Mit gondolsz erről a könyvről?

Mit is the accusative form of mi = what.

• mi = what
• mit = what (as a direct object)

In Hungarian, many direct objects take the ending -t, so mit gondolsz...? literally means something like what do you think...?

In English we say What do you think about this book?, but Hungarian structures it a little differently.

Gondolsz means you think.

The verb is gondol = to think, and -sz is the ending for you (informal singular).

So:

• gondolok = I think
• gondolsz = you think
• gondol = he/she/it thinks

Because the sentence is addressing you, Hungarian uses gondolsz.

Hungarian usually leaves out subject pronouns when they are clear from the verb ending.

So gondolsz already tells you the subject is you (informal singular), which makes a separate te unnecessary.

• Te mit gondolsz erről a könyvről? = also possible, but more emphatic
• Mit gondolsz erről a könyvről? = the normal neutral version

It means about this book.

It breaks down like this:

• ez = this
• erről = about this / from this
• a könyvről = about the book

Together:

• erről a könyvről = about this book

Hungarian uses the suffix -ról / -ről for meanings like about or off/from depending on context. Here it means about.

Hungarian often expresses meanings that English gives with prepositions by adding suffixes to nouns.

The suffix -ról / -ről can mean:

• from off
• about / concerning

In this sentence, it has the about/concerning meaning:

• a könyvről = about the book

This is very common with verbs like beszélni (to talk), olvasni in some contexts, and gondolni (to think) when talking about an opinion.

The demonstrative ez (this) changes irregularly when case endings are added.

So:

• ez = this
• erről = about this
• ebben = in this
• ehhez = to this

This doubling of r is just part of how ez behaves in different cases. So ezről is not correct standard Hungarian.

Because in Hungarian, when a demonstrative like ez (this) goes with a noun, both the demonstrative and the noun usually show the same case.

So:

• ez a könyv = this book
• erről a könyvről = about this book
• ebben a könyvben = in this book
• ehhez a könyvhöz = to this book

This is a very important Hungarian pattern: demonstrative + article + noun, with the case marking appearing on both the demonstrative and the noun.

Because Hungarian normally uses the definite article a / az with a noun when you mean a specific thing, just like English the.

Here the book is specific: this book.

So the structure is:

• erről a könyvről = about this book

You generally do not say erről könyvről in standard Hungarian.

This is because of vowel harmony.

Hungarian suffixes often have a back-vowel form and a front-vowel form:

• -ról after back-vowel words
• -ről after front-vowel words

Examples:

• házról = about the house
• könyvről = about the book

Since könyv has front vowels, it takes -ről.

Because the noun stem remains könyv, and the suffix is simply added:

• könyv
  • -ről = könyvről

The final v stays. Hungarian often joins suffixes directly to the noun like this.

This can look unusual to an English speaker, but it is completely regular.

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

The neutral version is:

• Mit gondolsz erről a könyvről?

Other versions are possible, for example:

• Erről a könyvről mit gondolsz? = puts more focus on about this book
• Te mit gondolsz erről a könyvről? = emphasizes you

So the sentence you were given is a very natural, standard way to ask the question.

Yes, that is correct too.

• Mit gondolsz a könyvről? = What do you think about the book?
• Mit gondolsz erről a könyvről? = What do you think about this book?

The version with erről is more specific and points to this particular book. The other version just means the book, depending on context.

This sentence is informal singular because of gondolsz.

You would use it with:

• a friend
• a family member
• someone your age in an informal setting

A more formal version would be:

• Mit gondol erről a könyvről? = What do you think about this book? (formal singular)

So the difference is mainly in the verb form:

• gondolsz = you think (informal)
• gondol = you think (formal) / he/she thinks

A rough pronunciation guide is:

• Mit ≈ meet
• gondolsz ≈ GON-dols
• erről ≈ ER-rul or ER-röl
• a ≈ short aw
• könyvről ≈ something like KURNYV-röl

A few useful notes:

• ö and ő are rounded front vowels; English does not have exact matches
• ny sounds like the ny in Spanish señor or the ni in onion
• sz is pronounced like English s
• s by itself is pronounced like English sh

So gondolsz has sz = s, not z or sh.