妾

妾	U+59BE, 妾 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-59BE

Translingual

Han character

妾 (Kangxi radical 38, 女+5, 8 strokes, Cangjie input 卜廿女 (YTV), four-corner 0040₄, composition ⿱立女)

Derived characters

倿, 唼, 帹, 㢺, 接, 淁, 椄, 踥, 鯜, 菨, 䈉, 翣, 霎

Additional Derived Characters

𡞘, 𢜡, 𣮍, 𤗈, 𮌟, 𥇒, 𥏡, 𮀨, 𥟣, 𧚪, 𦁉, 𮋵, 𧌃, 𧩕, 𫍭, 𧱙, 𧳛, 𨨧, 𥪵, 𪑗, 𫲨, 𰣴, 𦽚

References

Kangxi Dictionary: page 257, character 39
Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 6147
Dae Jaweon: page 523, character 6
Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 1040, character 8
Unihan data for U+59BE

Chinese

trad.		妾
simp. ^#		妾

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 妾
Shang	Western Zhou	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Characters in the same phonetic series (妾) (Zhengzhang, 2003)

	Old Chinese
霎	sreːb, sreb
翣	*sraːb
帹	*sraːb
接	*ʔseb
椄	*ʔseb
菨	*ʔseb
鯜	ʔseb, sʰeb
妾	*sʰeb
淁	*sʰeb
踥	*sʰeb

Uncertain.

Possibly a pictogram (象形) of a woman with a headdress. Cognate to 女 with 辛 on top, though in the modern form the headdress has simplified to unrelated 立.

Alternatively, may be an ideogrammic compound (會意 / 会意): 辛 (“torture device”) + 女 (“woman”) – female criminal.

Etymology

Cognate to 捷 (OC *zeb, “victory; booty”) (Schuessler, 2007). See there for more.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Standard)
(Pinyin): qiè (qie⁴)

(Zhuyin): ㄑㄧㄝˋ

(Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): jie² / qie²
Cantonese
(Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): cip³

(Taishan, Wiktionary): tiap²
Gan (Wiktionary): qiet⁶
Hakka
(Sixian, PFS): chhiap / chhiet

(Meixian, Guangdong): qiab⁵
Jin (Wiktionary): qieh⁴
Northern Min (KCR): chiĕ
Eastern Min (BUC): chiék
Southern Min
(Hokkien, POJ): chhiap

(Teochew, Peng'im): ciab⁴
Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁷chiq
Xiang (Changsha, Wiktionary): cie⁶

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: qiè
  - Zhuyin: ㄑㄧㄝˋ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: ciè
  - Wade–Giles: chʻieh⁴
  - Yale: chyè
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: chieh
  - Palladius: це (ce)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕʰi̯ɛ⁵¹/
- (Chengdu)
  - Sichuanese Pinyin: jie² / qie²
  - Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: gie / kie
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕiɛ²¹/, /t͡ɕʰiɛ²¹/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
  - Jyutping: cip³
  - Yale: chip
  - Cantonese Pinyin: tsip⁸
  - Guangdong Romanization: qib³
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰiːp̚³/
- (Taishanese, Taicheng)
  - Wiktionary: tiap²
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰiap̚⁵⁵/
Gan
- (Nanchang)
  - Wiktionary: qiet⁶
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕʰiɛt̚⁵/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: chhiap / chhiet
  - Hakka Romanization System: qiab^ˋ / qied^ˋ
  - Hagfa Pinyim: qiab⁵ / qiad⁵
  - Sinological IPA: /t͡sʰi̯ap̚²/, /t͡sʰi̯et̚²/
- (Meixian)
  - Guangdong: qiab⁵
  - Sinological IPA: /t͡ɕʰiap̚¹/
Jin
- (Taiyuan)⁺
  - Wiktionary: qieh⁴
  - Sinological IPA (old-style): /t͡ɕʰiəʔ²/
Northern Min
- (Jian'ou)
  - Kienning Colloquial Romanized: chiĕ
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰiɛ²⁴/
Eastern Min
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: chiék
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰiɛʔ²⁴/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chhiap
  - Tâi-lô: tshiap
  - Phofsit Daibuun: chiab
  - Sinological IPA (Xiamen): /t͡sʰiap̚³²/
  - Sinological IPA (Quanzhou): /t͡sʰiap̚⁵/
  - Sinological IPA (Zhangzhou): /t͡sʰiap̚³²/
  - Sinological IPA (Taipei): /t͡sʰiap̚³²/
  - Sinological IPA (Kaohsiung): /t͡sʰiap̚³²/
- (Teochew)
  - Peng'im: ciab⁴
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: tshiap
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰiap̚²/
Wu
- (Northern: Shanghai)
  - Wugniu: ⁷chiq
  - MiniDict: chih^入
  - Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ⁴qiq
  - Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /t͡ɕʰiɪʔ⁵⁵/
Xiang
- (Changsha)
  - Wiktionary: cie⁶
  - Sinological IPA ^(key) (old-style): /t͡sʰi̯e̞²⁴/
  - Sinological IPA ^(key) (new-style): /t͡ɕʰi̯e̞²⁴/

