Learn Hardcore Hungarian: A főnök nyolckor érkezik az irodába, de a kollégák már hétkor ott vannak. - The boss arrives at the office at eight o'clock, but the colleagues are already there at seven.

A főnök = “the boss” (a specific boss that both speaker and listener know)
Főnök without the article would sound incomplete in this sentence; you normally need the article with a specific person:
- A főnök érkezik. – The boss is arriving.
- Bare Főnök érkezik. would sound odd in standard Hungarian.

The article a / az is used before most nouns when you mean a specific one (like the), not a general one (like a / an).

What does the ending -kor in nyolckor and hétkor mean, and how do I use it?

-kor means “at (a point in time)”.

nyolc + -kor → nyolckor = at 8 (o’clock)
hét + -kor → hétkor = at 7 (o’clock)

You attach -kor directly to:

numerals:
- hatkor – at six
- tízkor – at ten
or full time expressions:
- nyolc órakor – at eight o’clock
- délben – at noon (fixed word, no -kor here)
- éjfélkor – at midnight

Spelling note:
nyolc + kor → nyolckor (the c and k merge to ck, just a spelling rule).

Could I also say nyolc órakor instead of nyolckor? Is there any difference?

Yes, both are correct and mean “at eight o’clock”:

nyolckor – shorter, very common in speech and writing
nyolc órakor – a bit more explicit/clear, often used when you want to emphasize the hour itself, or in more careful speech

In everyday conversation, nyolckor is perfectly normal and probably more common.

Why is it érkezik az irodába and not érkezik az irodában? What does -ba mean?

-ba / -be is a directional ending meaning “into, to (inside)”.

iroda – office
irodába – (into) the office, to the inside of the office
irodában – in the office (location, not movement)

With a verb of movement/arrival like érkezik (arrives), Hungarian normally uses a directional case:

érkezik az irodába – arrives at / to the office (literally into the office)
van az irodában – is in the office (location, no movement)

So:

Movement → -ba / -be, -ra / -re, -hoz / -hez / -höz, etc.
Static location → -ban / -ben, -n, -nál / -nél, etc.

Here érkezik az irodába is exactly what you want for “arrives at the office.”

What is the difference between érkezik and jön? Could I say A főnök nyolckor jön az irodába?

Both verbs involve coming/arriving, but:

érkezik = to arrive
- a bit more neutral/formal
- used a lot with schedules: trains, planes, meetings, bosses, etc.
jön = to come
- more general and more colloquial
- often implies movement toward the speaker: “comes (here)”

Your alternative:

A főnök nyolckor jön az irodába. – grammatically fine.
Meaning is close, but érkezik sounds more like “is scheduled to arrive”, while jön is more like “comes (shows up) at eight.”

In this context, érkezik fits nicely because it sounds a bit more formal and “timely.”

Why is it az irodába but a főnök and a kollégák? What’s the difference between a and az?

a and az are just two forms of the same definite article (“the”).

Use a before consonant sounds:
- a főnök – the boss
- a kollégák – the colleagues
Use az before vowel sounds:
- az iroda – the office
- az autó – the car

So az irodába = “into the office”, with az because iroda starts with a vowel sound (i-).

Why is there no ő (he/she) or ők (they) in the sentence?

Hungarian normally drops subject pronouns when the verb ending already shows person and number.

érkezik = (he/she/it) arrives
vannak = (they) are

So:

A főnök érkezik. – The boss arrives; he arrives.
Ő érkezik. – HE (as opposed to someone else) arrives. (pronoun adds emphasis/contrast)

In your sentence, the subjects are clear from the nouns:

A főnök … érkezik – the boss arrives
a kollégák … vannak – the colleagues are

So adding ő or ők would be unnecessary and would usually sound like emphasis.

What exactly does már mean in a kollégák már hétkor ott vannak?

már usually corresponds to “already” or “by now”, but here it has a slightly “earlier than expected” / “as early as” nuance:

a kollégák már hétkor ott vannak
= the colleagues are already there at seven
= the colleagues are there as early as seven

It contrasts with the boss’s time:

Boss: nyolckor érkezik (arrives at eight)
Colleagues: már hétkor ott vannak (are already there at seven)

So már hétkor subtly highlights “that early, at seven.”

Why do we need vannak with ott vannak? I learned that Hungarian often drops van.

