Én biztos vagyok benne, hogy ez a válasz jó.

I am sure that this answer is good.

Breakdown of Én biztos vagyok benne, hogy ez a válasz jó.

• ez: this
• lenni: to be
• én: I
• jó: good
• válasz: the answer
• hogy: that
• biztos: sure
• benne: in it

Questions & Answers about Én biztos vagyok benne, hogy ez a válasz jó.

What does each word in Én biztos vagyok benne, hogy ez a válasz jó. literally mean?

Word‑for‑word:

• Én – I
• biztos – sure, certain (an adjective: sure)
• vagyok – am (1st person singular of lenni = to be)
• benne – in it (*ben = in + -ne = in him/her/it)
• hogy – that (introduces a subordinate clause)
• ez – this
• a – the (article)
• válasz – answer
• jó – good / correct / right (here: right in the sense of correct)

A very literal rendering would be:
I sure am in-it, that this the answer good.
→ natural English: I’m sure that this answer is right.

Why is Én (I) used here? Can I leave it out?

In Hungarian, the personal pronoun (Én, I) is usually optional, because the verb ending (-ok in vagyok) already shows the person.

• Full form: Én biztos vagyok benne, hogy ez a válasz jó.
• More natural, everyday form: Biztos vagyok benne, hogy ez a válasz jó.

Including Én adds a bit of emphasis on the subject:

• Én biztos vagyok benne… – I am sure (even if others maybe aren’t).

So:

• Grammatically: you can almost always drop Én.
• Stylistically: keep it when you want to stress “I (personally)”.

What exactly does benne mean, and what is it referring to?

Benne literally means “in it”.

• bent = inside
• ben = in
• benne = in him/her/it

In this sentence, benne refers to the whole fact/content introduced by hogy:

• benne → “in that (statement / idea)”
• …benne, hogy ez a válasz jó → “in the idea that this answer is right”

So the Hungarian phrase biztos vagyok benne, hogy… is conceptually like English “I’m sure about the fact that…”.

You don’t see an explicit noun like “fact” or “statement” in Hungarian; benne stands for that abstract thing.

Why do we say biztos vagyok benne and not just biztos vagyok?

Both can exist, but they are used differently.

1. Biztos vagyok.

   • Literally: I am sure.
   • This is usually incomplete on its own in Hungarian, unless the context is extremely clear (for example, as a very short answer to a question).

2. Biztos vagyok benne, hogy…

   • Literally: I am sure in it, that…
   • This is the standard, natural pattern to say “I’m sure that …”.

You can also see a similar structure with a noun:

• Biztos vagyok a válaszban. – I am sure about the answer.

But when the “thing” you’re sure about is an entire clause, Hungarians almost always say:

• Biztos vagyok benne, hogy… – I’m sure (about it) that…

So benne is the normal way to connect biztos vagyok with a following hogy‑clause.

Could I replace benne with abban? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can say:

• Biztos vagyok abban, hogy ez a válasz jó.

Abban also means “in that” (abban = in that one), and it’s a bit more explicit and slightly more formal than benne.

Nuances:

• benne – very common, neutral, slightly more colloquial
• abban – explicitly points to “that (thing)”, a bit more careful/formal

Both are correct and natural; in everyday speech benne is more frequent:

• Biztos vagyok benne, hogy ez a válasz jó. – totally standard.
• Biztos vagyok abban, hogy ez a válasz jó. – also correct, maybe something you’d also see in writing or more formal situations.

What is the role of hogy here? Can I omit it like English “that”?

Hogy is a subordinating conjunction meaning “that” (introducing a content clause).

• Biztos vagyok benne, hogy ez a válasz jó.
  → I’m sure that this answer is right.

In spoken English, “that” is often omitted:

• I’m sure (that) this answer is right.

In Hungarian, you normally cannot omit hogy in this structure; it would sound wrong or unnatural:

• ❌ Biztos vagyok benne, ez a válasz jó. – ungrammatical / very odd
• ✅ Biztos vagyok benne, hogy ez a válasz jó.

So:

• In this type of sentence, hogy is obligatory in standard Hungarian.

Why is it ez a válasz instead of just ez válasz?

In Hungarian, when a demonstrative (ez = this, az = that) modifies a noun, it usually comes with the definite article a/az:

• ez a válasz – literally: this the answer
• az a könyv – that the book

This is just a fixed pattern:

• ez a + noun = this + noun
• az a + noun = that + noun

Saying ez válasz would mean something more like “this is an answer” (classification) and is not how you say “this answer”.

Compare:

• Ez a válasz jó. – This answer is good/right.
• Ez válasz. – This is an answer. (not “question”, for example)

Why is jó at the end? Could I move it earlier in the sentence?

