A nyomtató az irodában van, de ma nagyon lassú.

Both a and az mean the. Hungarian uses:

• a before a word starting with a consonant
• az before a word starting with a vowel

So:

• a nyomtató = the printer
• az irodában = in the office

This is just a sound-based alternation, similar to English a/an.

Nyomtató means printer.

It comes from the verb nyomtat = to print, plus the ending -ó, which often forms something like the one that does X or a device used for X.

So nyomtató is literally something like printing device.

Hungarian often adds case endings directly to nouns instead of using separate prepositions.

• iroda = office
• -ban / -ben = in

So:

• irodában = in the office

This is why az irodában is literally the office-in, but naturally it means in the office.

Hungarian uses vowel harmony. The form of the ending depends on the vowels in the word.

• Back-vowel words usually take -ban
• Front-vowel words usually take -ben

Since iroda contains back vowels, it takes -ban:

• iroda → irodában

A learner does not need to analyze every vowel perfectly at first, but it is useful to know that this is why endings change shape.

Because the noun already has the definite article idea in the phrase, and Hungarian also adds linking sounds and preserves the base form naturally when endings are attached.

Here the structure is:

• iroda = office
• -ban = in

When attached, it becomes irodában.

That long á is part of the normal inflected form. Many Hungarian nouns change slightly when endings are added, so it is best to learn the full form together: iroda → irodában.

Van is the 3rd person singular form of to be: is.

So:

• A nyomtató az irodában van = The printer is in the office

Hungarian often omits van in simple equational sentences in the present tense, like:

• A nyomtató lassú. = The printer is slow.

But with location, van is normally used:

• A nyomtató az irodában van.

In Hungarian, the present-tense to be is usually omitted in 3rd person singular and plural when describing something with an adjective or noun.

So:

• A nyomtató lassú. literally looks like The printer slow, but it means The printer is slow.

That is why the second clause is:

• de ma nagyon lassú = but today it is very slow

Hungarian does not need van there.

Because the subject is understood from context.

The full sentence could be expanded as:

• A nyomtató az irodában van, de a nyomtató ma nagyon lassú.

But repeating a nyomtató would sound unnecessary. Hungarian, like English, often leaves out repeated information when it is obvious.

So de ma nagyon lassú naturally means:

• but today it is very slow
• literally: but today very slow

De means but.

It connects the two clauses:

• A nyomtató az irodában van = The printer is in the office
• de ma nagyon lassú = but today it’s very slow

Its position is very similar to English but: it introduces the contrasting second part.

Ma means today.

In de ma nagyon lassú, it comes before the description to show that today is the relevant time frame:

• ma nagyon lassú = today it is very slow

Hungarian word order is flexible, and position often reflects emphasis. Here ma comes early because the speaker is highlighting that this is true today.

Yes. Nagyon means very.

So:

• lassú = slow
• nagyon lassú = very slow

It works much like English very, appearing before the adjective it modifies.

Because lassú is describing the printer itself, not describing how it acts.

• lassú = slow (adjective)
• A nyomtató ... lassú. = The printer is slow.

If you wanted to describe how something happens, Hungarian would often use a different structure. But here the sentence is about the printer’s quality or state, so the adjective lassú is correct.

Yes, Hungarian word order is fairly flexible, though changes in order often change emphasis.

For example:

• A nyomtató az irodában van, de ma nagyon lassú.
  Neutral, natural statement.

You might also hear variations in other contexts, depending on what the speaker wants to emphasize. But the version given is a very normal, standard way to say it.

For a beginner, it is best to learn this sentence as a natural model:

• subject
• location
• van
• contrast with de
• time word
• degree word
• adjective

This is a very common and important question.

• irodában = in the office (location, being inside)
• irodába = into the office / to the office (direction, movement toward inside)

So:

• A nyomtató az irodában van. = The printer is in the office.
• Bemegyek az irodába. = I am going into the office.

A useful contrast is:

• -ban / -ben = in
• -ba / -be = into

A rough guide:

• ny is like the ny in Spanish señor, or like n+y blended together
• j in Hungarian sounds like English y
• ó and á are long vowels

So roughly:

• nyomtató ≈ nyom-ta-TOH
• irodában ≈ ee-ro-daa-ban

A few pronunciation notes:

• Stress in Hungarian is always on the first syllable
• Long vowels matter, so ó and á should be held slightly longer than short vowels

So the stress is:

• NYOMtató
• IROdában