a man's female partner in marriage

husband and wife; a married couple

A former wife, typically one who is divorced or deceased.

a woman who is engaged to be married

one's wife and children; one's family

one's beloved wife

A woman who is both a wise and dutiful wife to her husband and a kind and loving mother to her children.

wife and daughter; wife and daughters

a young and beautiful wife; beloved wife

to get married (specifically of a man taking a woman as his wife)

A husband and wife who have been married for many years

the principal wife and the concubines of a man in former times; harem

A marriage system where one man is legally wedded to only one woman at a time.

(idiom) a family forced to separate and scatter in all directions; wife and children flee and the household is broken up

(literary) legal wife; spouse

A man's first wife, married when both were young; also known as [[元配|元配|yuan2 pei4]]

the woman one marries after the death or divorce of a previous wife

wife's younger brother

A small shop or business run by a husband and wife without outside employees; also used to describe any entity or enterprise managed together by a married couple. couple

a marriage system in which one man has more than one wife at the same time

one's wife and children

one's entire family; specifically referring to one's wife, children, and parents

a wife who has shared her husband's hard times and poverty; often used in the context of remaining loyal to her after finding success

A husband and wife who have gone through difficult times and supported each other together.

Once a couple has been husband and wife for even a single day, they will have deep and lasting affection for each other forever.

(idiom) husband and wife fall out; discord and disharmony between a married couple

wife's brother

to bestow a title on one's wife and a hereditary rank on one's son; refers to a high official's success benefiting his whole family in feudal society

(literary) wife and children

A husband attains high status or wealth, and his wife consequently shares in the glory and prestige; metaphorically, a husband and wife share a common fate, including both glory and shame

A couple married since their youth or in their first marriage; specifically referring to a person's first or original spouse.

An unmarried couple living together for a short time or in an improper relationship; a transient union that vanishes quickly like dew.

(literary) the main or legal wife of a man

Taking the plum tree as a wife and the crane as a child; refers to a scholar who lives in seclusion or a person with high moral integrity. This expression originates from the story of the Song Dynasty poet [[林逋|林逋|lin2 bu1]] who lived as a hermit on Orphan Hill by Hangzhou's West Lake.

a wife who has shared her husband's hard lot must never be cast aside

A couple married for financial survival or basic livelihood rather than romance

a woman's status and wealth rise along with her husband's success; a woman of low birth may marry into the purple

To marry another woman while still being legally married to one's wife; to abandon one's current wife and remarry without a divorce.

(proverb) Even a single night as husband and wife creates a deep and lasting affection for a hundred nights; once a couple relationship is established, there is a deep and enduring bond.

(literary) members and relatives of one's wife's family

(idiom) to be completely unscrupulous in the pursuit of personal gain; literally "to kill one's wife to be appointed general," referring to the Warring States military strategist Wu Qi who killed his wife to prove his loyalty and secure a command position

to sell one's wife and children to survive a famine or disaster; used to describe a state of extreme poverty and desperation

the practice of being married to only one person at a time

polygyny; polygamy; the system of one husband having multiple wives

the practice of having only one wife at a time; monogyny

the practice of a woman having more than one husband at the same time

A marriage system that allows a woman to have two or more husbands at the same time

a woman who has been abandoned or divorced by her husband

famous farewell letter written by the revolutionary martyr Lin Juemin to his spouse in 1911 shortly before the Second Guangzhou Uprising