妾

妾 U+59BE, 妾 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-59BE ← 妽 [U+59BD] CJK Unified Ideographs 妿 → [U+59BF]

Translingual

Han character

妾 (Kangxi radical 38, 女+5, 8 strokes, cangjie input 卜廿女 (YTV), four-corner 0040₄, composition ⿱立女)

Derived characters

• 接, 𮀨, 𮋵, 踥

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 257, character 39
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 6147
• Dae Jaweon: page 523, character 6
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 1040, character 8
• Unihan data for U+59BE

Chinese

trad.		妾
simp. #		妾

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 妾
Shang	Western Zhou	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Characters in the same phonetic series (妾) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 

	Old Chinese
霎	*sreːb, *sreb
翣	*sraːb
帹	*sraːb
接	*ʔseb
椄	*ʔseb
菨	*ʔseb
鯜	*ʔseb, *sʰeb
妾	*sʰeb
淁	*sʰeb
踥	*sʰeb

Uncertain.

Possibly a pictogram (象形) of a woman with a headdress. Cognate to 女 with 辛 on top, though in the modern form the headdress has simplified to unrelated 立.

Alternatively, may be an ideogrammic compound (會意／会意) : 辛 (“torture device”) + 女 (“woman”) – female criminal.

Etymology

Cognate to 捷 (OC *zeb, “victory; booty”) (Schuessler, 2007). See there for more.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): qiè (qie⁴)

  (Zhuyin): ㄑㄧㄝˋ

  (Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): jie² / qie²

• Cantonese

  (Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): cip³

  (Taishan, Wiktionary): tiap²

• Gan (Wiktionary): qiet⁶
• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): chhiap / chhiet

  (Meixian, Guangdong): qiab⁵

• Jin (Wiktionary): qieh⁴
• Northern Min (KCR): chiĕ
• Eastern Min (BUC): chiék
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): chhiap

  (Teochew, Peng'im): ciab⁴

• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁷chiq
• Xiang (Changsha, Wiktionary): cie⁶

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: qiè
    • Zhuyin: ㄑㄧㄝˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: ciè
    • Wade–Giles: chʻieh⁴
    • Yale: chyè
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: chieh
    • Palladius: це (ce)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕʰi̯ɛ⁵¹/
  • (Chengdu)
    • Sichuanese Pinyin: jie² / qie²
    • Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: gie / kie
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕiɛ²¹/, /t͡ɕʰiɛ²¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: cip³
    • Yale: chip
    • Cantonese Pinyin: tsip⁸
    • Guangdong Romanization: qib³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰiːp̚³/
  • (Taishanese, Taicheng)
    • Wiktionary: tiap²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰiap̚⁵⁵/
• Gan
  • (Nanchang)
    • Wiktionary: qiet⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕʰiɛt̚⁵/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: chhiap / chhiet
    • Hakka Romanization System: qiab^ˋ / qied^ˋ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: qiab⁵ / qiad⁵
    • Sinological IPA: /t͡sʰi̯ap̚²/, /t͡sʰi̯et̚²/
  • (Meixian)
    • Guangdong: qiab⁵
    • Sinological IPA: /t͡sʰiap̚¹/
• Jin
  • (Taiyuan)⁺
    • Wiktionary: qieh⁴
    • Sinological IPA (old-style): /t͡ɕʰiəʔ²/
• Northern Min
  • (Jian'ou)
    • Kienning Colloquial Romanized: chiĕ
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰiɛ²⁴/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: chiék
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰiɛʔ²⁴/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chhiap
    • Tâi-lô: tshiap
    • Phofsit Daibuun: chiab
    • IPA (Xiamen): /t͡sʰiap̚³²/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /t͡sʰiap̚⁵/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /t͡sʰiap̚³²/
    • IPA (Taipei): /t͡sʰiap̚³²/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /t͡sʰiap̚³²/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: ciab⁴
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: tshiap
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰiap̚²/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ⁷chiq
    • MiniDict: chih^入
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ⁴qiq
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /t͡ɕʰiɪʔ⁵⁵/
• Xiang
  • (Changsha)
    • Wiktionary: cie⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key) (old-style): /t͡sʰi̯e̞²⁴/
    • Sinological IPA ^(key) (new-style): /t͡ɕʰi̯e̞²⁴/

