夫婿 (fū xù) — (literary) husband

Definition

Literary, classical-sounding word for 'husband,' used in poetry, prose, and historical contexts rather than everyday speech — neutral in tone, neither honorific nor pejorative.

noun
(literary) husband
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 夫婿。
    Tā de fū xù shì yí wèi jiāng jūn.
    Her husband is a general.
  • 夫婿。
    Zhè shǒu shī xiě de shì nǚ zǐ sī niàn yuǎn xíng de fū xù.
    This poem is about a woman missing her husband on a distant journey.
  • ，夫婿，。
    Gǔ shí hou, fū xù chū mén dǎ zhàng, qī zi zài jiā děng hòu.
    In ancient times, when the husband went off to war, the wife waited at home.

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.

夫fūhusband
婿xùhusband

夫 and 婿 both point to a husband, so 夫婿 names a literary husband.

Characters in this word

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

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

夫 originally drew a man. It was borrowed purely for its sound to write a pronoun, so the picture and the pronoun meaning are unrelated.

Open 夫 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
女女nǚ
Sound part声符shēngfú
胥
胥xū婿xù
Same sound today

婿 joins 女, a woman, with 胥, which gives the sound.

Open 婿 →

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