Definition

1. Noun:
   • Stepmother: A woman who is married to one's father but is not one's biological mother. This is the primary and most common meaning.
   • Stepmother (in a polygamous context): Historically, in contexts of polygamy, the term could refer to a father's secondary wife who assumes a maternal role after the death of one's birth mother.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Mẹ kế của tôi rất tử tế. (My stepmother is very kind.)
  • Sau khi mẹ ruột mất, bà ấy trở thành mẹ kế của anh ấy. (After his birth mother passed away, she became his stepmother.)

Advanced Usage

• The term "mẹ kế" can sometimes carry a neutral or negative cultural connotation, often depicted in folk tales as a less loving or antagonistic figure compared to the birth mother ("mẹ đẻ" or "mẹ ruột"). However, in modern usage, it is a standard, factual term.

Variants and Related Words

• Mẹ ruột (n): Birth mother, biological mother.

  • Cô ấy là mẹ ruột của bé. (She is the child's birth mother.)

• Mẹ đẻ (n): Synonym for birth mother.

  • Anh ấy rất yêu mẹ đẻ của mình. (He loves his birth mother very much.)

• Dượng (n): Stepfather.

  • Dượng tôi là một kiến trúc sư. (My stepfather is an architect.)

Synonyms

• Stepmother: The woman who married one's father.
• Stepmom (informal): A casual term for stepmother.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Con chồng, mẹ kế: A phrase describing the traditional, often difficult relationship between a stepchild and a stepmother.

  • Câu chuyện cổ tích thường nói về mối quan hệ con chồng, mẹ kế. (Fairy tales often talk about the stepchild-stepmother relationship.)

• Mẹ ghẻ: A derogatory term for a cruel or unkind stepmother.

  • Nhân vật mẹ ghẻ trong truyện rất độc ác. (The stepmother character in the story is very cruel.)