---

• Middle Chinese: tshjep

Rime
Character	妾
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	清 (14)
Final (韻)	葉 (155)
Tone (調)	Checked (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	七接切
Baxter	tshjep
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/t͡sʰiᴇp̚/
Pan Wuyun	/t͡sʰiɛp̚/
Shao Rongfen	/t͡sʰjæp̚/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/t͡sʰiap̚/
Li Rong	/t͡sʰiɛp̚/
Wang Li	/t͡sʰĭɛp̚/
Bernard Karlgren	/t͡sʰi̯ɛp̚/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	qie
Expected Cantonese Reflex	cip3

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*[tsʰ]ap/

  (Zhengzhang): /*sʰeb/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	妾
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	qiè
Middle Chinese	‹ tshjep ›
Old Chinese	/*[tsʰ]ap/
English	concubine
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	妾
Reading #	1/1
No.	10467
Phonetic component	妾
Rime group	盍
Rime subdivision	2
Corresponding MC rime	妾
Old Chinese	/*sʰeb/

Definitions

妾

1. slave woman

   • 馬牛其風，臣妾逋逃，勿敢越逐，祗復之，我商賚汝。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     马牛其风，臣妾逋逃，勿敢越逐，祗复之，我商赉汝。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Book of Documents, circa 7^th – 4^th centuries BCE

     Mǎ niú qí fēng, chén qiè būtáo, wù gǎn yuè zhú, zhī fù zhī, wǒ shāng lài rǔ. [Pinyin]

     When horses or oxen run about in heat, or when slaves and slave women abscond, do not dare go away [from the camp] and pursue them; but if you [catch them and] respectfully return them, I will reward you.

2. concubine

   • 初命曰：「誅不孝，無易樹子，無以妾為妻。」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     初命曰：「诛不孝，无易树子，无以妾为妻。」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Mencius, c. 4^th century BCE

     Chū mìng yuē: “Zhū bùxiào, wú yì shùzǐ, wú yǐ qiè wèi qī.” [Pinyin]

     The first injunction in their agreement was, "Slay the unfilial; change not the son who has been appointed heir; exalt not a concubine to be the wife."

3. (archaic, humble) I; me (used by women to show modesty)

   • 妾有黃金釵，嫁時爲首飾。今日贈君行，千里長相憶。 [Korean Literary Sinitic, trad.]

     From: 《效崔國輔體》, Heo Nanseolheon, early 1600s

     Cheop yu hwanggeum chae, ga si wi susik. Geumil jeung gun haeng, cheol li jang sang eok. [Sino-Korean]

     I have a golden hairpin: my jewelry when I was married. Today I give it to you as you leave; long shall we remember each other, a thousand miles away.

4. a surname

Synonyms

• (slave woman): 女奴 (nǚnú)
• (concubine):

