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嫁 (よめ, yome) Japanese meaning: bride | Kotomora
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She became a beautiful bride.
The bride looked very happy.
Usage patterns 〈 人ひと 〉 を 嫁よめ にもらう to take someone as one's bride/wife
He took a woman from the neighborhood as his wife.
嫁よめ を 迎むか える to welcome a bride/daughter-in-law into the family
Next month, my son will be bringing home his new wife.
〈 人ひと 〉 に 嫁よめ が 来く る for someone (a son) to get a wife/daughter-in-law
My eldest son finally got married.
Expressions 嫁よめ 選えら び choosing a wife; wife selection 嫁よめ に 行い く get married (of a woman); marry into a family; become a bride 嫁よめ の 尻しり たたき traditional Koshōgatsu ceremony where the newly-wed wife is hit on the rump with a sacred pole to ensure fertility 嫁よめ に 行い き 遅おく れる be late getting married; miss the chance to marry Related words 花嫁 refers specifically to a bride on her wedding day, while 嫁 more broadly covers bride, daughter-in-law, or (dialectally) wife.
妻 is the standard, neutral word for one's wife, whereas 嫁 in this sense is dialectal (Kansai-ben) and old-fashioned.
新婦 is the formal term for the bride used in wedding ceremonies and announcements, while 嫁 is more casual and has broader meanings.
家内 is a humble term a man uses for his own wife, while 嫁 in this sense is dialectal and rustic rather than humble.
嫁 is a common casual term for one's wife, less specifically tied to the 'family' warmth that 母ちゃん carries.
Opposites 婿 means son-in-law (or groom), the male counterpart to 嫁's daughter-in-law (or bride).
娘婿 refers to a daughter's husband, while 嫁 refers to a son's wife (daughter-in-law), the corresponding female in-law relation.
Don't confuse with 花嫁 specifically means 'bride' on or around the wedding day, whereas 嫁 more broadly means 'wife' or 'daughter-in-law' in everyday family contexts.
嫁 is the noun for 'bride/daughter-in-law', while 嫁ぐ is the verb describing the act of becoming one, so learners must not confuse the two forms.
嫁 can mean either 'wife' or 'daughter-in-law' depending on context, while 嫁さん specifically and casually means 'wife'.
Written forms 嫁よめ Usage 96%
Standard kanji spelling for all senses.
よめ Usage 2%
ヨメ Usage 2%
娵よめ Usage <1%
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form.
婦よめ
Etymology Originally referred to a woman who marries into a family, hence the meanings 'bride' and 'daughter-in-law'. The dialectal use for 'wife' likely developed from the daughter-in-law sense.
内ない
N4
嫁 can colloquially mean 'wife' like 家内, but its core meaning is 'bride' or 'daughter-in-law' from the perspective of the husband's parents, which 家内 never means.
元もと 嫁よめ
Show 9 more daughter-in-law and mother-in-law; relationship between a wife and her husband's mother
bride · one's daughter-in-law
Aster yomena; Japanese aster
younger brother's wife; sister-in-law (younger brother's spouse)
newly-wed bride
demon wife; wife from hell; cruel wife
mouse (New Year euphemism)
Cellana toreuma (limpet species)
wife
rarely-used kanji form
媳よめ
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form.