vợ kế
Definition
- Noun:
- Stepmother: A woman who is married to one's father after the death or divorce of one's biological mother. This term specifically refers to a father's subsequent wife in a familial context.
- Second wife (in a polygamous context): Historically, a woman taken as a wife after the first wife, particularly when the first wife is still alive, reflecting traditional marital structures.
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- Sau khi mẹ tôi mất, bố tôi lấy vợ kế. (After my mother died, my father married a stepmother.)
- Trong gia đình truyền thống, bà ấy là vợ kế. (In the traditional family, she is the second wife.)
Advanced Usage
- The term "vợ kế" can carry nuanced connotations depending on context. In modern usage, it most commonly means "stepmother." In historical or literary contexts discussing polygamy, it can refer to a "second wife" or "subsequent wife," often implying a specific, sometimes lesser, status within the household compared to the first wife ().
Variants and Related Words
- Vợ cả (n): The principal or first wife (in a historical/polygamous context).
- Vợ hai (n): The second wife; a synonym for in the polygamous sense.
- Vợ lẽ (n): A concubine; a term for a secondary wife with lower status than or .
- Mẹ kế (n): Stepmother; a more direct synonym focusing on the maternal role.
Synonyms
- Stepmother: A woman who is married to one's father.
- Second wife: A wife married after the first.
Related Idioms
- Con chồng vợ kế: A phrase describing the complex, often difficult relationship between a stepchild and stepmother.
- Câu chuyện cổ tích thường nói về mối quan hệ con chồng vợ kế. (Fairy tales often talk about the stepchild-stepmother relationship.)