娶 (qǔ): to take a wife, to marry (a woman)
娶 (qǔ) is a Chinese character meaning “to take a wife.” Classified as HSK Level 6 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 取 (structural) and 女 (structural). It ranks #2409 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 娶 to take 取 a wife 女; 取 also provides the pronunciation. Its radical form 女 (woman) appears in many related characters such as 女 (nǚ, woman), 奶 (nǎi, grandmother, milk), 她 (tā, she).
Definitions
- to take a wife
- to marry (a woman)
Etymology & Origin
ideographicTo take 取 a wife 女; 取 also provides the pronunciation
Decomposition: ⿱取女 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
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Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 迎娶verb | yíng qǔ | (of a groom) to fetch one's bride from her parents' home to escort her to the wedding ceremony |
| 娶亲verb | qǔ qīn | to take a wife |
| 嫁娶verb | jià qǔ | marriage |
| 明媒正娶phrase | míng méi zhèng qǔ | to be officially wed |
| 续娶 | xù qǔ | to remarry |
| 娶妻verb | qǔ qī | to take a wife |
| 聘娶婚 | pìn qǔ hūn | formal betrothal (in which the boy's family sends presents to the girl's family) |
| 娶媳妇 | qǔ xí fù | to get oneself a wife |
娶 appears in 8 compound words: 38 as the first character, 50 as the last, and 13 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 娶 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (1)
Example Sentences
娶娲补天的故事在中国流传了几千年。
qǔ 娲 bǔ tiān de gù shì zài zhōng guó liú chuán le jī qiān nián .
The story of Nuwa mending the sky has been passed down for thousands of years in China.
在正统摩门教早已废除了一夫多妻制的情况下，依然觉得男子多娶天经地义。
zài zhèng tǒng mó mén jiào zǎo yǐ fèi chú le yī fū duō qī zhì de qíng kuàng xià , yī rán jué dé nán zǐ duō qǔ tiān jīng dì yì .
Even though mainstream Mormonism has long since abolished polygamy, they still believe it is perfectly natural for men to marry multiple women.
“上头”还指男子束发加冠，冠礼最早可追溯到周代，男子在结发加冠之后才可以娶妻。
shàng tóu hái zhǐ nán zǐ shù fā jiā guàn , guàn lǐ zuì zǎo kě zhuī sù dào zhōu dài , nán zǐ zài jié fā jiā guàn zhī hòu cái kě yǐ qǔ qī .
"Shangtou" also refers to the ritual in which a man ties his hair and wears a ceremonial cap; this rite dates back to the Zhou Dynasty, and men were not permitted to marry until they had undergone this ceremony.
天生自带好命光!4生肖女“男人最想娶回家” 结婚钱财跟着来
tiān shēng zì dài hǎo mìng guāng ! 4 shēng xiào nǚ nán rén zuì xiǎng qǔ huí jiā jié hūn qián cái gēn zhe lái
Born with a lucky star! These 4 zodiac signs are the women "men most want to marry"—marriage brings wealth and prosperity
娶“4生肖女”赚到了!根本家中聚宝盆 自带...
qǔ 4 shēng xiào nǚ zhuàn dào le ! gēn běn jiā zhōng jù bǎo pén zì dài . . .
Marrying a woman born under these 4 zodiac signs is a real win! She’s a true treasure trove for the family, naturally endowed with...
你认为他还想娶我吗？
Nǐ rènwéi tā hái xiǎng qǔ wǒ ma?
Do you think he still wants to marry me?
汤姆娶了个牙医，没错吧？
Tāngmǔ qǔ le gè yáyī, méicuò ba?
Tom is married to a dentist, isn't he?
慎也娶了个漂亮姑娘。
Shènyě qǔ le ge piàoliang gūniang.
Shinya married a pretty girl.
他聪明到不会娶她。
Tā cōngming dào bù huì qǔ tā.
He knows better than to marry her.
他娶了一个漂亮的女孩。
Tā qǔ le yī gè piàoliang de nǚhái.
He married a pretty girl.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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Is 娶 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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