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

古代富人常常纳妾。

Gǔdài fùrén chángcháng nà qiè.

Rich men in ancient times often took concubines.

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.