嫁よめ

よ

め

Common wordJLPTN2Freq.FrequencyTop 5,000

Meanings

Refers to a woman on or around her wedding day, or a newly married woman. Often used in contexts like お嫁さん (polite) or 花嫁 (bride).

彼かの女じょは美うつくしい花はな嫁よめになった。
She became a beautiful bride.
お嫁よめさんはとても幸しあわせそうだった。
The bride looked very happy.

noun

daughter-in-law

Used from the perspective of the husband's parents. Can also be used more broadly to refer to a son's wife. Often appears as お嫁さん in polite speech.

うちの嫁よめは料りょう理りが上手じょうずだ。
My daughter-in-law is good at cooking.
息子むすこの嫁よめが来らい月げつ出しゅっ産さんする。
My son's wife is having a baby next month.

noun

wife

Dialectal (Kansai-ben) and somewhat old-fashioned or rustic way for a man to refer to his own wife. In standard Japanese, 妻 or 家内 are more common.

うちの嫁よめが作つくったんや。
My wife made it. (Kansai dialect)
おたくの嫁よめさん、元げん気き？
How's your wife? (Kansai dialect)

See all 47 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

〈人ひと〉を嫁よめにもらうto take someone as one's bride/wife
彼かれは近きん所じょの女じょ性せいを嫁よめにもらった。
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
来らい月げつ、息子むすこが嫁よめを迎むかえることになった。
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
長ちょう男なんにようやく嫁よめが来きた。
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
秋茄子あきなすは嫁よめに食くわすなdon't let your daughter-in-law eat autumn eggplants

Kanji

嫁marry into, bride
娵marry, bride
婦lady, woman, wife
媳daughter-in-law

Related words

花はな嫁よめN2sense 1
花嫁 refers specifically to a bride on her wedding day, while 嫁 more broadly covers bride, daughter-in-law, or (dialectally) wife.
妻つまN5sense 3
妻 is the standard, neutral word for one's wife, whereas 嫁 in this sense is dialectal (Kansai-ben) and old-fashioned.
新しん婦ぷ sense 1
新婦 is the formal term for the bride used in wedding ceremonies and announcements, while 嫁 is more casual and has broader meanings.
家か内ないN4sense 3
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.
母かあちゃん
嫁 is a common casual term for one's wife, less specifically tied to the 'family' warmth that 母ちゃん carries.

Opposites

婿むこN1sense 2
婿 means son-in-law (or groom), the male counterpart to 嫁's daughter-in-law (or bride).
娘むすめ婿むこ
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

花はな嫁よめN2
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.
嫁とつぐN1
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.
嫁よめさん
嫁 can mean either 'wife' or 'daughter-in-law' depending on context, while 嫁さん specifically and casually means 'wife'.
家か内ない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.

Counted with

人にん
嫁 is counted with 人 since it refers to a person, as in 嫁が一人来た.

Word family· 23

花はな嫁よめN2
bride
嫁よめさん
wife; one's wife
嫁よめ入いり
marriage; wedding; taking a bride
兄あに嫁よめ
elder brother's wife; sister-in-law
元もと嫁よめ
ex-wife; former wife

Show 9 more

嫁よめ姑しゅうとめ
daughter-in-law and mother-in-law; relationship between a wife and her husband's mother
嫁よめ御ご
bride · one's daughter-in-law
ヨメナ
Aster yomena; Japanese aster
弟おとうと嫁よめ
younger brother's wife; sister-in-law (younger brother's spouse)
新しん嫁よめ
newly-wed bride
鬼おに嫁よめ
demon wife; wife from hell; cruel wife
嫁よめが君きみ
mouse (New Year euphemism)
ヨメガカサ
Cellana toreuma (limpet species)
嫁よめはん
wife

See all 23 in Explore →

Written forms

嫁よめUsage96%
Standard kanji spelling for all senses.
よめUsage2%
ヨメUsage2%
娵よめUsage<1%
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form.
婦よめ
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form.
媳よめ
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form.

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.