妻

妻	U+59BB, 妻 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-59BB

← 妺
[U+59BA]

CJK Unified Ideographs

妼 →
[U+59BC]

Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

妻 (Kangxi radical 38, 女+5, 8 strokes, cangjie input 十中女 (JLV), four-corner 5040₄, composition ⿱⿻一肀女)

Derived characters

凄啛悽捿淒棲䃀褄緀𩸸郪㼮鶈萋霋

References

KangXi: page 257, character 30

Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 6140

Dae Jaweon: page 522, character 25

Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 1036, character 2

Unihan data for U+59BB

Chinese

trad.		妻
simp. ^#		妻

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 妻
Western Zhou	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Bronze inscriptions	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Characters in the same phonetic series (妻) (Zhengzhang, 2003)

	Old Chinese
妻	sʰiːl, sʰiːls
萋	*sʰiːl
淒	*sʰiːl
凄	*sʰiːl
悽	*sʰiːl
鶈	*sʰiːl
郪	sʰiːl, sʰil
緀	sʰiːl, sʰiːlʔ
霋	*sʰiːl
棲	*siːl

Ideogrammic compound (會意) : 肀 (“hand grabbing hair”) + 女 (“woman”) ― a man grabbing a woman's hair to show ownership (marriage by capture).

Etymology

Thought to be cognate to 齊 (OC *dzêi, “same, equal (adj.), in line”) (SWJZ; Karlgren, 1956) & interpreted as "an equal to her husband"; yet this is unlikely considering the realities of ancient societies (Schuessler, 2007).

Schuessler instead proposes Austroasiatic etymology: he reconstructs 妻 (OC *tshə̂i) < *k-sə̂i and compares it to Middle Khmer [script needed] (kansai, “wife”) (whence Khmer កន្សៃ (kɑnsay, “wife”)) and Khmer [script needed] (*khsay, “be female”) with *ka(n)- being a female marker (ibid.).

Pronunciation 1

Mandarin
(Pinyin): qī (qi¹)
(Zhuyin): ㄑㄧ
Cantonese (Jyutping): cai¹
Hakka (Sixian, PFS): chhî
Min Bei (KCR): chí
Min Dong (BUC): chă̤
Min Nan
(Hokkien, POJ): chhe / chhoe
(Teochew, Peng'im): ci¹
Wu (Wiktionary): qi (T1)

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: qī
  - Zhuyin: ㄑㄧ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: ci
  - Wade–Giles: chʻi¹
  - Yale: chī
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: chi
  - Palladius: ци (ci)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕʰi⁵⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
  - Jyutping: cai¹
  - Yale: chāi
  - Cantonese Pinyin: tsai¹
  - Guangdong Romanization: cei¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰɐi̯⁵⁵/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: chhî
  - Hakka Romanization System: qi´
  - Hagfa Pinyim: qi¹
  - Sinological IPA: /t͡ɕʰi²⁴/
Min Bei
- (Jian'ou)
  - Kienning Colloquial Romanized: chí
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰi⁵⁴/
Min Dong
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: chă̤
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰɛ⁵⁵/
Min Nan
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chhe
  - Tâi-lô: tshe
  - Phofsit Daibuun: zhef
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /t͡sʰe³³/
  - IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Taipei, Kaohsiung): /t͡sʰe⁴⁴/
- (Hokkien: Quanzhou, Xiamen, Zhangzhou)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chhoe
  - Tâi-lô: tshue
  - Phofsit Daibuun: zhoef
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /t͡sʰue³³/
  - IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou): /t͡sʰue⁴⁴/

Note:

chhe - literary;
chhoe - vernacular.

