In, On, At
Hungarian Grammar 2
Chapter 4 · Where? In, On, At
📍 Where Something Is — Hol?
The first row of the 3 × 3 grid from Chapter 1 answers Hol? (Where?). It has three cases: -ban / -ben (in), -on / -en / -ön (on) and -nál / -nél (at, by). The endings are easy. The hard part is that English in, on, at do not line up with them, so the work in this chapter is choosing the right case for the right kind of place.
1. The forms
| Case | Back | Front | Front, rounded | After a vowel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inessive (in) | -ban | -ben | -ben | same |
| Superessive (on) | -on | -en | -ön | -n (a, e lengthen) |
| Adessive (at, by) | -nál | -nél | -nél | same |
| Stem | In | On | At, by |
|---|---|---|---|
| ház (house) | házban | házon | háznál |
| kert (garden) | kertben | kerten | kertnél |
| tükör (mirror) | tükörben | tükrön | tükörnél |
| fa (tree) | fában | fán | fánál |
| autó (car) | autóban | autón | autónál |
| tó (lake) | tóban / tavon (see below) | tavon | tónál |
The stem changes from Chapter 2 return before the case (tükr-, tav-). Hungarian Grammar 1, chapter 5 explains why the plural and case suffixes assimilate in the same way.
2. Which place takes which case
-ban / -ben: enclosed space
| Kind of place | Examples |
|---|---|
| Rooms and buildings | a szobában · az irodában · a boltban · az étteremben · a kórházban · a könyvtárban · az iskolában |
| Containers | a táskában · a dobozban · a szekrényben · a pohárban |
| Most foreign cities | Bécsben · Berlinben · Rómában · Párizsban · Londonban |
| Most countries (those in -ország and -ia) | Franciaországban · Németországban · Skóciában · Ausztriában |
| Cars and taxis | az autóban · a taxiban |
-on / -en / -ön: surfaces, open areas, vehicles, events
| Kind of place | Examples |
|---|---|
| Surfaces | az asztalon · a falon · a padlón · a polcon |
| Open areas and streets | az utcán · a téren · az úton · a piacon |
| Public transport and boats | a buszon · a vonaton · a villamoson · a hajón · a repülőn |
| Islands, hills, lakes | a szigeten · a hegyen · a Balatonon |
| Institutions and events | az egyetemen · a postán · a pályaudvaron · a repülőtéren · a koncerten · a tanfolyamon |
| Some towns and Hungary itself | Szegeden · Miskolcon · Budapesten · Magyarországon |
Towns: a historic split
There is no rule that tells you whether a Hungarian town takes -ban/-ben or -on/-en/-ön; the usage is historic. Foreign towns nearly always take -ban/-ben. Learn the Hungarian towns you need with their case:
| Takes -ban / -ben | Takes -on / -en / -ön / -n |
|---|---|
| Győrben · Egerben · Debrecenben · Veszprémben · Sopronban | Budapesten · Szegeden · Miskolcon · Szolnokon · Kecskeméten · Székesfehérváron · Nyíregyházán |
A few Hungarian towns also have their own special form (Pécsett), and some people say one case where others say the other. When a town is not in your list, look it up before you commit.
-nál / -nél: at, by, and at someone's place
The adessive means at or by without going inside or on. Its most important use is for being at a person's home or with a person.
| Hungarian | English |
|---|---|
| A barátomnál alszom. | I'm staying at my friend's. |
| Az orvosnál voltam. | I was at the doctor's. |
| A szüleimnél lakom. | I live with my parents. |
| A bejáratnál várlak. | I'll wait for you at the entrance. |
| A pénztárnál fizetek. | I pay at the till. |
| Péter magasabb nálam. | Peter is taller than me. |
The last row shows another job of the adessive: the thing compared with, after a comparative adjective (than me).
3. The pronoun forms
These three cases do not add to a personal pronoun directly. Each has its own set of forms, built on a short stem plus the personal endings you know from the possessives.
| Person | In | On | At, by |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | bennem | rajtam | nálam |
| you (sg) | benned | rajtad | nálad |
| he, she | benne | rajta | nála |
| we | bennünk | rajtunk | nálunk |
| you (pl) | bennetek | rajtatok | nálatok |
| they | bennük | rajtuk | náluk |
| Hungarian | English |
|---|---|
| Nálam van a kulcs. | I have the key (it is with me). |
| Nálunk jó az idő. | The weather is good at our place. |
| Nincs benne semmi. | There is nothing in it. |
| Mi van rajta? | What is on it? |
The question words are Hol? (where), Miben? (in what), Min? (on what), Kinél? (at whose place). Two small words need no case at all: itt (here), ott (there) and otthon (at home).
🗣️ In Use — Használatban
The static cases in short exchanges.
① Where do you live?
② Where is the key?
③ Where are you?
📋 Quick Reference — Gyorstábla
| Case | Use for | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -ban / -ben | inside rooms, buildings, containers; most countries and foreign cities; cars | a szobában · Bécsben · az autóban |
| -on / -en / -ön / -n | surfaces, streets, transport, islands, institutions, events; some towns | az asztalon · a buszon · Budapesten |
| -nál / -nél | at someone's place; at or by a spot; "than" | a barátomnál · a bejáratnál |
| Pronouns | bennem · rajtam · nálam (and so on) | Nálam van. |
✏️ Try It Yourself — Gyakorlás
Say the answer first, then click to check.
1. "In the house": ház + the "in" case.
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házban.
2. "In the garden": kert + the "in" case.
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kertben.
3. "On the table": asztal + the "on" case.
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asztalon.
4. "On the tree": fa + the "on" case.
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fán. After a vowel the ending is -n, and the stem vowel lengthens.
5. "In Budapest."
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Budapesten. Budapest takes the surface case.
6. "In Hungary."
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Magyarországon. Hungary is the exception among the -ország countries.
7. "In France."
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Franciaországban.
8. "At the doctor's": az orvos + the "at" case.
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az orvosnál.
9. Say "in me" and "at my place".
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bennem and nálam.
10. Fix the sentence: A vonatban vagyok (I'm on the train).
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A vonaton vagyok. Public transport takes the surface case.