嫔 (pín): an imperial concubine (a ranked…

Meanings

宫中嫔妃众多。

Gōng zhōng pínfēi zhòngduō.

The palace was full of imperial consorts and concubines.

她从低等宫女升为受宠的嫔妃。

Tā cóng dī děng gōngnǚ shēng wéi shòuchǒng de pínfēi.

She rose from a low-ranking maid to a favored imperial concubine.

culture

In the imperial harem ranking, 妃 outranked 嫔; the pair 嫔妃 covers palace consorts generally and is everywhere in historical dramas.

radical

女 nǚ

woman

Left side is the woman radical 女, fitting a word for a female member of the imperial household.

phonetic

宾 bīn

guest; sound element

Right side 宾 gives the sound; the reading shifts from 宾 to 嫔. The traditional form 嬪 uses the fuller phonetic 賓.

嫔 pín