vợ lẽ
Definition
- Noun:
- A concubine; a secondary wife: In historical and some traditional contexts, "vợ lẽ" refers to a woman married to a man who already has a principal wife. Her status is legally and socially subordinate to that of the first wife.
- A polygamous wife: A wife taken in addition to the primary one, within systems that permitted polygyny.
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- Trong xã hội phong kiến, một người đàn ông giàu có có thể có nhiều vợ lẽ. (In feudal society, a wealthy man could have many concubines.)
- Bà ấy không phải vợ cả, mà là vợ lẽ. (She is not the primary wife, but a secondary wife.)
Advanced Usage
- The term is primarily historical and carries connotations of a hierarchical, often patriarchal family structure. Its use in modern contexts is typically to describe historical situations or in figurative language.
Variants and Related Words
- Vợ cả (n): The principal or first wife.
- Vợ bé (n): A colloquial and sometimes euphemistic term for a secondary wife or concubine.
- Thiếp (n): A classical term for a concubine.
Synonyms
- Concubine: A woman who lives with a man but has lower status than a wife.
- Secondary wife: A wife of subordinate rank in a polygamous marriage.
Related Idioms and Phrases
- Làm vợ lẽ: To become or serve as a concubine.
- Số phận của cô ấy là phải làm vợ lẽ cho một viên quan. (Her fate was to become a concubine for a mandarin.)