Middle Chinese: tshjep

Rime
Character	妾
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	清 (14)
Final (韻)	葉 (155)
Tone (調)	Checked (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	七接切
Baxter	tshjep
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/t͡sʰiᴇp̚/
Pan Wuyun	/t͡sʰiɛp̚/
Shao Rongfen	/t͡sʰjæp̚/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/t͡sʰiap̚/
Li Rong	/t͡sʰiɛp̚/
Wang Li	/t͡sʰĭɛp̚/
Bernhard Karlgren	/t͡sʰi̯ɛp̚/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	qie
Expected Cantonese Reflex	cip³

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*[tsʰ]ap/

(Zhengzhang): /*sʰeb/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	妾
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	qiè
Middle Chinese	‹ tshjep ›
Old Chinese	/*[tsʰ]ap/
English	concubine
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. [t] as coda may in fact be -t or -p; Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	妾
Reading #	1/1
No.	10467
Phonetic component	妾
Rime group	盍
Rime subdivision	2
Corresponding MC rime	妾
Old Chinese	/*sʰeb/

Definitions

妾

slave woman
- 馬牛其風，臣妾逋逃，勿敢越逐，祗復之，我商賚汝。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
  马牛其风，臣妾逋逃，勿敢越逐，祗复之，我商赉汝。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
  From: The Book of Documents, circa 7^th – 4^th centuries BCE
  Mǎ niú qí fēng, chén qiè būtáo, wù gǎn yuè zhú, zhī fù zhī, wǒ shāng lài rǔ. [Pinyin]
  When horses or oxen run about in heat, or when slaves and slave women abscond, do not dare go away [from the camp] and pursue them; but if you [catch them and] respectfully return them, I will reward you.
concubine
- 初命曰：「誅不孝，無易樹子，無以妾為妻。」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
  初命曰：「诛不孝，无易树子，无以妾为妻。」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
  From: Mencius, c. 4^th century BCE
  Chū mìng yuē: “Zhū bùxiào, wú yì shùzǐ, wú yǐ qiè wèi qī.” [Pinyin]
  The first injunction in their agreement was, "Slay the unfilial; change not the son who has been appointed heir; exalt not a concubine to be the wife."
(archaic, humble) I; me (a term of self-address used by women)
- 今眾人各有耳目，共作證明：妾不負郎君，郎君自負妾耳！ [Written Vernacular Chinese, trad.]
  今众人各有耳目，共作证明：妾不负郎君，郎君自负妾耳！ [Written Vernacular Chinese, simp.]
  From: c. 1624, Feng Menglong (馮夢龍), The Courtesan's Jewel Box《警世通言·杜十娘怒沉百寶箱》, translation based on Yang Xianyi and Gladys Yang's version
  Jīn zhòngrén gè yǒu ěrmù, gòng zuò zhèngmíng: qiè bù fù lángjūn, lángjūn zì fù qiè ěr! [Pinyin]
  All of you here today can be my witnesses: I have never been unfaithful to him; it is he who has been proven untrue to me!
- 妾有黃金釵，嫁時爲首飾。今日贈君行，千里長相憶。 [Korean Literary Sinitic, trad.]
  From: 《效崔國輔體》, Heo Nanseolheon（許蘭雪軒）, circa early 1600s
  Cheop yu hwanggeum chae, ga si wi susik. Geumil jeung gun haeng, cheol li jang sang eok. [Sino-Korean]
  I have a golden hairpin: my jewelry when I was married. Today I give it to you as you leave; long shall we remember each other, a thousand miles away.
a surname

Synonyms

(slave woman): 女奴 (nǚnú), 婢 (bì)
(concubine):

