Breakdown of Télen hatkor még sötét van, nyáron viszont nyolckor is világos.
Questions & Answers about Télen hatkor még sötét van, nyáron viszont nyolckor is világos.
Tél = winter, nyár = summer.
The forms télen and nyáron mean “in winter” and “in summer”.
- The endings -en / -on / -ön are the superessive case, often meaning on or in.
With seasons, Hungarian very often uses this case adverbially to mean “in (that season)”:
- télen – in (the) winter
- nyáron – in (the) summer
- ősszel – in (the) autumn (ősz + -el, a slightly different pattern)
- tavasszal – in (the) spring
You can find télben, nyárban (with the inessive -ban/-ben) in some contexts, but for “in winter / in summer” the normal everyday forms are télen, nyáron.
Hat = six, nyolc = eight.
The ending -kor means “at (a certain time)”.
- hatkor = at six (o’clock)
- nyolckor = at eight (o’clock)
You can also say:
- hat órakor – more explicit, literally at six hours
- nyolc órakor – at eight o’clock
But in everyday speech, hatkor / nyolckor are completely normal and very common.
Pattern:
- number (or time word) + -kor → “at [that time]”
- délben = at noon (special form)
- éjfélkor = at midnight
- kettőkor / kétkor = at two
In még sötét van, még means “still” or “yet” in a temporal sense:
- még sötét van = it is still dark / it is (as of yet) dark
The contrast word is már, which usually means “already” or, in negatives, “any more / any longer”.
Compare:
- Még sötét van. – It is still dark.
- Már világos van. – It is already light.
Negative examples:
- Még nincs világos. – It is not light yet.
- Már nincs sötét. – It is no longer dark / It is not dark any more.
In the sentence you gave, még emphasizes that at six in winter, the darkness has not ended yet.
Two things are happening here:
Weather / light expressions with van
Hungarian often uses van with words that describe general conditions:- Sötét van. – It is dark.
- Világos van. – It is light.
- Meleg van. – It is warm.
- Hideg van. – It is cold.
So sötét van is a normal fixed pattern.
Dropping van in the present tense
In the 3rd person singular present tense, Hungarian usually drops the verb van when it simply links a subject and a descriptive word:- Ez nehéz. (not Ez van nehéz.) – This is difficult.
- A ház nagy. (not A ház van nagy.) – The house is big.
Because of this rule, nyolckor is világos (van) is fine with or without van:
- nyáron viszont nyolckor is világos
- nyáron viszont nyolckor is világos van
Both are grammatically correct. The version in your sentence simply omits van in the second clause, which is very natural in speech.
So:
- First clause uses the common fixed pattern sötét van.
- Second clause follows the general rule where present-tense van may be dropped.
Yes, that sentence is also grammatical and natural:
- Télen hatkor még sötét, nyáron viszont nyolckor is világos.
Here, van is omitted in both clauses, following the general rule that 3rd person singular van can be left out in simple predicative sentences.
Subtlety:
- Télen hatkor még sötét van sounds slightly more like a “condition” description (a very common fixed pattern for weather/light).
- Télen hatkor még sötét is a bit more neutral stylistically.
In everyday speech, you will hear all three:
- sötét van / világos van
- sötét / világos
- mixed, as in your original sentence.
In this sentence, viszont means “on the other hand / however / whereas”.
- télen …, nyáron viszont …
→ in winter …, in summer, on the other hand, …
Difference from de:
de = “but”, the most general, neutral conjunction:
- Télen hatkor még sötét van, de nyáron nyolckor is világos.
viszont = also “but / however”, but it strongly highlights contrast, often between two parallel elements:
- télen vs nyáron
- hatkor vs nyolckor
You could say:
- Télen hatkor még sötét van, nyáron viszont nyolckor is világos.
- Télen hatkor még sötét van, de nyáron nyolckor is világos.
Both are correct; viszont just makes the “on the other hand” feeling a bit stronger.
The particle is most often means “also / too”, but it can also be translated as “even” when it emphasizes something surprising or extreme.
In nyolckor is világos, it means roughly:
- “it is still light even at eight (o’clock)”
So:
- nyolckor világos – it is light at eight
- nyolckor is világos – it is also / even light at eight (implying: that’s quite late for it still to be light)
In your sentence, this gives the contrast:
- télen hatkor még sötét van – at six it is still dark
- nyáron viszont nyolckor is világos – but in summer it is even light at eight
The is adds emphasis to how late it can still be light.
Hungarian usually does not use an explicit “it” subject for weather, time, or general conditions.
English:
- It is dark.
- It is cold.
- It is late.
Hungarian:
- Sötét van. – (literally) dark is
- Hideg van. – cold is
- Késő van. – late is
There is no separate pronoun like English “it” here. The structure is basically:
[condition word] + van
So “it is dark” is simply sötét van. The “it” is understood from context and not expressed as a pronoun.
Hungarian word order is flexible, but it encodes focus and information structure.
In Télen hatkor még sötét van:
- Télen – sets the time frame: in winter
- hatkor – gives a more specific time: at six
- még – “still / yet”, modifying the predicate
- sötét van – the main statement: it is dark
This order feels very natural: it moves from general time → specific time → comment about that time.
Some variants (all grammatical, but with slightly different emphasis):
Télen még hatkor sötét van.
– Emphasizes that already at six it is still dark.Még télen hatkor sötét van.
– Slightly unusual; sounds like emphasis on “even in winter at six…”.Télen hatkor sötét van még.
– Possible, but még sounds more natural before sötét van.
The original word order is the most neutral and idiomatic for the intended meaning.
Van is the 3rd person singular present tense of the verb lenni = to be.
- ő van – he/she/it is
- a ház nagy (no van) – the house is big
- a házban van egy macska – there is a cat in the house
Basic rule for omission:
In 3rd person singular, present tense, when linking a subject to an adjective or noun, van is usually omitted:
- A ház nagy. (not A ház van nagy.) – The house is big.
- Péter orvos. (not Péter van orvos.) – Péter is a doctor.
Van usually stays in:
- existential / locative sentences:
- Az asztalon van egy könyv. – There is a book on the table.
- many fixed expressions for weather, state, etc.:
- Sötét van. – It is dark.
- Meleg van. – It is warm.
- existential / locative sentences:
In your sentence, sötét van keeps van (a fixed pattern), and világos drops it (where dropping is allowed): both choices are normal Hungarian.
Yes, sötét and világos are primarily adjectives:
- sötét – dark
- világos – light / bright / pale (depending on context)
They can describe:
light conditions:
- Sötét van. – It is dark.
- Világos van. – It is light.
colors / shades:
- sötétkék – dark blue
- világoskék – light blue
other things:
- sötét szoba – a dark room
- világos szoba – a bright room
They can also be used as nouns in some contexts:
- a sötétben – in the dark
- a világosban – in the light (less common as a noun, but possible)
In your sentence, they function as predicative adjectives describing the general outside condition at those times.
Télen hatkor még sötét van, nyáron viszont nyolckor is világos.
- télen – in winter
- hatkor – at six (o’clock)
- még – still / yet
- sötét – dark
van – is
- nyáron – in summer
- viszont – however / on the other hand
- nyolckor – at eight (o’clock)
- is – too / also / even (emphatic here: “even”)
- világos – light / bright
So a close literal rendering would be:
In winter at six still dark is, in summer however at eight even light (is).
Which corresponds idiomatically to:
In winter it is still dark at six, but in summer it’s still light even at eight.