妻小 (qī xiǎo) — wife and children

Definition

A literary/archaic collective term for one's wife and children together, used as a single unit. Common in classical-style writing and historical contexts rather than everyday speech.

noun
wife and children

Examples

  • 妻小。
    Tā dài zhe qī xiǎo bān dào le chéng lǐ.
    He moved to the city with his wife and children.
  • ，妻小。
    Gǔ dài nán zǐ zài wài zhēng zhàn, qī xiǎo zài jiā děng hòu.
    In ancient times, men went to war while their wives and children waited at home.
  • 妻小。
    Tā de qī xiǎo dōu zhī chí tā de jué dìng.
    His wife and children all support his decision.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

妻qīwife
小xiǎoyoung ones

妻 names the wife, while 小 stands for young ones, so the pair means wife and children.

Characters in this word

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 →

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

  • 八八bāto divide; to separate
  • 丨丨gǔnsmall object

The shape of 小 comes from three small dots, later elongated into its strokes; the apparent parts 八 and 丨 are a later way of seeing it.

Open 小 →

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