How to Write 娶 (qǔ) — Meaning “to marry (a woman); to take a wife”

Think of a man 'taking' (取) a 'woman' (女) to become his bride — the two parts together tell the story. You can also remember that the left side is the action of 'taking' and the right side is the 'woman' being taken.

Write the left component 取 first (8 strokes: horizontal, vertical, horizontal, horizontal, horizontal, vertical, horizontal, and finally a right-falling stroke), then add the right component 女 (3 strokes: left-falling stroke, right-falling stroke, and a horizontal stroke). Keep the left part slightly wider than the right part to maintain balance.

娶 means a man officially marrying a woman, while 姘 (pīn) refers to an illicit or informal cohabitation, and 姚 (yáo) is a common Chinese surname with no marriage meaning. Visually, 娶 has 取 on the left and 女 on the right, whereas 姘 has 女 on both sides and 姚 has 女 on the left with 兆 on the right.

娶 is used specifically when a man marries a woman, as in 娶妻 (qǔ qī, to take a wife) or 娶亲 (qǔ qīn, to get married for a man). It reflects the traditional view of a man 'bringing' the bride into his family, and is still used in wedding contexts and formal expressions.

Common words containing 娶 include: 娶妻 (qǔ qī) — to take a wife; to marry; 娶亲 (qǔ qīn) — to get married (of a man); 迎娶 (yíng qǔ) — to fetch the bride; to marry.