正室

zhèngshì
noun

Meanings

  1. 1 principal wife (as opposed to concubines)
  2. 2 lawful wife (as opposed to a mistress)

Examples

HSK 7-9
Gǔdài yǒuqiánrén chúle zhèngshì, wǎngwǎng hái huì nàqiè.
In the old days rich men often took concubines besides their principal wife.
HSK 7-9
Xiǎosān shàngmén tiǎoxìn, zhèngshì dāngchǎng gēn tā chǎo le qǐlai.
The mistress turned up at the door to provoke her, and the wife started a row with her on the spot.

Tips

usage
The concubines were 妾, 妾室 or 侧室; 正房 is another word for the principal wife. 室 "room" stood for the wife, who ran the inner household. Online, 正室 is used for a wife confronting her husband's 小三 (mistress).

Stroke Order

正 zhèng
室 shì