发妻 (fà qī) — (formal) first wife, one's original spouse

Definition

发妻 (fāqī) is a formal, literary term for one's first wife — used in writing or traditional contexts, not everyday speech. Pair it with 继室 'second wife' in classical-style narratives.

noun
(formal) first wifeone's original spouse
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 发妻。
    Tā yì shēng zhī qǔ le yí wèi fà qī.
    He only married one wife in his life — his first wife.
  • 发妻。
    Zhè bù xiǎo shuō jiǎng de shì fà qī hé jì shì zhī jiān de gù shi.
    This novel tells the story between the first wife and the second wife.
  • 发妻。
    Tā duì fà qī yì zhí xīn huái kuì jiù.
    He has always felt guilty toward his first wife.

Origin

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.

发fāhair
妻qīwife

发 (hair) and 妻 (wife) name the wife taken when hair was black.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 發; 发 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 发 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (爆发, 出发) it is 發; in others (理发, 头发) it is 髮.

The form 發, which 发 stands for in many words, was originally drawn as a bow firing an arrow.

Open 发 →

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

  • 肀肀yùhand grabbing hair
  • 女女nǚwoman

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

Open 妻 →

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