Dialectal synonyms of 妾 (“concubine”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		妾, 姬, 媵, 妾媵, 媵妾, 侍妾, 姬妾, 側室, 偏室, 姑娘
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		妾, 偏房
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	小太太兒, 小婆婆兒, 小奶奶兒, 小的兒, 屋兒裡人
	Taiwan	小老婆, 姨太太
	Harbin	小老婆
	Singapore	小老婆
Jilu Mandarin	Jinan	小老婆
Jiaoliao Mandarin	Yantai (Muping)	小老婆兒, 小婆子
Central Plains Mandarin	Luoyang	小老婆兒
	Wanrong	小婆子
	Xi'an	小婆子, 小
	Xuzhou	小的兒, 小的, 小兒, 小點子, 小婆兒, 小婆子, 庶夫人
Lanyin Mandarin	Yinchuan	小老婆, 小
	Lanzhou	小老婆
	Ürümqi	小老婆
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	小老婆, 小婆子, 小婆娘
	Chengdu (Xindu)	小婆子
	Chengdu (Pidu)	小婆子, 小婆娘
	Chengdu (Wenjiang)	小婆子, 小婆娘
	Chengdu (Shuangliu)	小婆子, 小婆娘
	Chengdu (Xinjin)	小婆子
	Jintang	小婆子, 小婆娘
	Pengzhou	小婆子, 小婆娘
	Dujiangyan	小婆娘
	Chongzhou	小婆子, 小婆娘
	Dayi	小婆子, 小婆娘
	Pujiang	小婆子, 小婆娘
	Qionglai	小婆子
	Wuhan	小堂客, 小, 姨太太
	Guiyang	小婆娘, 姨太太
	Liuzhou	小的, 小, 小老婆, 小婆
Jianghuai Mandarin	Nanjing	小老婆
Cantonese	Guangzhou	細婆, 妾侍, 二奶
	Hong Kong	細婆, 妾侍, 二奶, 阿二, 阿奶
	Hong Kong (Kam Tin; Weitou)	細婆
	Macau	妾
	Guangzhou (Panyu)	妾侍
	Guangzhou (Huashan, Huadu)	奶
	Guangzhou (Conghua)	細婆
	Guangzhou (Zengcheng)	妾侍, 阿子
	Foshan	妾侍
	Foshan (Shatou, Nanhai)	阿細
	Foshan (Sanshui)	妾侍
	Foshan (Mingcheng, Gaoming)	偏房
	Zhongshan (Shiqi)	妾侍
	Zhuhai (Qianshan, Xiangzhou)	妾侍
	Zhuhai (Shangheng, Doumen; Tanka)	妾侍
	Zhuhai (Doumen)	妾侍
	Jiangmen (Baisha)	小婆
	Jiangmen (Xinhui)	小婆
	Taishan	小老婆
	Kaiping (Chikan)	妾侍
	Enping (Niujiang)	妾侍, 細
	Heshan (Yayao)	偏房
	Dongguan	細婆
	Shenzhen (Shajing, Bao'an)	細婆
	Yangjiang	細娘, 細嬸, 細媽
Gan	Nanchang	小老婆, 小
	Lichuan	小婆
	Pingxiang	小老婆, 小婆子
Hakka	Meixian	小婆
	Huizhou (Huicheng; Bendihua)	阿細
	Dongguan (Qingxi)	細婆
	Shenzhen (Shatoujiao)	細婆, 細奶
	Zhongshan (Nanlang Heshui)	細婆
	Guangzhou (Lütian, Conghua)	細婆
	Yudu	小老婆
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	細姐, 細婆, 偏房
	Miaoli (Gongguan; N. Sixian)	細姐
	Miaoli (Zhuolan; N. Sixian)	細姐
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	細姆, 細姐仔, 細婆, 偏房
	Pingtung (Wuluo, Ligang; S. Sixian)	細姆
	Kaohsiung (Meinong; S. Sixian)	細姐仔
	Kaohsiung (Shanlin; S. Sixian)	細姐仔
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	細姐, 細婆, 偏房
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	細姐, 細姨, 偏房
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	細姐, 細婆, 偏房
	Miaoli (Zhuolan; Raoping)	細姨, 細姐, 細婆, 偏房
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	細姐, 細姨, 偏房
Huizhou	Jixi	細老嫗
Jin	Taiyuan	小老婆, 姨娘, 姨太太
Jin	Xinzhou	小婆子
Northern Min	Jian'ou	小嬤
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	細婆 non-face-to-face, 細姐 face-to-face, 姨太 older, 姑娘 younger, face to face
Southern Min	Xiamen	細姨, 細
	Quanzhou	細姨, 細
	Jinjiang	細姨
	Yongchun	細姨
	Zhangzhou	細姨, 細
	Taipei	細姨
	New Taipei (Sanxia)	細姨
	Kaohsiung	細姨
	Yilan	細姨
	Changhua (Lukang)	細姨
	Taichung	細姨
	Tainan	細姨
	Hsinchu	細姨
	Kinmen	細姨
	Penghu (Magong)	細姨
	Manila (Hokkien)	細姨
	Chaozhou	姨囝
	Leizhou	細娘
	Haikou	細姩, 細老婆, 孧老婆, 細
Puxian Min	Putian	阿娌, 阿姐 regional, 細婆, 細某, 德配
Puxian Min	Xianyou	阿娌, 細某, 德配
Zhongshan Min	Zhongshan (Longdu, Shaxi)	細婆
Southern Pinghua	Nanning (Tingzi)	細婆
Wu	Shanghai	小老媽, 小老婆, 小娘子, 偏房
	Shanghai (Chongming)	小老婆, 小老官, 姨太太
	Suzhou	小老媽
	Danyang	小老媽
	Hangzhou	小老婆
	Ningbo	小老𡢿
	Wenzhou	姨娘, 姨娘兒
	Jinhua	小老婆, 小婆
Xiang	Changsha	小婆子, 小堂客
	Loudi	小
	Hengyang	妾婆子