- (Teochew)
  - Peng'im: ci¹
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: tshi
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰi³³/
Wu
- (Shanghainese)
  - Wiktionary: qi (T1)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕʰi⁵³/

Middle Chinese: /t͡sʰei/

Rime
Character	妻
Reading #	1/2
Initial (聲)	清 (14)
Final (韻)	齊 (39)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	IV
Fanqie	七稽切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/t͡sʰei/
Pan Wuyun	/t͡sʰei/
Shao Rongfen	/t͡sʰɛi/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/t͡sʰɛj/
Li Rong	/t͡sʰei/
Wang Li	/t͡sʰiei/
Bernard Karlgren	/t͡sʰiei/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	qī
Expected Cantonese Reflex	cai¹

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*[tsʰ]ˤəj/
(Zhengzhang): /*sʰiːl/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	妻
Reading #	1/2
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	qī
Middle Chinese	‹ tshej ›
Old Chinese	/*[tsʰ]ˁəj/
English	consort, wife
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. [t] as coda may in fact be -t or -p; Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	妻
Reading #	1/2
No.	9913
Phonetic component	妻
Rime group	脂
Rime subdivision	1
Corresponding MC rime	妻
Old Chinese	/*sʰiːl/

Definitions

妻

wife

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 妻子 (“wife”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		妻, 妻兒, 內人, 夫人, 娘子
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		妻子, 夫人, 太太, 妻室, 妻房, 拙荊 humble
Mandarin	Beijing	女人, 媳婦兒, 老婆子, 家項兒 dated
	Taiwan	太太, 老婆, 牽手
	Tianjin	老婆, 屋裡的, 家裡的, 娘們兒
	Ulanhot	媳婦兒, 老娘們兒
	Tongliao	媳婦兒, 老娘們兒
	Chifeng	老娘們兒
	Bayanhot	老婆, 屋裡的
	Hulunbuir (Hailar)	媳婦兒, 老娘們兒
	Harbin	老婆, 媳婦兒, 屋裡的, 屋裡人兒, 老娘們兒
	Shenyang	老婆, 家裡的
	Yantai (Muping)	老婆, 媳婦, 家裡兒的
	Qingdao	老婆子
	Weifang (Weicheng)	老婆, 家裡
	Weifang (Fangzi)	老婆, 媳婦, 家裡
	Weifang (Hanting)	老婆, 媳婦
	Changyi	老婆, 媳婦, 家裡
	Gaomi	老婆, 媳婦, 家裡
	Zhucheng	媳子, 老婆
	Anqiu	老婆, 媳婦, 家裡
	Changle	老婆, 媳婦, 家裡
	Linqu	老婆, 媳婦
	Qingzhou	老婆, 媳婦
	Shouguang	老婆, 女人
	Wulian	老婆, 辦飯的
	Jinan	老婆, 媳婦, 女的, 家裡, 家裡的
	Luoyang	女人, 媳婦兒, 屋裡的, 家裡
	Wanrong	老婆, 媳婦
	Zhengzhou	媳婦
	Xi'an	女人, 媳婦兒, 老婆, 婆娘, 屋裡人, 屋裡家
	Yinchuan	婆姨, 媳婦, 女人
	Lanzhou	女人, 媳婦, 屋裡的, 家裡的
	Xining	媳婦, 婆娘, 家裡的
	Ürümqi	女人, 媳婦兒, 央格子
	Wuhan	女的, 女將, 屋裡 dated, 屋裡的 dated, 屋裡人 dated, 家務 dated, 堂客 dated
	Huanggang	屋裡人, 屋裡, 堂客