The verb van (to be) behaves differently depending on the sentence type:

Present tense, 3rd person, with a simple adjective or noun – the verb is usually omitted:
- A főnök mérges. – The boss is angry. (no van)
- Péter orvos. – Péter is a doctor.
With a place word (e.g. ott, itt, az irodában) – van / vannak is kept:
- A főnök ott van. – The boss is there.
- A kollégák ott vannak. – The colleagues are there.
Plural:
- singular: van
- plural: vannak

So ott vannak is required; you cannot drop vannak here:

✅ A kollégák már hétkor ott vannak.
❌ A kollégák már hétkor ott. (ungrammatical)

What is the role of ott in ott vannak? Could we just say A kollégák már hétkor vannak?

ott means “there”, and it’s necessary to indicate location.

A kollégák már hétkor ott vannak. – The colleagues are already there at seven.

If you say only:

A kollégák már hétkor vannak.

this sounds incomplete and unnatural, because vannak needs some kind of complement (a place, a state, etc.). You’d normally say:

A kollégák már hétkor az irodában vannak. – The colleagues are already in the office at seven.
A kollégák már hétkor ott vannak az irodában. – The colleagues are already there in the office at seven.

In your original sentence, ott refers back to az irodába → they are there (i.e., at the office).

How does the word de work here? Is it the same as English “but”?

Yes, de is the normal conjunction meaning “but”.

…, de … – …, but …

In your sentence:

A főnök nyolckor érkezik az irodába, de a kollégák már hétkor ott vannak.
= The boss arrives at the office at eight, but the colleagues are already there at seven.

You can also start a sentence with De in Hungarian, just like English “But …”, especially in spoken or informal language:

De a kollégák már hétkor ott vannak. – But the colleagues are already there at seven.

Is the word order fixed, or could I move things around, like A főnök az irodába nyolckor érkezik?

Hungarian word order is flexible, but not random. The neutral order in your sentence is:

[Topic] [Time] [Verb] [Place]
A főnök nyolckor érkezik az irodába…

Other orders are possible, but they usually change the focus or emphasis. For example:

A főnök az irodába nyolckor érkezik.
This might sound like you’re emphasizing that it’s to the office that he arrives at eight (implying maybe he’s elsewhere at other times). It’s still understandable, but slightly marked.
Nyolckor érkezik a főnök az irodába.
Puts nyolckor in a more prominent, contrastive position: It’s at eight that the boss arrives at the office.

For a simple, neutral statement, your original order is very natural.

The Hungarian verbs are in the present tense (érkezik, vannak), but the meaning can be like a schedule. Is this the same as in English?

Yes, this is very similar to English present simple for schedules / regular events:

A főnök nyolckor érkezik az irodába.
= The boss arrives at the office at eight (every day / regularly / according to the schedule).

Without extra context, Hungarian present can mean:

a habitual action (every day, usually):
- A főnök minden nap nyolckor érkezik. – The boss arrives at eight every day.
or a scheduled future:
- A vonat nyolckor érkezik. – The train arrives at eight.

So using present tense here is completely natural, just like English “The boss arrives at eight.”

Could I say A főnök nyolcra érkezik az irodába instead of nyolckor? What’s the difference between -kor and -ra?

Yes, nyolcra is also possible, but it changes the nuance:

nyolckor = at eight o’clock (the arrival time itself is eight)
- A főnök nyolckor érkezik az irodába. – He arrives at eight.
nyolcra (nyolc + -ra) = by eight / for eight o’clock
- A főnök nyolcra érkezik az irodába. – He arrives by eight (he will be there by that time, possibly a bit earlier).

So:

-kor → specific clock time when something happens
-ra / -re → deadline / “by” a certain time, or “for” a certain time

Why is kollégák plural, and how is the plural formed here?

kolléga = colleague (singular)
kollégák = colleagues (plural)

Plural for nouns is usually formed with -k, often with a linking vowel:

tanár → tanárok – teachers
diák → diákok – students
barát → barátok – friends
kolléga → kollégák – colleagues

In your sentence:

a kollégák már hétkor ott vannak
– the colleagues are already there at seven

The plural noun kollégák requires the plural verb vannak.

If you’d like, I can take the same sentence and show a few close variants (changing just one word or ending at a time) so you can see how the meaning shifts.