遗孀 (yí shuāng) — widow (formal term used in legal, news, and obi…

Definition

遗孀 (yíshuāng) is a formal noun for 'widow,' used in legal, news, and obituary writing rather than everyday speech.

noun

widow (formal term used in legal, news, and obituary contexts)

Measure word · 位

。
Yí shuāng chū xí le tā de zàng lǐ.
The widow attended his funeral.
，。
Tā qù shì hòu, yí shuāng fù zé guǎn lǐ gōng sī.
After he passed away, the widow took charge of managing the company.
。
Zhè fèn wén jiàn xū yào yí shuāng qiān zì.
This document requires the widow's signature.

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.

遗yíleft behind

孀shuāngwidow

"遗" means left behind and "孀" means widow, so it is the widow left behind after a death.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 遺; 遗 is its simplified writing.

辶貴遺

Meaning part形符xíngfú

辶Written in full as辵chuòmove

Sound part声符shēngfú

貴

貴guì遺yí

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 遺 pairs 辶 (move) with 貴 as a sound part; the simplified 遗 is a shorthand, and its right side is not the old sound part.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

女霜孀

Meaning part形符xíngfú

女女nǚwoman

Sound part声符shēngfú

霜

Same sound today

孀 combines 女 (woman) with 霜, which supplies the sound shuāng.

Appears in