	Chengdu	女的, 女人, 老娘兒, 婆娘
	Guiyang	女的, 女人, 婆娘, 屋頭人
	Kunming	婆娘, 老婆, 媳婦, 女人, 家首
	Guilin	老婆
	Liuzhou	老婆, 婆娘 dated
	Sanjiang (Danzhou)	老婆
	Xuzhou	女的, 家下, 家來的, 家裡人, 媳婦兒
	Yangzhou	老婆, 媽媽, 堂客, 女眷
	Xinghua	女人, 女將
	Nanjing	女的, 女人, 老婆, 媽媽
	Hefei	老婆, 奶奶們
	Nantong	堂客, 女將, 奶奶, 老婆
	Malaysia	老婆
	Singapore	老婆, 太太
	Sokuluk (Gansu Dungan)	老婆, 婆姨, 婆娘, 妻人
	Masanchin (Shaanxi Dungan)	老婆, 婆姨, 女人, 妻人
Cantonese	Guangzhou	老婆, 女人
	Hong Kong	老婆, 太太 non-face-to-face
	Hong Kong (San Tin Weitou)	老婆
	Hong Kong (Kam Tin Weitou)	老婆
	Macau	老婆, 太太
	Guangzhou (Panyu)	老婆
	Guangzhou (Huashan, Huadu)	老婆
	Guangzhou (Conghua)	老婆
	Guangzhou (Zengcheng)	老婆
	Foshan	老婆
	Foshan (Shatou, Nanhai)	老婆
	Foshan (Shunde)	老婆
	Foshan (Sanshui)	老婆
	Foshan (Mingcheng, Gaoming)	老婆
	Zhongshan (Shiqi)	老婆
	Zhuhai (Qianshan)	老婆
	Zhuhai (Doumen, Shangheng Tanka)	老婆
	Zhuhai (Doumen)	老婆
	Jiangmen (Baisha)	老婆
	Jiangmen (Xinhui)	老婆
	Taishan	老婆
	Kaiping (Chikan)	老婆
	Enping (Niujiang)	老婆
	Heshan (Yayao)	老婆
	Dongguan	老婆
	Shenzhen (Shajing, Bao'an)	老婆
	Shaoguan	老婆
	Yunfu	老婆
	Yangjiang	老婆, 家下, 夫娘
	Xinyi	老婆
	Lianjiang	老婆
	Nanning	老婆
	Wuzhou	老婆, 燒火婆
	Yulin	老婆, 婦娘
	Hepu (Lianzhou)	老婆
	Beihai (Qiaogang - Cô Tô)	老婆
	Fangchenggang (Fangcheng)	老婆
	Dongxing	老婆
	Danzhou	老婆
	Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	老婆
	Singapore (Guangfu)	老婆
	Ho Chi Minh City (Guangfu)	老婆, 太太
	Móng Cái	老婆
Gan	Nanchang	老婆, 女客
	Lichuan	老婆, 女客
	Pingxiang	婆娘, 老婆
Hakka	Meixian	老婆
	Xingning	老婆
	Huizhou (Huicheng Bendihua)	老婆
	Huiyang	老婆
	Huidong (Daling)	老婆
	Dongguan (Qingxi)	老婆
	Shenzhen (Shatoujiao)	老婆
	Zhongshan (Nanlang Heshui)	老婆
	Wuhua (Huacheng)	老婆
	Heyuan (Bendihua)	老婆
	Wengyuan	老婆
	Nanxiong (Zhuji)	婦娘, 堂客
	Shaoguan (Qujiang)	老婆
	Lianshan (Xiaosanjiang)	婆乸
	Liannan	老婆
	Conghua (Lütian)	老婆
	Jiexi	老婆
	Luhe	婦娘
	Zhao'an (Xiuzhuan)	婦娘
	Changting	老婆
	Wuping	老婆
	Wuping (Yanqian)	老婆
	Wuping (Pingyu)	老婆, 婦娘
	Liancheng	婦娘
	Ninghua	老婆
	Yudu	老婆, 婦娘
	Ningdu	老婆
	Ruijin	老婆, 婦娘
	Shicheng	老婆
	Shangyou (Shexi)	老婆
	Tonggu (Sandu)	老婆
	Ganzhou (Panlong)	老婆
	Dayu	老婆
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	婦娘, 老姐
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	姐仔
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	婦娘, 老姐
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	婦娘, 老姐
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	婦娘, 老姐
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	婦娘
