Testvére

Testvére is a Hungarian term that denotes the sibling of a person. It is the third-person possessive form of testvér and is used to refer to someone’s brother or sister without specifying gender. In sentences it appears in phrases such as Péter testvére (Peter’s sibling) or A lány testvére meghalt (The girl’s sibling died). The form is commonly found in biographical, genealogical, or descriptive contexts where the relationship is the focus rather than the individual’s gender.

In normal usage, testvére functions as a neutral relational noun within a possessive construction. To identify the specific relation as brother or sister, additional context or nouns are used, for example by including fivér (brother) or using a phrase that clarifies gender. The term is versatile enough to appear with different possessors, as in az övén testvére (his/her/its sibling).

Related terms include testvér (sibling in general) and vértestvér (blood sibling). The concept appears across family terminology and is commonly encountered in personal writing, family histories, and genealogical references. While testvére emphasizes the relationship rather than the individual’s gender, Hungarian grammar accommodates further specification through surrounding words.

See also: testvér, vértestvér, család, rokonság.