concubine; secondary wife
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 3 examplesnoun
concubine; secondary wife (in a polygamous marriage)
Historically refers to women taken as secondary wives in feudal polygamous systems, with lower status than the main wife (大老婆). Still used in historical contexts, literature, or certain regional dialects.
Jiě解
fàng放
qián前
，
dì地
zhǔ主
jiā家
lǐ里
cháng常
cháng常
yǒu有
sān三
qī妻
sì四
qiè妾
，
xiǎo小
lǎo老
po婆
dì地
wèi位
hěn很
dī低
。
Before liberation, landlord families often had multiple wives and concubines, and concubines held very low status.
Tā他
bǎ把
zhè这
ge个
xiǎo小
lǎo老
po婆
ān安
zhì置
zài在
chéng城
wài外
de的
zhái宅
yuàn院
lǐ里
，
hěn很
shǎo少
ràng让
wài外
rén人
zhī知
dào道
。
He housed this concubine in a residence outside the city, rarely letting outsiders know about her.
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Zài在
yī一
xiē些
fāng方
yán言
lǐ里
，
rén人
men们
bǎ把
qiè妾
jiào叫
zuò做
xiǎo小
lǎo老
po婆
huò或
zhě者
xiǎo小
pó婆
r儿
。
In some dialects, people refer to concubines as 'little wives' or 'little wives' (regional variant).