妻
qī
(bound form) wife
hand (彐) + hair (十) + woman (女) = wife taken by hand
The ancient form shows a hand (彐) grabbing hair (十, originally representing hair) and pulling a woman (女) — depicting the act of taking a bride. This archaic image of capture by the hand encodes the institution of marriage from an ancient cultural lens.
十Originally depicted hairSemantic
女WomanSemantic
彐A handSemantic
Words with 妻
遗妻
yí qī
widow
丑妻近地家中宝
chǒu qī jìn dì jiā zhōng bǎo
an ugly wife is a treasure at home (idiom)
露水夫妻
lù shuǐ fū qī
a couple in a short-lived, improper relationship
霸妻
bà qī
to use one's power and influence to take another man's wife for oneself
发妻
fà qī
first wife
一夫一妻
yī fū yī qī
monogamy
一夫多妻
yī fū duō qī
polygamy
一妻制
yī qī zhì
monogamy
亡妻
wáng qī
one's late wife
人妻
rén qī
married woman; wife (as a social role)
休妻
xiū qī
to repudiate one's wife
前妻
qián qī
ex-wife