The neutral, descriptive word order in Hungarian is often:

subject – copula – complement/predicate

Here:

• ez a válasz – subject (this answer)
• (is implied, often omitted)
• jó – predicate adjective (good/right)

So Ez a válasz jó. is the standard, neutral way to say “This answer is right.”

You can move jó for emphasis, but it changes the focus:

1. Ez a válasz jó.
   – Neutral: This answer is right (as opposed to being wrong).

2. Jó ez a válasz.
   – Emphasis on jó: It’s (indeed) a good/right answer. (maybe in contrast to “bad”, or maybe someone doubted it.)

3. Ez a jó válasz.
   – This is the right answer. (Here, jó comes before the noun; it now selects this answer as the correct one from a set.)

In your sentence, putting jó at the end (…hogy ez a válasz jó) keeps it neutral in the embedded clause.

Is there a difference between Ez a válasz jó and Ez a jó válasz?

Yes, there’s an important difference:

1. Ez a válasz jó.

   • Meaning: This answer is good/right.
   • You’re describing the quality of “this answer”. Maybe there are other answers too, and more than one answer can be good.

2. Ez a jó válasz.

   • Meaning: This is the right answer.
   • You’re identifying this as the correct one out of several possibilities — more exclusivity, like “the correct answer”.

So:

• ez a válasz jó → property: this answer has the quality “good/correct”.
• ez a jó válasz → selection: this is the one that is (the) correct answer.

Why do we use biztos and not biztosan here? What is the difference?

• biztos – an adjective: sure, certain
• biztosan – an adverb: surely, certainly, for sure

In biztos vagyok, biztos works as a predicate adjective:

• Én biztos vagyok. – I am sure.
  (sure describes I)

If you used biztosan, it would modify the verb, not describe the subject:

• Biztosan jó ez a válasz. – This answer is surely / certainly good/right.

Here, biztosan expresses the manner or degree of certainty of the statement, rather than being a state of the speaker.

So:

• Biztos vagyok benne, hogy… – I’m sure that… (describes the person’s state)
• Biztosan jó a válasz. – The answer is surely / certainly good. (adverb modifying “jó a válasz”)

How flexible is the word order? Could I say Biztos vagyok, hogy ez a válasz jó benne or Én benne biztos vagyok…?

Hungarian word order is flexible, but not arbitrary, and certain chunks are quite fixed.

Some points:

1. Biztos vagyok benne, hogy… is a strong, fixed-pattern expression.

   • ✅ Biztos vagyok benne, hogy ez a válasz jó. – natural
   • ✅ Én biztos vagyok benne, hogy ez a válasz jó. – with emphasized Én

2. You can move benne before biztos if you want to emphasize benne:

   • Én benne biztos vagyok, hogy ez a válasz jó. – stresses “in this (thing) I am sure”.

   This is a bit more marked, but still grammatical.

3. You cannot split the benne, hogy‑structure in a random way:

   • ❌ Biztos vagyok, hogy ez a válasz jó benne. – wrong / very strange
   • ❌ Biztos vagyok, hogy benne ez a válasz jó. – also odd

Typically you keep:

• biztos vagyok benne, hogy + [clause]

together as a unit. Internal changes in the hogy‑clause (like Jó ez a válasz vs Ez a válasz jó) are possible, but benne stays with biztos vagyok before hogy.

Are there simpler or more colloquial ways to say the same thing in Hungarian?

Yes, several variants with slightly different nuances:

1. Drop Én:

   • Biztos vagyok benne, hogy ez a válasz jó.
     – Neutral, everyday, very natural.

2. Without benne (still acceptable, but less idiomatic):

   • Biztos vagyok, hogy ez a válasz jó.
     – People do say this, but many speakers feel benne or abban is nicer.

3. Using Biztos, hogy…:

   • Biztos, hogy ez a válasz jó.
     – Literally: It is certain that this answer is right.
     – Here biztos is impersonal (not tied to Én), but the overall meaning is similar.

4. More conversational:

   • Tuti, hogy ez a válasz jó.
     – I’m totally sure this answer is right. (tuti = slangy “sure, guaranteed”)

All of these can be used, depending on formality and how personal/subjective you want to sound. The original sentence is neutral and correct in almost any context.

Is this sentence formal, informal, or neutral? Can I use it with a teacher or in writing?

Én biztos vagyok benne, hogy ez a válasz jó. is neutral in style:

• Appropriate with friends (maybe dropping Én in casual speech).
• Appropriate with a teacher.
• Appropriate in most kinds of writing (emails, essays, etc.).

If you wanted to be a bit more formal, you might prefer:

• Biztos vagyok abban, hogy ez a válasz helyes.
  (using abban and helyes = correct rather than jó = good/right.)

But your original sentence is already safe and standard in almost all everyday situations.