Dialectal synonyms of 妾 (“concubine”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		妾, 姬, 媵, 妾媵, 媵妾, 侍妾, 姬妾, 側室, 偏室, 姑娘
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		妾, 偏房
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	小太太兒, 小婆婆兒, 小奶奶兒, 小的兒, 屋兒裡人
	Taiwan	小老婆, 姨太太
	Harbin	小老婆
	Singapore	小老婆
Jilu Mandarin	Jinan	小老婆
Jiaoliao Mandarin	Yantai (Muping)	小老婆兒, 小婆子
Central Plains Mandarin	Luoyang	小老婆兒
	Wanrong	小婆子
	Xi'an	小婆子, 小
	Xuzhou	小的兒, 小的, 小兒, 小點子, 小婆兒, 小婆子, 庶夫人
Lanyin Mandarin	Yinchuan	小老婆, 小
	Lanzhou	小老婆
	Ürümqi	小老婆
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	小老婆, 小婆子
	Wuhan	小堂客, 小, 姨太太
	Guiyang	小婆娘, 姨太太
	Liuzhou	小的, 小, 小老婆, 小婆
Jianghuai Mandarin	Nanjing	小老婆
Cantonese	Guangzhou	細婆, 妾侍
	Hong Kong	細婆, 妾侍
	Dongguan	細婆
Gan	Nanchang	小老婆, 小
	Lichuan	小婆
	Pingxiang	小老婆, 小婆子
Hakka	Meixian	小婆
	Yudu	小老婆
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	細姐, 細婆, 偏房
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	細姆, 細姐仔, 細婆, 偏房
	Pingtung (Wuluo, Ligang; S. Sixian)	細姆
	Kaohsiung (Meinong; S. Sixian)	細姐仔
	Kaohsiung (Shanlin; S. Sixian)	細姐仔
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	細姐, 細婆, 偏房
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	細姐, 細姨, 偏房
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	細姐, 細婆, 偏房
	Miaoli (Zhuolan; Raoping)	細姐, 細婆, 偏房
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	細姐, 細姨, 偏房
Huizhou	Jixi	細老嫗
Jin	Taiyuan	小老婆, 姨娘, 姨太太
	Xinzhou	小婆子
Northern Min	Jian'ou	小嬤
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	細婆 non-face-to-face, 細姐 face-to-face, 姨太 older, 姑娘 younger, face to face
Southern Min	Xiamen	細姨
	Quanzhou	細姨
	Jinjiang	細姨
	Zhangzhou	細姨
	Taipei	細姨
	New Taipei (Sanxia)	細姨
	Kaohsiung	細姨
	Yilan	細姨
	Changhua (Lukang)	細姨
	Taichung	細姨
	Tainan	細姨
	Hsinchu	細姨
	Kinmen	細姨
	Penghu (Magong)	細姨
	Manila (Hokkien)	細姨
	Leizhou	細娘
	Haikou	細姩, 細老婆, 孧老婆, 細
Southern Pinghua	Nanning (Tingzi)	細婆
Wu	Shanghai	小老媽, 小老婆, 小娘子, 偏房
	Shanghai (Chongming)	小老婆, 小老官, 姨太太
	Suzhou	小老媽
	Danyang	小老媽
	Hangzhou	小老婆
	Ningbo	小老𡢿
	Wenzhou	姨娘, 姨娘兒
	Jinhua	小老婆, 小婆
Xiang	Changsha	小婆子, 小堂客
	Loudi	小

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (妾):

• → Japanese: 妾(しょう) (shō)
• → Korean: 첩(妾) (cheop)
• → Vietnamese: thiếp (妾)

Compounds

• 下妾
• 三妻四妾 (sānqīsìqiè)
• 三房四妾
• 主妾
• 仙妾
• 侍妾 (shìqiè)
• 僕妾／仆妾
• 先妾
• 兒妾／儿妾
• 內妾／内妾
• 副妾
• 園妾／园妾
• 團扇妾／团扇妾
• 女妾
• 妃妾
• 妓妾
• 妾人
• 妾侍 (qièshì)
• 妾勢／妾势
• 妾妃
• 妻妾 (qīqiè)
• 妾婦／妾妇
• 妾媵
• 妾御
• 妾身 (qièshēn)
• 妾身未明
• 妾魚／妾鱼
• 姻妾
• 姬妾 (jīqiè)
• 婢妾 (bìqiè)
• 婢妾魚／婢妾鱼
• 媵妾
• 嫡妾
• 嬌妻美妾／娇妻美妾
• 嬖妾
• 嬪妾／嫔妾
• 孤妾
• 孽妾
• 室妾
• 宮妾／宫妾
• 寵妾／宠妾
• 小妾
• 庶妾
• 微妾
• 愛妾／爱妾
• 愛妾換馬／爱妾换马
• 换妾
• 換妾／换妾
• 棄妾／弃妾
• 榜妾
• 江妾
• 津妾
• 灶妾
• 班妾
• 班妾辭輦／班妾辞辇
• 男妾 (nánqiè)
• 畜妾
• 竈妾／灶妾
• 童妾
• 箕帚妾
• 納妾／纳妾 (nàqiè)
• 老妾
• 臣妾
• 處妾／处妾
• 蛟妾
• 蠶妾／蚕妾
• 衾裯妾
• 讒妾／谗妾
• 貧妾／贫妾
• 貴妾／贵妾
• 賤妾／贱妾 (jiànqiè)
• 還妾／还妾
• 鄭家婢妾／郑家婢妾
• 長妾／长妾
• 陵園妾／陵园妾
• 陪妾
• 隸妾／隶妾
• 隸臣妾／隶臣妾
• 雨師妾／雨师妾
• 驕妾／骄妾
• 鬻妾
• 鬼妾
• 麗妾／丽妾

