女房 (にょうぼう, nyoubou) Japanese meaning: wife

女房 (にょうぼう, nyoubou) Japanese meaning: wife | Kotomora

Kanji

女woman, female
房tassel, tuft, fringe

Related words

妻つまN5sense 1
妻 is the neutral, standard word for 'wife' used in formal or written contexts, while 女房 is a more casual, sometimes old-fashioned term typically used by men about their own wife.
母かあちゃん
女房 is another casual, somewhat old-fashioned word a husband uses for his wife, similar in tone to 母ちゃん in its second sense.
嫁よめさん
女房 is an old-fashioned, somewhat blunt way for a man to refer to his wife, whereas 嫁さん sounds friendlier and more modern.
家か内ないN4
女房 is a casual, somewhat old-fashioned way (often used by older men) to refer to one's own wife, whereas 家内 is more formal and polite.
奥おくさんN5
女房 is a casual, somewhat old-fashioned word for one's own wife, whereas 奥さん is polite and used for another person's wife.

Opposites

亭てい主しゅN1sense 1
亭主 is the informal, colloquial word for 'husband' that pairs with 女房 as the informal word for 'wife'.

Politeness

家か内ないhumble 謙譲語N4sense 1
家内 is the humble term a man uses for his own wife in formal speech, whereas 女房 is a plainer, more colloquial word for the same relationship.
奥おくさんhonorific 尊敬語N5sense 1
奥さん is the polite, honorific way to refer to someone else's wife, while 女房 is used only for one's own wife and never politely about another person's.

Don't confuse with

人ひと妻づま
女房 refers to one's own wife (usually the speaker's), while 人妻 refers to a married woman in general, often someone else's wife.

Word family· 12

側そば女にょう房ぼう
mistress; concubine
古ふる女にょう房ぼう
good old wife; wife of many years
女にょう房ぼう役やく
right-hand man; trusted assistant; second-in-command
女にょう房ぼう詞ことば
court ladies' secret language; women's language of the Muromachi period

Written forms

女房Usage100%
- にょうぼう
  Standard kanji spelling for all senses; high-frequency news and high priority.
- にょうぼ
- にゅうぼう
  out-dated reading

Etymology

女房 originally denoted a woman’s chamber at the imperial court, then a court lady assigned such a chamber. It subsequently developed the general sense “wife.”

女にょう房ぼう

Meanings

Usage patterns

Expressions