	Hong Kong	老婆
	Mengshan (Xihe)	老婆
	Luchuan	老婆
	Luchuan (Daqiao)	老婆
	Sabah (Longchuan)	老婆
	Senai (Huiyang)	老婆
	Singkawang	老婆, 番婆
Huizhou	Jixi	老嫗
	Shexian	老婆, 堂客
	Tunxi	老婆
	Xiuning	老婆
	Yixian	老婆
	Qimen	婦兒家
	Wuyuan	老婆
	Fuliang	老婆, 婦人個
	Dexing	老婆
	Jingde	屋裡
	Shitai (Xianyu)	老婆
Jin	Taiyuan	老婆, 家裡的, 女人, 婆姨
	Pingyao	老婆, 媳婦, 婆姨
	Xinzhou	女人, 老婆, 婆姨
	Taibus (Baochang)	老婆
	Linhe	老婆, 女人
	Jining	老婆, 媳婦
	Hohhot	女人
	Baotou	老婆, 媳婦
	Dongsheng	老婆
	Haibowan	老婆
Min Bei	Jian'ou	老媽
	Jian'ou (Dikou)	老媽
	Songxi	老媽
	Zhenghe	老媽
	Zhenghe (Zhenqian)	老媽
	Jianyang	老媽
	Wuyishan	老媽
	Pucheng (Shibei)	老媽
Min Dong	Fuzhou	老媽, 諸娘儂, 厝裡, 𡚸, 老小
	Changle	老媽, 厝裡
	Fuqing	老媽, 𡚸, 厝裡
	Pingtan	老媽
	Yongtai	老媽
	Gutian	老媽
	Fu'an	老媽
	Ningde	老媽
	Shouning	老媽
	Zhouning	老媽
	Fuding	老媽
	Matsu	老媽
	Manjung (Gutian)	老媽
Min Nan	Xiamen	某, 牽手, 牽手的, 查某儂, 厝內, 厝內儂, 家內, 家內儂, 家後, 內人, 內助, 婦人儂, 柴耙, 老柴杮, 老柴㷮
	Xiamen (Tong'an)	某
	Quanzhou	某, 牽手, 牽手的, 查某儂, 厝內, 家內, 家內儂, 家後, 內人, 內助, 婦人儂
	Zhangzhou	某, 牽手, 牽手的, 查某儂, 厝內, 厝內儂, 家內, 家內儂, 家後, 內人, 內助, 婦人儂, 內頭, 㾀菜籃
	Zhangpu	某
	Zhao'an	某
	Dongshan	某
	Taipei	太太, 某, 牽手
	New Taipei (Sanxia)	太太, 阮厝的查某儂, 阿貼的, 後柴耙, 某
	Kaohsiung	太太, 某, 查某儂, 柴耙, 牽手, 牽的, 煮飯的
	Yilan	太太, 某, 查某儂, 家後, 柴耙, 牽手, 牽的, 煮飯的
	Changhua (Lukang)	某, 查某人, 柴耙, 牽手, 煮飯的
	Taichung	某, 家後, 牽手
	Taichung (Wuqi)	某
	Tainan	太太, 某, 查某儂, 柴耙, 牽手, 牽的, 煮飯的
	Taitung	某
	Hsinchu	某, 家後, 查某儂, 煮飯的, 柴耙
	Kinmen	某, 家內, 太的
	Penghu (Magong)	某, 牽手, 查某儂, 姿娘, 夫人, 家內, 柴耙
	Penang (Hokkien)	某, 查某儂, 家後
	Singapore (Hokkien)	某, 厝內, 厝內儂
	Manila (Hokkien)	某, 牽手, 牽手的
	Longyan	老婆
	Zhangping	查某儂
	Zhangping (Yongfu)	查某, 老媽 non-face-to-face
	Chaozhou	𡚸
	Shantou	𡚸, 老婆
	Shantou (Chenghai)	𡚸
	Jieyang	𡚸
	Lufeng	𡚸
	Haifeng	𡚸, 㜁𡚸
	Johor Bahru (Teochew)	𡚸
	Singapore (Teochew)	𡚸, 老婆
	Leizhou	老婆, 婆
	Wenchang	老婆
	Haikou	老婆, 妰娝 dated
	Qionghai	老婆
Puxian Min	Putian	老媽
Puxian Min	Xianyou	老媽
Zhongshan Min	Shaxi (Longdu)	老婆
Southern Pinghua	Nanning (Tingzi)	老婆, 女人
Northern Pinghua	Guilin (Dahe)	老婆
Northern Pinghua	Lingchuan (Sanjie)	女人
Wu	Shanghai	老婆, 太太, 妻子, 夫人, 內人, 女人, 家主婆, 屋裡個, 屋裡
	Shanghai (Chongming)	女個, 屋裡, 女客, 女人
	Suzhou	女人, 家小, 家主婆, 家婆, 屋裡, 老婆
	Wuxi	老婆, 女人, 家主婆, 屋裡人
	Danyang	女個, 老媽, 家裡
	Hangzhou	老婆, 老娘, 女人, 女的, 屋裡, 屋裡廂
	Ningbo	老婆, 老𡢿, 女人, 屋裡人 dated
	Wenzhou	老安, 老安人, 老人兒, 老人客, 老人, 屋裡
	Jinhua	老婆, 窩裡
	Jinhua (Tangxi)	老媽
Xiang	Changsha	堂客, 內當家, 婆婆子
	Xiangtan	堂客
	Loudi	堂客, 婆娘, 老婆, 屋裡個, 他㑲娘
	Shuangfeng	堂客, 老婆
	Quanzhou	老婆

