前妻 (qián qī) — ex-wife, former wife (also, late wife in litera…

Definition

noun

ex-wifeformer wife (also, late wife in literary usage)

Measure word · 个

前妻。
Wǒ zuó tiān zài jiē shàng kàn jiàn le qián qī.
I saw my ex-wife on the street yesterday.
前妻。
Tā de qián qī qù nián yòu jié hūn le.
His ex-wife remarried last year.
前妻，。
Tā de qián qī qù shì duō nián le, tā réng rán huái niàn tā.
His late wife passed away many years ago, and he still misses her.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

前 gives the former status, and 妻 names the wife.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

In the older form of 前, 止 (foot) and 舟 (boat) showed a foot on a boat moving forward; in the current 前 those parts are shortened.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

妻 combines 肀, a hand grabbing hair, with 女, a woman, showing a man grabbing a woman's hair to show ownership.

Appears in