Este csirkét készítek, mellé pedig friss salátát eszünk.

Here este means in the evening / tonight.

Hungarian often uses time words without a preposition like English in. So:

• este = in the evening, tonight
• reggel = in the morning
• délelőtt = in the late morning
• délután = in the afternoon

So Este csirkét készítek is naturally I’m making chicken tonight / in the evening.

Because they are direct objects, and Hungarian marks direct objects with the accusative ending -t.

• csirke → csirkét
• saláta → salátát

The final vowel also changes in a common way:

• final -a often becomes -á- before the ending
• final -e often becomes -é- before the ending

So this is not two separate endings; it is the noun changing form before the accusative -t.

Because the verb ending shows the subject:

• készítek = I prepare / I make
• eszünk = we eat

Hungarian usually does not need separate subject pronouns like I or we, because the verb ending already tells you who is doing the action.

So the sentence means that one person prepares the chicken, but more than one person eats the salad.

This is about the indefinite vs. definite conjugation in Hungarian.

Here the objects are indefinite:

• csirkét = chicken, some chicken
• friss salátát = fresh salad, some fresh salad

Because the objects are indefinite, Hungarian uses the indefinite verb forms:

• készítek
• eszünk

If the objects were definite, you would use the definite forms:

• a csirkét készítem
• a salátát esszük

So this sentence is a good example of the indefinite conjugation.

Mellé literally means to the side of it / next to it, but in food contexts it often means with it, alongside it, or on the side.

In this sentence, mellé refers back to the chicken:

• mellé = alongside that / with that

So the idea is:

• I’m making chicken,
• and with it / on the side, we eat fresh salad.

Hungarian often leaves this kind of reference implicit instead of repeating a noun or pronoun.

Pedig is a connector with a slight sense of contrast, continuation, or balancing one part against another.

In this sentence, it helps link the two meal items:

• mellé pedig = and alongside that / and as for the side / and with that

In natural English, you often would not translate pedig with a separate word every time. Here it mainly helps the sentence flow and gives a mild and meanwhile / and as for that feeling.

Because Hungarian often leaves out the article when talking about something indefinite or general, especially with food.

So:

• csirkét készítek = I’m making chicken
• friss salátát eszünk = we eat fresh salad

If you added an article, the meaning would shift:

• egy csirkét = a chicken / one chicken
• a csirkét = the chicken

In this sentence, the speaker is just naming the food, not pointing to a specific already-known chicken or salad.

Because in Hungarian, an adjective directly before a noun usually does not take the case ending. The noun carries the grammatical ending.

So:

• friss saláta = fresh salad
• friss salátát = fresh salad, as a direct object

Only salátát gets the accusative ending.

This is very normal in Hungarian:

• finom bort = delicious wine
• nagy házat = a big house
• hideg vizet = cold water

The adjective can take endings when it stands alone, but not normally when it directly modifies a noun.

Yes. Hungarian word order is flexible, and different orders can change emphasis.

In this sentence:

• Este sets the time frame: tonight / in the evening
• csirkét is placed before készítek
• friss salátát is placed before eszünk

Putting something directly before the verb often gives it extra focus or emphasis. So this version highlights what is being prepared and eaten.

A different order is also possible, for example:

• Este készítek csirkét...

That would usually sound a bit more neutral. The original sentence is natural, but it gives a little more weight to chicken and fresh salad.

It can mean both, depending on context.

• In a farming or animal context, csirke can mean chicken as an animal.
• In a cooking or eating sentence like this one, it naturally means chicken meat / a chicken dish.

So in csirkét készítek, a learner should understand it as I’m preparing chicken.

That is a very common question. Enni = to eat is an irregular verb.

Its present-tense forms use the stem esz- / e-, not something that looks exactly like enni in every form.

For example:

• eszem = I eat
• eszel = you eat
• eszik = he/she eats
• eszünk = we eat
• esztek = you all eat
• esznek = they eat

So eszünk is simply the normal we eat form of this irregular verb.