三下り半

Japanese

Kanji in this term
三	下	半

Etymology

Literally "three and a half lines". During the Edo period, a husband could divorce his wife by writing a formalized note consisting of three fixed lines of text.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /mikudarihan/

Alternative forms

• 三行半

Noun

三下り半 (hiragana みくだりはん, romaji mikudarihan)

1. a letter of divorce given from a husband to a wife
2. divorce

See also

• 離婚 (rikon)
• 離婚状 (rikonjō)