Házban

Házban is the locative case form of the Hungarian noun ház (house). It is used to express that something is located inside a house or within a building, functioning as a location phrase in sentences.

Formation and spelling: Hungarian marks location with suffixes; the locative suffix is -ban or -ben, chosen by vowel harmony. The noun ház ends with the back vowel a, so the form is házban. When preceded by a definite article, the usual phrase is a házban (in the house); with an indefinite article, egy házban (in a house).

Examples and usage: A common construction is to state where something is occurring. For example, A gyerek a házban játszik (The child is playing in the house). A kulcs a házban van (The key is in the house). Házban can also appear with verbs of residence or presence, as in ő a házban lakik (he lives in the house).

Usage notes: házban specifically refers to being inside the building of a house. For other interior spaces or more general “inside a building,” épületben may be used. The plural form házakban means “in the houses.” Other locative variations include -ba/-be for movement into a house (házba) and -ból/-böl for movement out from a house (házból).