悍妇 (hàn fù) — shrewish woman | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

悍妇 (hànfù) is a literary, pejorative noun for a fierce, domineering woman — 'shrew'. Stronger and more written than 泼妇 (pōfù, a coarse scold); a man with a comparable temperament is 悍夫.

noun

shrewish woman

Measure word · 个

Examples

悍妇。
Dà jiā dōu pà nà ge hàn fù.
Everyone is afraid of that shrewish woman.
悍妇，。
Tā shì gè hàn fù, shuí dōu bù gǎn rě tā.
She is a shrew; nobody dares to provoke her.
悍妇。
Méi xiǎng dào tā jìng rán shì gè hàn fù.
I didn't expect her to be such a shrew.

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.

悍 means fierce and 妇 means woman, so it describes a fierce, shrewish woman.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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 婦; 妇 is its simplified writing.

女帚婦

Meaning part形符xíngfú

女女nǚwoman

Sound part声符shēngfú

帚

帚zhǒu婦fù

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

The traditional form 婦 pairs 女 (woman) with 帚 (broom), and the Shuowen reads it as a woman holding a broom. The simplified 妇 is a shorthand.

Appears in

People (General)Personality & Traits

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