Ruhában

Ruhában is a Hungarian inessive form of the noun ruha (clothes) and is used to indicate that someone is wearing clothes. The phrase literally means “in clothes” and functions as a predicative or adverbial expression in sentences, often with the verb van to express a state, for example: Ő ruhában van (He is dressed).

Formation and grammar: Ruhában is formed by adding the inessive suffix -ban (-ben after front vowels) to the stem ruha. This form belongs to the locational/temporal grammatical category in Hungarian that describes the state of a person or thing in relation to clothing. Related forms include possessive constructions like ruhája (his/her clothes) and phrases such as ruhátlan (naked), which expresses the absence of clothes.

Usage and nuance: Ruhában is a neutral, common term found in everyday speech, media, and descriptive writing. It conveys straightforward information about someone’s attire and can be used in narrative detail or to set a scene. While it specifies clothing, it does not denote style or type of garment; those aspects would be described with additional adjectives or nouns (for example, “ruhája” with a color or garment noun).

See also: Hungarian grammar on the inessive case, clothing vocabulary and related adjectives such as ruhátlan (without clothes) and ruha (clothes).