媳妇

• Pinyin: xí fu
• Hanzi breakdown: 媳 = 女 + 息 (woman + son/rest — woman belonging to the son's family, daughter-in-law); 妇 = 女 + 帚 (woman + broom — married woman)

Meaning

Daughter-in-law; (colloquially) wife. The wife of one's son; in informal northern Chinese usage, also one's own wife.

Has two distinct uses: the formal/traditional meaning is daughter-in-law (son's wife), while in colloquial northern Chinese dialect it also means 'my wife.' Context usually clarifies. Appears frequently in discussions of family relationships and social dynamics, including the culturally sensitive 婆媳关系 (mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship).

Examples

1. 婆婆对媳妇的烹饪手艺赞不绝口，说她做的红烧肉比自己做的还要香。 The mother-in-law couldn’t stop praising her daughter-in-law’s cooking, saying her braised pork was even more fragrant than her own.
2. 他把相亲对象带回家，爷爷笑着问这是不是他未来的媳妇。 He brought his blind date home, and his grandpa asked with a smile if she was his future wife.
3. 婆媳关系历来是家庭矛盾的高发地带，需要双方都付出理解与包容。 Mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationships have long been a common source of family conflict and require understanding and patience from both sides.

Usage Guide

Context: family, relationships, everyday, social dynamics

Tone: warm

Do Say

• 在城市家庭里，越来越多媳妇不再只讲服从，而是主动划定边界，争取平等发言权。(In urban families, more and more daughters-in-law no longer focus only on obedience; they actively set boundaries and seek equal say.)
• 农村迎娶不仅是两人结合，新媳妇进门后的一系列拜见礼，也是在公开确认家族秩序。(In rural weddings, the ceremony is not only a union of two people; the series of visits a new daughter-in-law makes after entering the home also publicly confirms family order.)

Don't Say

• 媳妇 in formal or official writing when referring to a wife — use 妻子 or 配偶 in formal documents; 媳妇 is colloquial and family-oriented; in formal writing or professional contexts, especially for legal or administrative purposes, 妻子 is the appropriate term

Origin & History

媳 = 女 + 息 (woman + breath/son — a woman who has become part of the son's household, i.e., daughter-in-law); 妇 = 女 + 帚 (woman + broom — originally a married woman performing household tasks)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal