妾 (qiè) · concubine

Measure Word

一个妾 gè

Meanings

1 concubine
2 I, your servant (self-deprecating, used by women in classical Chinese)

Characters

妾

qiè

concubine

Examples

HSK 5

古代富人常常纳妾。

Gǔdài fùrén chángcháng nà qiè.

Rich men in ancient times often took concubines.

HSK 7-9

三妻四妾是封建社会的现象。

Sān qī sì qiè shì fēngjiàn shèhuì de xiànxiàng.

Having multiple wives and concubines was a feature of feudal society.

Tips

history

In imperial China, a 妾 had lower status than a 妻 (wife). Children of concubines (庶出) had fewer inheritance rights than those of the primary wife (嫡出). The practice was abolished in the 20th century.

Components

radical

女 nǚ

woman; female

Bottom 女 is the woman radical, the indexing component - a kneeling figure with arms crossed. Carries the core meaning: 妾 names a secondary wife or female concubine, distinct from 妻 the formal wife. Anchors 妾 in the family of female-status terms (妻, 妹, 姊, 婢 maidservant).

semantic

立 lì

to stand

Top 立 here is the visual residue of an older 辛 (tattooing knife) - the original 妾 pictured a tattooed female slave-concubine, the brand marking her status. In modern script the top has standardised toward the 'standing' silhouette 立 (5 strokes), absorbing what was once a 7-stroke 辛. Treat as 立 for handwriting.