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (妾):

→ Japanese: 妾(しょう) (shō)
→ Korean: 첩(妾) (cheop)
→ Vietnamese: thiếp (妾)

Compounds

Japanese

Kanji

妾

(Hyōgai kanji)

Readings

Go-on: しょう (shō)^{←せふ (sefu, historical)}
Kan-on: しょう (shō)^{←せふ (sefu, historical)}
Kun: めかけ (mekake, 妾)、わらわ (warawa, 妾)

Compounds

妾狂(めかけぐる)い (mekakegurui)
妾出(しょうしゅつ) (shōshutsu)
妾宅(しょうたく) (shōtaku)
妾腹(しょうふく) (shōfuku), 妾腹(めかけばら) (mekakebara)
世間妾形気(せけんてかけかたぎ) (sekentekakekatagi)
愛妾(あいしょう) (aishō)
妻妾(さいしょう) (saishō)
侍妾(じしょう) (jishō)
男妾(だんしょう) (danshō), 男妾(おとこめかけ) (otokomekake)
蓄妾(ちくしょう) (chikushō)
寵妾(ちょうしょう) (chōshō)
洋妾(ようしょう) (yōshō)

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
妾
めかけ Hyōgai
kun'yomi

For pronunciation and definitions of 妾 – see the following entry.

【めかけ】

[noun] 目掛け, 目掛, 妾: (by extension) kept woman; mistress; concubine

Alternative spellings
目掛け, 目掛

(This term, 妾, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
妾
わらわ Hyōgai
kun'yomi

For pronunciation and definitions of 妾 – see the following entry.

【わらわ】

[pronoun] (archaic, women's speech, humble) I; me

[pronoun] (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?) (modern fiction, women's speech) I; me (used by haughty women of the highest classes of society); usually accompanied by archaic speech styles

Alternative spelling
私

(This term, 妾, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
妾
てかけ Hyōgai
kun'yomi

For pronunciation and definitions of 妾 – see the following entry: てかけ

(The following entry does not have a page created for it yet: てかけ.)

Etymology 4

Kanji in this term
妾
おんなめ Hyōgai
kun'yomi

For pronunciation and definitions of 妾 – see the following entry: おんなめ

(The following entry does not have a page created for it yet: おんなめ.)

Etymology 5

Kanji in this term
妾
しょう Hyōgai
on'yomi

Noun

妾(しょう) • (shō)

concubine

Pronoun

妾(しょう) • (shō)

(humble, feminine) I, me

References

“^▲妾”, in 漢字ぺディア [Kanjipedia]‎^[1] (in Japanese), The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, 2015–2026

Korean

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 妾 (MC tshjep). Recorded as Middle Korean 쳡〮 (chyép) (Yale: chyep) in Hunmong Jahoe (訓蒙字會 / 훈몽자회), 1527.

Hanja

Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

妾

妾 (eumhun 첩 첩 (cheop cheop))

hanja form^? of 첩 (“concubine”)

Compounds

궁첩 (宮妾, gungcheop)
남첩 (男妾, namcheop)
애첩 (愛妾, aecheop)
처첩 (妻妾, cheocheop)

References

국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典. [2]

Vietnamese

Han character

妾: Hán Việt readings: thiếp^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]

chữ Hán form of thiếp
1. concubine
2. (archaic, now literary, chiefly fiction, women's speech, endearing) I/me (referring to a beloved woman)

References

[tdcndg-1] Nguyễn (2014).

[tdcntd-2] Nguyễn et al. (2009).

[gdhn-3] Trần (2004).

[btcn-4] Hồ (1976).

[tchvtd-5] Thiều Chửu (1942).

[bonet-6] Bonet (1899).

[genibrel-7] Génibrel (1898).

[taberd-8] Taberd & Pigneau de Béhaine (1838).

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

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[8]