妇 fù married woman
married woman; wife
How to remember 妇: 女 woman + 𫜹 snout = married woman. At her village wedding the young woman kisses the farm's piglet on its snout for luck, now a married woman.
Component breakdown
妇 = 女 woman + 𫜹 snout
- 女 woman
- 𫜹 snout
At her village wedding the young woman kisses the farm's piglet on its snout for luck, now a married woman.
How it is used
- Formal, bound literary character - modern spoken Chinese uses 女人 or 妻子 instead of 妇 alone.
- 妇女 (fùnǚ) is the standard formal/official term for "women", as in 妇女节 (Fùnǚ Jié) - International Women's Day.
- 夫妇 (fūfù) - married couple - is formal, e.g. referring to "Mr. and Mrs. Wang" as 王氏夫妇.
- 媳妇 (xífu, neutral tone on 妇) is the colloquial northern term for "wife"; 孕妇 (yùnfù) and 寡妇 (guǎfu) mean pregnant woman and widow respectively.