Compounds

Derived terms from 妻

三妻四妾 (sānqīsìqiè)
下堂妻
下妻 (Xiàqī)
令妻
休妻 (xiūqī)
借妻
停妻再娶
傍妻
兄弟共妻
出妻
初妻
前妻 (qiánqī)
夫妻 (fūqī)
夫妻反目
夫妻店 (fūqīdiàn)
夫妻相 (fūqīxiàng)
妻女 (qīnǚ)
妻妾 (qīqiè)
妻姊妹婚
妻子 (qīzi)
妻孥
妻室 (qīshì)
妻小 (qīxiǎo)
妻舅 (qījiù)
娶妻 (qǔqī)
娶妻生子 (qǔqīshēngzǐ)
嫡妻 (díqī)
孀妻 (shuāngqī)
寡妻 (guǎqī)
小妻
山妻 (shānqī)
徙宅忘妻
忌妻

旁妻
未婚妻 (wèihūnqī)
柴米夫妻
次妻 (cìqī)
正妻 (zhèngqī)
活人妻
焦仲卿妻
玄妻
空中夫妻
糟糠之妻 (zāokāngzhīqī)
糟糠妻
老夫妻
老夫老妻 (lǎofūlǎoqī)
腹婚妻
蒸藜出妻
逃妻
露水夫妻
首妻
杞梁妻
雇妻鬻子
偎妻靠婦／偎妻靠妇
兒女夫妻／儿女夫妻
兩婦三妻／两妇三妻
大婦小妻／大妇小妻
夫妻兩口／夫妻两口
夫妻關係／夫妻关系
夫榮妻貴／夫荣妻贵
夫榮妻顯／夫荣妻显
夫貴妻榮／夫贵妻荣
妻以夫貴／妻以夫贵
妻兒／妻儿 (qī'ér)
妻兒老小／妻儿老小

