媳 xí daughter-in-law
How to remember 媳: 女 woman + 息 breath = daughter-in-law. The young woman holds her breath as her boyfriend's mother tastes her dumplings, hoping to be welcomed as a daughter-in-law.
Component breakdown
媳 = 女 woman + 息 breath
- 女 woman
- 息 breath
- 自 self
- 心 heart
The young woman holds her breath as her boyfriend's mother tastes her dumplings, hoping to be welcomed as a daughter-in-law.
How it is used
- Bound morpheme in kinship terms - 媳妇 (xífu) can mean daughter-in-law, or colloquially (north China) one's own wife: 娶媳妇 (qǔ xífu) take a wife.
- 儿媳 (érxí) = son's wife specifically. 婆媳关系 (póxí guānxì) = the mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationship, a cultural cliché for family tension.