Kagylóba

Kagylóba is the illative form of the Hungarian noun kagyló, meaning shell. It denotes movement into the interior of a shell or into a shell‑like container. In Hungarian, the illative is formed with the suffix -ba or -be, chosen according to vowel harmony. For back-vowel stems, the illative uses -ba; for front-vowel stems, -be. Since kagyló ends with a back vowel (ó), its illative singular form is kagylóba.

In usage, kagylóba marks direction toward the inner space of a container and is typically used with verbs of motion or placement. It answers questions such as “where to?” in the sense of “into which place.” Example sentences include: Behelyeztem a gyűrűt a kagylóba. (I placed the ring into the shell.) A tengerész a kagylóba rejtette a csalit. (The fisherman hid the bait in the shell.)

Kagylóba is a standard example of the illative case in Hungarian and illustrates how vowel harmony governs the choice of suffix. It contrasts with kagylóban, which would mean “in the shell” (location rather than movement into). Like other illative forms, kagylóba is nameable as part of phrase structures indicating destination and is used across formal and informal Hungarian to specify a target interior.

See also Hungarian grammar, illative case.