A zsebkendő az asztalon van, mert fáj az orrom, és sokat köhögök.

A is the Hungarian definite article, meaning the.

So:

• a zsebkendő = the handkerchief

Hungarian has two forms of the definite article:

• a before most consonants
• az before vowels

That is why you get:

• a zsebkendő
• az asztal
• az orrom

It works much like the in English, but it changes form for pronunciation reasons.

Az asztalon means on the table.

There are two things happening here:

1. az = the
2. -on = on

So:

• asztal = table
• asztalon = on the table / on a table, depending on context
• az asztalon = on the table

Hungarian often expresses location with a case ending instead of a separate word like on.

The ending here is the superessive case:

• -on / -en / -ön

Examples:

• asztalon = on the table
• széken = on the chair
• földön = on the ground

Hungarian location endings change form depending partly on sound patterns.

For on something, the ending is usually one of these:

• -on
• -en
• -ön

You usually have to learn which form a noun takes, although vowel harmony and pronunciation help.

With asztal, the correct form is:

• asztalon

This is something learners often memorize together with the noun.

So it is good to learn nouns with useful forms:

• asztal → asztalon
• szék → széken
• föld → földön

Van means is.

Hungarian often puts the verb to be at the end of a simple statement like this:

• A zsebkendő az asztalon van.
• The handkerchief is on the table.

This word order is very natural in Hungarian when stating where something is.

A rough pattern here is:

• topic: A zsebkendő
• location/focus: az asztalon
• verb: van

Hungarian word order is flexible, but it is not random. It often reflects what is being presented as topic or focus.

Yes, you can.

Both are grammatical, but they differ slightly in emphasis.

• Fáj az orrom. = My nose hurts.
• Az orrom fáj. = It’s my nose that hurts / My nose hurts.

The version in your sentence, Fáj az orrom, is very natural when simply stating the problem.

Hungarian often puts the verb first in sentences like this when introducing a state or event.

Hungarian usually shows possession with a suffix on the noun, not with a separate word like my.

So:

• orr = nose
• orr-om = my nose

Because the basic noun is orr, the form becomes:

• orrom = my nose

And in Hungarian, possessed nouns often still take the definite article:

• az orrom = my nose

So literally this looks a bit like the my-nose, but that is just how Hungarian works.

This is very common:

• a kezem = my hand
• a fejem = my head
• a házam = my house

Because the base noun is already orr.

So:

• orr = nose
• orr + -om = orrom

Nothing unusual is being added to create the double r. The word already has rr in its base form.

This is a very common feature of Hungarian.

In Hungarian, possessed nouns often appear with the definite article when they are specific:

• az orrom = my nose
• a kezem = my hand
• a könyvem = my book

So even though the possessive ending already shows my, the article is still normal.

English does not do this, but Hungarian often does.

Because Hungarian uses fáj in a different pattern from English.

Fáj means hurts / is painful. The thing that hurts is the subject:

• Fáj a fejem. = My head hurts.
• Fáj a torkom. = My throat hurts.
• Fáj az orrom. = My nose hurts.

So Hungarian says, literally, something like:

• Hurts my nose

rather than I have pain in my nose.

This is just the normal Hungarian way to talk about pain in a body part.

Because Hungarian usually leaves out subject pronouns when the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

• köhögök = I cough / I am coughing

The ending -ök tells you the subject is I.

So Hungarian often does not need én.

You would add én only for emphasis or contrast:

• Én köhögök, nem ő.
• I’m coughing, not him/her.

Köhögök comes from:

• köhög = cough
• köhögök = I cough / I am coughing

The ending -ök here marks:

• first person singular = I
• present tense

So:

• köhögök = I cough
• köhögsz = you cough
• köhög = he/she coughs

Hungarian does not always separate I cough and I am coughing the way English does. Context tells you which is meant.

Because sokat is the correct adverbial form meaning a lot in this sentence.

• sok = much / many / a lot
• sokat = a lot, used as the object-like or adverbial form

So:

• Sokat köhögök. = I cough a lot.

This -t ending is very common in expressions of extent or amount.

Compare:

• Sokat alszom. = I sleep a lot.
• Sokat dolgozik. = He/she works a lot.

Learners often notice that this looks like the accusative ending, and historically/functionally it is related to that.

Mert means because.

It introduces the reason:

• A zsebkendő az asztalon van, mert fáj az orrom, és sokat köhögök.
• The handkerchief is on the table because my nose hurts and I cough a lot.

So the structure is:

• statement: The handkerchief is on the table
• reason: because my nose hurts and I cough a lot

És means and.

It links the two reasons:

• fáj az orrom = my nose hurts
• sokat köhögök = I cough a lot

Together:

• fáj az orrom, és sokat köhögök
• my nose hurts, and I cough a lot

This works very much like English and.

It could be said differently. Hungarian word order is flexible, but changes in order can change emphasis.

Your sentence is a natural neutral version:

• A zsebkendő az asztalon van, mert fáj az orrom, és sokat köhögök.

Other versions are possible, for example:

• Mert fáj az orrom, és sokat köhögök, a zsebkendő az asztalon van.

That is grammatical, but less neutral in everyday speech because it starts with the reason.

Hungarian word order is strongly connected to information structure: topic, focus, and emphasis.

It can mean either, depending on context.

Hungarian present tense often covers both simple present and present progressive English meanings.

So:

• Köhögök. can mean
• I cough or
• I’m coughing

In this sentence, I cough a lot is probably the best natural translation.

Usually, yes: zsebkendő traditionally means handkerchief.

In modern everyday Hungarian, if someone means a paper tissue, they often say:

• papír zsebkendő or more commonly
• papírzsebkendő

So if a learner is imagining a tissue rather than a cloth handkerchief, that is a useful distinction to know.

Because Hungarian chooses between a and az based on the sound that follows.

• a before a consonant
• az before a vowel

So:

• a zsebkendő — z is a consonant
• az asztalon — a is a vowel
• az orrom — o is a vowel

This is purely about pronunciation and flow.

Not in this sentence.

In Hungarian, van is often omitted in the present tense when you are saying that something is something:

• A zsebkendő tiszta. = The handkerchief is clean.
• Ő orvos. = He/she is a doctor.

But when you express location, van is normally needed:

• A zsebkendő az asztalon van. = The handkerchief is on the table.

So for location, you usually keep van.