hónapban

Hónapban is the locative form of the Hungarian noun hónap, meaning month. It is used to express the idea of “in the month” or “within a month” and appears in time expressions, especially when naming a specific month with the suffix -ban or -ben, as in januárban (in January).

Usage and sense

In Hungarian, to indicate a time within a calendar month, speakers attach the locative suffix -ban/-ben to the month name, producing forms such as januárban, februárban, vagy májusban. The stand-alone form hónapban is used primarily in linguistic or grammatical explanations, or in phrases where the month is referenced generically rather than named. It can appear in sentences describing events or activities that occur during a given month, for example: A események a hónapban zajlanak, vagyis ebben a hónapban történnek.

Formation and notes

The base word hónap meaning “month” combines with the locative suffix -ban to form hónapban. The exact -ban/-ben ending follows Hungarian vowel harmony rules and standard locative morphology. When a specific month is named, the suffix attaches to that month name (januárban, márciusban, etc.), while hónapban serves as a more general reference to “in the month” without naming it.

Examples

- Januárban hideg volt. (It was cold in January.)

- A hónapban több esemény volt. (There were several events during the month.)

- Az év hónapjában a termés változó volt. (In the months of the year, the harvest varied.)

See also

Hungarian grammar, locative case, list of Hungarian months, time expressions in Hungarian.