妻梅子鶴／妻梅子鹤
妻管嚴／妻管严 (qīguǎnyán)
妻親／妻亲
妻離子散／妻离子散
妻黨／妻党
嬌妻／娇妻 (jiāoqī)
嬌妻美妾／娇妻美妾
封妻廕子／封妻荫子
後妻／后妻 (hòuqī)
患難夫妻／患难夫妻
愛妻／爱妻 (àiqī)
拋妻別子／抛妻别子
拋妻棄子／抛妻弃子 (pāoqīqìzǐ)
指腳夫妻／指脚夫妻
挑妻窩夫／挑妻窝夫
梅妻鶴子／梅妻鹤子 (méiqīhèzǐ)
殺妻求將／杀妻求将
秋胡戲妻／秋胡戏妻
結髮夫妻／结发夫妻 (jiéfà fūqī)
繼妻／继妻
腳頭妻／脚头妻
花燭夫妻／花烛夫妻
荊妻／荆妻
萊妻／莱妻
蔭子封妻／荫子封妻
買妻恥樵／买妻耻樵
賢妻／贤妻 (xiánqī)
賢妻良母／贤妻良母 (xiánqīliángmǔ)
賣妻鬻子／卖妻鬻子
質妻鬻子／质妻鬻子
頭妻／头妻
髮妻／发妻 (fàqī)

Pronunciation 2

Mandarin
(Pinyin): qì (qi⁴)
(Zhuyin): ㄑㄧˋ
Cantonese (Jyutping): cai³

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: qì
  - Zhuyin: ㄑㄧˋ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: cì
  - Wade–Giles: chʻi⁴
  - Yale: chì
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: chih
  - Palladius: ци (ci)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕʰi⁵¹/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
  - Jyutping: cai³
  - Yale: chai
  - Cantonese Pinyin: tsai³
  - Guangdong Romanization: cei³
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰɐi̯³³/

Middle Chinese: /t͡sʰei^H/

Rime
Character	妻
Reading #	2/2
Initial (聲)	清 (14)
Final (韻)	齊 (39)
Tone (調)	Departing (H)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	IV
Fanqie	七計切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/t͡sʰei^H/
Pan Wuyun	/t͡sʰei^H/
Shao Rongfen	/t͡sʰɛi^H/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/t͡sʰɛj^H/
Li Rong	/t͡sʰei^H/
Wang Li	/t͡sʰiei^H/
Bernard Karlgren	/t͡sʰiei^H/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	qì
Expected Cantonese Reflex	cai³

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*[tsʰ]ˤəj-s/
(Zhengzhang): /*sʰiːls/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	妻
Reading #	2/2
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	qì
Middle Chinese	‹ tshej^H ›
Old Chinese	/*[tsʰ]ˁəj-s/
English	give as wife
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. [t] as coda may in fact be -t or -p; Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	妻
Reading #	2/2
No.	9923
Phonetic component	妻
Rime group	脂
Rime subdivision	1
Corresponding MC rime	砌
Old Chinese	/*sʰiːls/

Definitions

妻

^† to give a wife to; to give as a wife; to become married to a man
- 子謂公冶長，「可妻也。雖在縲絏之中，非其罪也」。以其子妻之。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
  子谓公冶长，“可妻也。虽在缧绁之中，非其罪也”。以其子妻之。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
  From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE
  Zǐ wèi Gōngyě Cháng, “kě qì yě. Suī zài léiyì zhī zhōng, fēi qí zuì yě”. Yǐ qí zǐ qì zhī. [Pinyin]
  The Master said of Gongye Chang that he might be wived; although he was put in bonds, he had not been guilty of any crime. Accordingly, he gave him his own daughter to wife.
^† to marry a woman
- 好色，人之所欲，妻帝之二女，而不足以解憂； [Classical Chinese, trad.]
  好色，人之所欲，妻帝之二女，而不足以解忧； [Classical Chinese, simp.]
  From: Mencius, c. 4^th century BCE
  hǎosè, rén zhī suǒyù, qī dì zhī èrnǚ, ér bùzú yǐ jiěyōu; [Pinyin]
  To lust after feminine beauty is men's desire, and Shun married as wives Emperor Yao's two daughters, yet that was not enough to rid Shun of Shun's sorrow.

