nővér
[ˈnøːveːr]
The English word sister is translated into Hungarian as nővér or húg.
Meaning: woman or girl having the same parents (noun)
Ways to say it
| Hungarian | IPA |
|---|---|
| nővér | [ˈnøːveːr] (narrow) |
| húg | [ˈhuːɡ] (narrow) |
In Hungarian, the term for sister is determined by whether the sister is older or younger than the speaker.
Which one should you use?
The word nővér specifically refers to an older sister, whereas húg refers to a younger sister.
How does it change in a sentence?
The word nővér is used in the singular to mean one older sister. To say 'my older sister', you add the possessive suffix -em to the word, resulting in nővérem. For a younger sister, you use húg. To say 'my younger sister', you add the possessive suffix -om to the word, resulting in húgom. The plural form of húg is húgok, which refers to younger sisters.
Did you know?
- Because nővér means 'older sister', a Hungarian speaker might refer to a woman who is not a relative as nővérem in certain traditional or religious contexts to show respect.
- The term nővér is built from nő, meaning 'woman', and vér, meaning 'blood', literally translating to something like 'woman-blood'.
- The word testvér is the gender-neutral term for 'sibling' and combines test meaning 'body' and vér meaning 'blood'.
Examples in context
- Ő az én nővérem.She's my older sister.This sentence demonstrates how to use the form nővér to say 'my older sister'.Tatoeba #3213859 by Aleksandro40, translation #469125 by CK
- Hol van a húgom?Where's my sister?This sentence shows how to use the form húg to ask about 'my sister'.Tatoeba #4763870 by bandeirante, translation #2254652 by CK
- Hogy van a húgod?How's your sister?This sentence shows how to use the form húg to ask about 'your sister'.Tatoeba #4385843 by bandeirante, translation #322300 by CK
- Engedje meg, hogy bemutassam a nővéremet.Allow me to introduce my sister.
- Hol van a húgod?Where is your sister?
- 279 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Zsófia and Gábor are talking about family members.
- ZsófiaVan egy nővérem, aki Budapesten lakik.I have an older sister who lives in Budapest.
- GáborŐ egy tanár?Is she a teacher?
- ZsófiaNem, a nővérem orvos.No, my sister is a doctor.
- GáborEz nagyon érdekes.That is very interesting.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “sister” translations and entries nővér, húg, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries húg, nővér, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
