. Hungarian has no grammatical gender for nouns, adjectives, or articles.

regény just means novel, no masculine/feminine distinction.
The articles egy, a / az do not change for gender.
Adjectives like hosszú, unalmas also do not change for gender.

So:

egy hosszú regény could be “a long novel” regardless of who wrote it or any gendered ideas; the language itself does not mark gender here.