Tanácsban

Tanácsban is the inessive form of the Hungarian noun tanács, meaning “in the council” or “within the council.” The word tanács refers to a formal body such as a city council, a regional or national board, a committee, or a cabinet-like body. The form tanácsban signals location or participation inside that deliberative body, rather than the act of giving advice.

In usage, tanácsban is employed in political, administrative, and organizational contexts. It appears when speaking of members or activities inside a council or board, for example a city council, a ministerial council, or a corporate board. Common collocations include references to the members of a council or to decisions made within the council’s proceedings. The term is typically used with definite articles and possessives as with other Hungarian inessive forms, e.g., a tanácsban, a tanácsban lévő tagok.

Grammatical note: tanács attaches with suffixes to indicate case. The -ban/-ben suffix expresses the inessive case, with vowel harmony shaping the suffix as -ban in this instance. While tanács can also mean “advice,” in the sense of giving guidance, tanácsban as “in the advice” is not standard; the inessive form would normally refer to the location or participation in a council.

See also tanács (council/advice), tanácskozás (council meeting), minisztertanács (cabinet).