Usage patterns 婿むこ に 入はい る to marry into one's wife's family (taking her surname)
He married into his wife's family and took her surname.
婿むこ を 取と る to take in a son-in-law (esp. when a family has no son)
Since they had only a daughter, they decided to take in a son-in-law.
〈 人ひと 〉 を 婿むこ にする to make someone one's son-in-law
The company president decided to make his subordinate his son-in-law.
〈 人ひと 〉 の 婿むこ になる to become someone's son-in-law
He became the company president's son-in-law.
Related words 花婿 refers specifically to the groom at a wedding ceremony, while 婿 more broadly covers a woman's husband or son-in-law in general family contexts.
娘婿 explicitly means 'one's daughter's husband', making the relationship clearer than the more general 婿 .
夫 is the plain, everyday word for 'husband', while 婿 specifically frames the man from his bride's or her family's point of view.
婿養子 is a son-in-law who is formally adopted into his wife's family and takes her surname, a more specific arrangement than a plain 婿 .
Opposites 嫁 is the female counterpart of 婿 , meaning 'bride', 'wife', or 'daughter-in-law' from the husband's family's perspective.
Word family· 11 bridegroom; groom
adopted son-in-law; son-in-law taken into the family
bridegroom loved by his bride
younger sister's husband; brother-in-law (younger sister's spouse)
elder sister's husband; brother-in-law
Show 6 more Show fewer son-in-law
brother-in-law (husband of one's spouse's sister)
man who marries into his wife's family; adopted son-in-law
marrying into the bride's family; adoption by the bride's family
taking a husband for one's daughter; adopting a son-in-law
search for a husband for one's daughter; choosing a son-in-law
Written forms 婿むこ Usage 81%
Standard kanji spelling; high priority.
聟むこ Usage 11%
Variant kanji form; not commonly used.
むこ Usage 3%
ムコ Usage 2%
壻むこ Usage 2%
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form.
Etymology The kanji 婿 is composed of 女 (woman) and 胥 (assistant), suggesting a man who assists or joins a woman's family. The reading むこ is of native Japanese origin, but its exact derivation is uncertain.
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