How to Write 妻 (qī) — Meaning “Wife.”

Imagine a woman (女) with a tall, elegant hairstyle — the strokes above 女 look like a hand placing a wedding crown on her head. This visual helps you connect the character to the meaning "wife."

Write the top part first: a horizontal line, then a vertical stroke through it, followed by a left-falling stroke and a right-falling stroke, then the 女 radical below. A common mistake is making the top part too wide or forgetting that the vertical stroke must pass through the horizontal line.

妻 (wife) has the 女 radical at the bottom and a unique top shape, while 奸 (wicked) has 女 on the left and 干 on the right, and carries a negative meaning. 她 (she) uses 女 and 也, and is a pronoun for females, not specifically a wife.

妻 is used in formal or respectful terms like 妻子 (wife) and 夫妻 (husband and wife). It is less casual than 老婆 (wife in everyday speech), and the character reflects traditional family roles where the wife is central to the household.

Common words containing 妻 include: 妻子 (qī zǐ) — Wife.; 夫妻 (fū qī) — Husband and wife / Married couple; 爱妻 (ài qī) — Beloved wife.