 

Japanese

Kanji

妾

(Hyōgai kanji)

1. concubine
2. servant

Readings

• Go-on: しょう (shō)^{←せふ (sefu, historical)}
• Kan-on: しょう (shō)^{←せふ (sefu, historical)}
• Kun: めかけ (mekake, 妾)、わらわ (warawa, 妾)

Compounds

Compounds

• 妾狂(めかけぐる)い (mekakegurui)
• 妾出(しょうしゅつ) (shōshutsu)
• 妾宅(しょうたく) (shōtaku)
• 妾腹(しょうふく) (shōfuku), 妾腹(めかけばら) (mekakebara)
• 世間妾形気(せけんてかけかたぎ) (sekentekakekatagi)
• 愛妾(あいしょう) (aishō)
• 妻妾(さいしょう) (saishō)
• 侍妾(じしょう) (jishō)
• 男妾(だんしょう) (danshō), 男妾(おとこめかけ) (otokomekake)
• 蓄妾(ちくしょう) (chikushō)
• 寵妾(ちょうしょう) (chōshō)
• 洋妾(ようしょう) (yōshō)

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
妾
めかけ Hyōgai
kun'yomi

For pronunciation and definitions of 妾 – see the following entry.

【めかけ】 [noun] 目掛け, 目掛, 妾: (by extension) kept woman; mistress; concubine Alternative spellings 目掛け, 目掛

(This term, 妾, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
妾
わらわ Hyōgai
kun'yomi

For pronunciation and definitions of 妾 – see the following entry.

【わらわ】 [pronoun] (archaic, women's speech, humble) I; me [pronoun] (Can we verify(+) this sense?) (modern fiction, women's speech) I; me (used by haughty women of the highest classes of society); usually accompanied by archaic speech styles Alternative spelling 私

(This term, 妾, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
妾
てかけ Hyōgai
kun'yomi

For pronunciation and definitions of 妾 – see the following entry: てかけ

(The following entry is uncreated: てかけ.)

Etymology 4

Kanji in this term
妾
おんなめ Hyōgai
kun'yomi

For pronunciation and definitions of 妾 – see the following entry: おんなめ

(The following entry is uncreated: おんなめ.)

Etymology 5

Kanji in this term
妾
しょう Hyōgai
on'yomi

Noun

妾(しょう) • (shō) 

1. concubine

Pronoun

妾(しょう) • (shō) 

1. (humble, feminine) I, me

Korean

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 妾 (MC tshjep). Recorded as Middle Korean 쳡〮 (chyép) (Yale: chyep) in Hunmong Jahoe (訓蒙字會 / 훈몽자회), 1527.

Hanja

Wikisource

妾 (eumhun 첩 첩 (cheop cheop))

1. hanja form^? of 첩 (“concubine”)

Compounds

Compounds

• 애첩 (愛妾, aecheop)
• 궁첩 (宮妾, gungcheop)
• 남첩 (男妾, namcheop)
• 처첩 (妻妾, cheocheop)

References

• 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典. [1]

Vietnamese

Han character

妾: Hán Nôm readings: thiếp, thê

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.