闺 (guī): boudoir; lady's chamber

Meanings

1 boudoir; lady's chamber
2 women (figurative)

Characters

闺

guī

boudoir; women's quarters

Examples

她是我最好的闺蜜。

Tā shì wǒ zuìhǎo de guīmì.

She is my best girlfriend.

古代女子深居闺中。

Gǔdài nǚzǐ shēn jū guī zhōng.

In ancient times, women lived secluded in their chambers.

Tips

usage

闺 is most commonly encountered in 闺蜜 (guīmì, best female friend / bestie), which is hugely popular in modern Chinese. The classical meaning of a private women's chamber is mostly seen in period dramas and literature.

Components

radical

门 mén

door; gate

Outer door radical — simplified pictograph of a two-leaf gateway, the indexing radical. Wraps over 圭 like a doorframe and supplies the spatial sense of 闺: a small inner doorway leading to private quarters. Same gate frame appears in 间, 闲, 闭, 闷.

phonetic

圭 guī

jade tablet

Inside 圭 supplies the sound guī exactly. 圭 itself is a pointed jade tablet held by nobles at court; here it serves mainly as a phonetic, though the elegant association lingers — the inner chamber 闺 was the refined private space where unmarried daughters of the household lived.