Az igazolvány a pénztárcámban van, nem a kabát zsebében.

Hungarian has two forms of the definite article, both meaning the:

• a before a consonant sound
• az before a vowel sound

So:

• az igazolvány because igazolvány starts with a vowel
• a pénztárcámban because pénztárcámban starts with a consonant
• a kabát because kabát starts with a consonant

This is similar to the difference between a and an in English, although in Hungarian both forms mean the, not a/an.

-ban / -ben is a case ending meaning in or inside.

In this sentence:

• pénztárcámban = in my wallet
• zsebében = in its pocket / in the pocket

Hungarian usually expresses this idea with a suffix attached to the noun, instead of using a separate word like in.

The choice between -ban and -ben depends on vowel harmony:

• -ban usually goes with back-vowel words
• -ben usually goes with front-vowel words

So:

• pénztárca → pénztárcában
• zseb → zsebben or, in this sentence, zsebében because of possession

Because Hungarian builds a lot of meaning into suffixes.

pénztárcámban breaks down like this:

• pénztárca = wallet
• -m = my
• -ban = in

So:

• pénztárcám = my wallet
• pénztárcámban = in my wallet

This is very normal in Hungarian. What English says with several words, Hungarian often says with one noun plus endings.

Because zsebében is not just in a pocket. It means in its pocket or, more naturally here, in the coat’s pocket.

The structure is:

• a kabát zsebe = the coat’s pocket
• a kabát zsebében = in the coat’s pocket

So zseb gets a possessive ending because the pocket belongs to the coat.

A rough breakdown:

• zseb = pocket
• -e = its
• -ben = in

Together:

• zsebében = in its pocket

Also note that the e becomes é before another suffix here, which is why you see zsebében, not zsebeben.

Because Hungarian possessive noun phrases often work like this:

• a kabát zsebe = the coat’s pocket

The article goes before the possessor phrase, and the possessed noun usually does not get its own separate article in this kind of structure.

So Hungarian says:

• a kabát zsebében

not usually:

• a kabát a zsebében

A natural English translation uses the twice less strictly than Hungarian does, but Hungarian structure is different here.

That is a very common question.

Hungarian often leaves out van in the present tense when saying that something is something:

• Ez egy könyv. = This is a book.
• A kabát fekete. = The coat is black.

But when you say where something is, van is normally used:

• Az igazolvány a pénztárcámban van. = The ID is in my wallet.

So here van is needed because the sentence is about location.

Because nem negates the part that follows it.

Here the speaker is correcting the location:

• a pénztárcámban van = it is in my wallet
• nem a kabát zsebében = not in the coat’s pocket

So the contrast is between two locations.

This is very natural in Hungarian: the negative word often comes right before the thing being denied or corrected.

Yes, Hungarian word order is flexible, but different orders give different emphasis.

This version:

• Az igazolvány a pénztárcámban van, nem a kabát zsebében.

sounds natural if you are talking about the ID card and then clarifying where it is.

Other orders are possible, for example:

• A pénztárcámban van az igazolvány.
• Nem a kabát zsebében van az igazolvány, hanem a pénztárcámban.

These are not identical in focus. Hungarian word order often reflects what is being emphasized, contrasted, or treated as known information.

A few useful points:

• gy in igazolvány is a single consonant sound, somewhat like the d in British duke or the dy in would you, but softer.
• zs sounds like the s in measure.
• á is a long vowel, roughly like a longer a sound.
• é is a long ay-like vowel.
• Stress in Hungarian is always on the first syllable of the word.

So the main words are stressed like this:

• Igazolvány
• PÉNZtárcámban
• KAbát
• ZSEbében

That fixed first-syllable stress is one of the most consistent features of Hungarian pronunciation.