贤妻良母

賢妻良母
xiánqīliángmǔ
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 a good wife and loving mother
  2. 2 the ideal traditional wife and mother

Examples

Tā shì diǎnxíng de xián qī liáng mǔ.
She is a model wife and mother.
Chuántǒng shèhuì bǎ nǚxìng shì zuò xián qī liáng mǔ.
Traditional society saw women as virtuous wives and loving mothers.
Xiàndài nǚxìng bù zhǐshì xián qī liáng mǔ, gèng yǒu zìjǐ de shìyè.
Modern women are not just wives and mothers but also have their own careers.

Tips

culture
A key norm of Confucian family ideology. Lu Xun criticized the related 主义 (the 'good wife ideology') in 《·寡妇主义》 as limiting to women. Today the phrase is used both positively and critically, depending on context.
usage
Neutral-to-positive in everyday use, but can sound dated or patronizing in feminist discussion. Context matters a lot.

Stroke Order

xián
liáng