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
Practice writing 娶 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 迎娶 | yíng qǔ | (of a groom) to fetch one's bride from her parents' home to escort her to the wedding ceremony |
| 娶亲 | qǔ qīn | to take a wife |
| 嫁娶 | jià qǔ | marriage |
| 明媒正娶 | míng méi zhèng qǔ | to be officially wed |
| 续娶 | xù qǔ | to remarry |
| 娶妻 | 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.
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.
告诉我你为什么娶了她。
Gàosu wǒ nǐ wèishénme qǔ le tā.
Tell me why you married her.
上个月，汤姆娶了玛莉。
Shànggèyuè, Tāngmǔ qǔ le mǎ lì.
Tom married Mary last month.
他娶了一位空姐。
Tā qǔ le yī wèi kōngjiě.
He married a stewardess.
我不能禁止一个人娶好几个妻子，因为这与圣经不矛盾。
Wǒ bù néng jìnzhǐ yīgèrén qǔ hǎojǐ gè qīzi, yīnwèi zhè yǔ Shèngjīng bù máodùn.
I cannot forbid a person to marry several wives, for it does not contradict Scripture.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 娶 (qǔ) mean in Chinese?
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What are common words containing 娶?
What characters sound the same as 娶 (qǔ)?
Is 娶 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 娶 with real-time feedback
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