A borítékon rajta van a cím, de a levelet még nem adtam fel.

to be

Breakdown of A borítékon rajta van a cím, de a levelet még nem adtam fel.

• én: I
• -on: on
• de: but

Questions & Answers about A borítékon rajta van a cím, de a levelet még nem adtam fel.

Why is van used here if Hungarian often drops the word for is?

Because Hungarian only drops the 3rd-person present copula in some kinds of sentences.

• With a noun or adjective predicate, van is usually omitted:
  • Ő tanár. = He/She is a teacher.
  • A ház nagy. = The house is big.
• But with location or existence, van is normally kept:
  • A könyv az asztalon van. = The book is on the table.

Here, rajta van a cím means the address is on it / on there, so this is a location-type sentence, and van is needed.

What does rajta mean, and why is it there when borítékon already means on the envelope?

Rajta means on it.

It is the 3rd-person form in the series:

• rajtam = on me
• rajtad = on you
• rajta = on him/her/it

So:

• A borítékon = on the envelope
• rajta van a cím = the address is on it

Hungarian often uses this kind of resumptive word to point back to something already mentioned. It can make the sentence sound more natural and can emphasize that something is physically present on the surface.

So the sentence feels a bit like:

• As for the envelope, the address is on it...

A shorter version without rajta can exist in some contexts, but rajta van is very natural here.

Why is it borítékon?