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Definition 2024

妻

妻

Translingual

Han character

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

References

  • KangXi: page 257, character 30
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 6140
  • Dae Jaweon: page 522, character 25
  • Hanyu Da Zidian: volume 2, page 1036, character 2
  • Unihan data for U+59BB

Chinese

simp. and trad.
 妻

Pronunciation 1

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
Baxter-Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character 妻
Reading # 1/2
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin)		 qī
Middle
Chinese		 ‹ tshej ›
Old
Chinese		 /*[tsʰ]ˤəj/
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

  1. wife

Compounds

Pronunciation 2

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		 /t͡sʰeiH/
Pan
Wuyun		 /t͡sʰeiH/
Shao
Rongfen		 /t͡sʰɛiH/
Edwin
Pulleyblank		 /t͡sʰɛjH/
Li
Rong		 /t͡sʰeiH/
Wang
Li		 /t͡sʰieiH/
Bernard
Karlgren		 /t͡sʰieiH/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex		 qì
Baxter-Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character 妻
Reading # 2/2
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin)		 qì
Middle
Chinese		 ‹ tshejH ›
Old
Chinese		 /*[tsʰ]ˤəj-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

  1. † to give a wife to; to give as a wife; to become married to a man
  2. † to marry a woman

Japanese

Kanji

妻

(grade 5 “Kyōiku” kanji)

  1. spouse

Readings

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]

Pronunciation

Alternative forms

  • 夫 (archaic)

Noun

妻 ‎(hiragana つま, romaji tsuma)

  1. (archaic) the male or female partner in a marriage: a spouse
  2. (humble, only refers to one's own) the female partner in a marriage: wife
    • 1999 February 15, Osamu Tezuka, “未知への挑戦 [A Challenge of the Third Kind]”, in ブラック・ジャック [Black Jack], volume 18 (in Japanese), 8th edition, Tokyo: Kodansha, ISBN 4-06-108768-1, 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!

      でしょう？なにしろ昨 (さく)年 (ねん)のミス・イウレガだったのですから
      Deshō? Nanishiro sakunen no Misu Iurega datta no desu kara
      I know, right? She was last year's Miss Iurega after all
Synonyms
  • (one’s own wife): 家内 ‎(kanai)
  • (spouse in general): 配偶者 ‎(haigūsha)

Etymology 2

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

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

Pronunciation

Noun

妻 ‎(hiragana つま, romaji tsuma)

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

References

  1. 1 2 3 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
  2. 1 2 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9

Korean

Hanja

妻 • ‎(cheo) (hangeul 처, revised cheo, McCune-Reischauer ch'ŏ)

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

Vietnamese

Han character

妻 (thê, thế)

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

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