Csontjaiban

Csontjaiban is a Hungarian phrase that literally means “in his bones.” It is used idiomatically to express a deep-seated certainty, intuition, or physical sense that something is true or imminent. The expression functions much like the English idiom “I can feel it in my bones,” and is common in everyday speech as well as in literary prose.

Etymology and form: the word comes from csont (bone) with the possessive suffix -ja (his/her) and the locative suffix -ban/ -ben, yielding csontjaiban, or “in his bones.” As a figurative construction, it emphasizes interior certainty rather than a literal physical sensation. It can take various verbs of perception or cognition, such as érzi/érzem (feels) or tudja/tudom (knows).

Usage: csontjaiban can introduce or reinforce a strong conviction. Examples include: “A döntés helyességét a csontjaimban érzem.” (I feel the correctness of the decision in my bones.) “A veszélyt a csontjaimban érzem.” (I feel the danger in my bones.) “Azt hiszem, a csontjaimban érzem, hogy valami nincs rendben.” (I think I can feel in my bones that something is not right.)

Notes: the phrase is figurative and often appears in narrative passages to convey character certainty, foreboding, or inner conviction. It is grammatically flexible and can be adapted to singular or plural subjects as csontom/csontjaink, csontjaiban, etc.

See also: Hungarian idioms; I can feel it in my bones (English equivalent).