Dated, familiar term for one's own wife. Used mainly by men in casual or old-fashioned speech. Not used to refer to someone else's wife.
My wife is a nag, you know.
I'll talk it over with my wife.
wife (of a peer or subordinate)
Dated, somewhat condescending term for the wife of a peer or subordinate. Rarely used in modern Japanese; 奥さん or 夫人 are more common.
My colleague's wife also came to the gathering.
Polite, common term for someone else's wife. 細君 is not used for another person's wife in modern Japanese.
Standard kanji spelling for this dated term.
Ateji spelling; rarely used and may be considered non-standard.
Borrowed into Japanese from the Chinese compound 細君, an established term for a wife. Its meaning does not arise from independently combining the modern Japanese senses of 細 and 君.