王妃 (wáng fēi) — princess consort; consort of a prince

Definition

The official wife of a king (or, in historical use, a prince) — a titled consort, not an heir. Pairs with the measure word 位, not 个, to show rank.

noun

princess consortconsort of a prince

Measure word · 位

王妃。
Tā zài èr shí suì shí chéng le wáng fēi.
She became a princess consort at age twenty.
王妃。
wáng fēi Zhù zài gōng diàn lǐ.
The princess consort lives in the palace.
，王妃。
Zài nà běn xiǎo shuō zhōng, wáng fēi shì yí gè zhòng yào jué sè.
In that novel, the princess consort is an important character.

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.

王wángking or prince

王 refers to a king or prince, and 妃 refers to a consort, so the combined sense is a king's or prince's consort.

Characters in this word

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

The shape of 王 comes from a picture of a ritual axe, an object kept near a throne and connected with royal power.

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

妃 shows 女 (woman) next to 卩 (a kneeling man).

Appears in