How to Write 媳 (xí) — Meaning “daughter-in-law; wife”

Imagine a woman (女) who finally takes a rest (息) after working hard to please her mother-in-law. The character combines these two images: a woman who is now at rest as a married daughter-in-law. This helps you remember both the parts and the meaning.

Write the left radical 女 first with 3 strokes, then the right part 息 with 10 strokes, making sure the 女 is narrower and the 息 is wider. A common mistake is to make the 息 too tall or to misplace the dot on top of 自. Keep the overall shape balanced horizontally.

媳 (xí) means daughter-in-law or wife and uses 息 for sound. 娶 (qǔ) means 'to marry (a woman)' and has 取 (qǔ, take) on the right. 娼 (chāng) means prostitute and has 昌 (chāng, prosperous) on the right. The key difference is the right-side component and the specific meaning of family relationship vs action vs negative term.

媳 appears in common words like 媳妇 (xí fù, wife or daughter-in-law) and 儿媳 (ér xí, daughter-in-law). In traditional Chinese culture, the daughter-in-law role involved living with the husband's family and serving the mother-in-law, but today the word is used neutrally in family discussions. The term 婆媳 (pó xí) refers to the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, a common topic in Chinese family dramas.

Common words containing 媳 include: 媳妇 (xí fù) — wife; daughter-in-law; 儿媳 (ér xí) — Daughter-in-law; 婆媳 (pó xí) — mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.