Japanese

Kanji

妻

(grade 5 “Kyōiku” kanji)

spouse

Readings

Go-on: さい (sai, Jōyō)
Kan-on: せい (sei)
Kun: つま (tsuma, 妻, Jōyō); めあわせる (meawaseru, 妻せる)

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
妻
つま Grade: 5
kun’yomi

From 端 (tsuma, “side, edge”), indicating the person who is at the side of someone: a spouse.[1] Compare the English expression better half.

This term originally referred to either a male (husband) or female (wife) spouse. In modern usage, this term refers only to a female spouse.[1]

Alternative forms

夫 (archaic)

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) つま [tsúꜜmà] (Atamadaka – [1])[2]
IPA^(key): [t͡sɨᵝma̠]

Noun

妻(つま) • (tsuma)

(archaic) a spouse
(humble, only refers to one's own) a wife (married woman)
- 1999 February 15 [Jun 20 1983], Tezuka, Osamu, “第８話　未知への挑戦 [Chapter 8: Challenge of the Third Kind]”, in ブラック・ジャック [Black Jack], volume 18 (fiction), 8th edition, Tokyo: Kodansha, →ISBN, page 176:
  先(せん)生(せい)………………私(わたし)の妻(つま)は美(うつく)しいでしょう？
  Sensei……………… watashi no tsuma wa utsukushii deshō?
  Doctor... Do you think my wife is beautiful?
  ああ！すばらしい美(び)人(じん)ですよ！
  Ā! Subarashii bijin desu yo!
  Sure! She’s a gorgeous lady!

Synonyms

(one’s own wife): 家(か)内(ない) (kanai)
(someone else's wife): 奥(おく)さん (okusan), 奥様(おくさま) (okusama)
(Kansai): 嫁(よめ) (yome)
(spouse in general): 配偶者(はいぐうしゃ) (haigūsha)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
妻
つま Grade: 5
kun’yomi

By extension from the at the side sense.[1]

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) つま [tsùmáꜜ] (Odaka – [2])[2]
IPA^(key): [t͡sɨᵝma̠]

Noun

妻(つま) • (tsuma)

a side dish
a tangent, a digression, something to the side of the main thing

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
妻
さい Grade: 5
goon

From Middle Chinese 妻 (MC t͡sʰei, t͡sʰei^H, “wife”).

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) さい [sáꜜì] (Atamadaka – [1])[2]
IPA^(key): [sa̠i]

Noun

妻(さい) • (sai)

my wife
- Isikawa Takuboku, Romazi Nikki
  Yo wa Sai wo aisiteru; aisiteru kara koso kono Nikki wo yomase taku nai no da.
  I love my Wife; it is precisely because I love her that I do not want her to read this Diary.

Usage notes

Used chiefly in written texts such as letters.

References

1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

Korean

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 妻 (MC t͡sʰei).

Historical Readings
Dongguk Jeongun Reading
Dongguk Jeongun, 1448	촁 (Yale: chyèy)
Middle Korean
Text	Eumhun
Text	*Gloss (hun)*	Reading
Hunmong Jahoe, 1527	겨〯집 (Yale: kyěcìp)	쳐 (Yale: chyè)

Pronunciation

(SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [t͡ɕʰʌ̹]
Phonetic hangul: [처]

Hanja

Wikisource妻 (eumhun 아내 처 (anae cheo))

Hanja form^? of 처 (“wife”).

Compounds

처자 (妻子, cheoja)
처가 (妻家, cheoga)
애처 (愛妻, aecheo)
처제 (妻弟, cheoje)
본처 (本妻, boncheo)
조강지처 (糟糠之妻, jogangjicheo)

References

국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典.

Vietnamese

Han character

妻: Hán Nôm readings: thê, thế

This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

[KDJ-1] 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan

[DJR-2] 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN