寡か婦ふ

also: やもめ · やまめ

か

ふ

Common wordFreq.FrequencyTop 100,000

Meanings

widow; divorced woman not remarried; unmarried woman

Primarily refers to a woman who has lost her husband and not remarried. Can also refer to a divorced woman who remains single, or, in some contexts, an unmarried woman. The reading やもめ is common in everyday language, while かふ is more formal. The term 女やもめ specifically emphasizes a female widow, contrasting with 鰥 (やもめ) for a widower.

See also: 女やもめ (おんなやもめ) · やもめ

彼かの女じょは若わかくして寡婦やもめになった。
She became a widow at a young age.
戦せん争そうで多おおくの女じょ性せいが寡婦やもめとなった。
Many women became widows because of the war.

See all 8 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

〈人ひと〉は寡か婦ふになるto become a widow
彼かの女じょは若わかくして寡か婦ふになった。
She became a widow at a young age.
寡か婦ふとして〈動どう詞し〉to do something as a widow
彼かの女じょは寡か婦ふとして子こ供どもたちを育そだてた。
She raised her children as a widow.

Kanji

寡widow, minority, few
婦lady, woman, wife
孀widow

Related words

未み亡ぼう人じん
未亡人 is a more formal, somewhat dated term for a widow, often used in legal or official writing, while 寡婦 is the more general, everyday term.
女おんなやもめ
女やもめ specifically emphasizes that the widow is a woman, whereas 寡婦 is the neutral written term without that emphasis.

Opposites

やもめ
鰥 refers to a widower (a man who has lost his wife), the male counterpart to 寡婦, which refers to a widow.

Written forms

寡婦Usage86%
- かふ
  Standard kanji form; the reading かふ is the most common modern pronunciation.
- やもめ
  Alternate reading for the same kanji form; やもめ is a native Japanese reading, often used in everyday speech.
- やまめ
  out-dated reading
  Obsolete reading; not used in modern Japanese.
寡Usage7%
- やもめ
- かふ
  Abbreviated kanji form; rarely used independently.
やもめUsage6%
ヤモメUsage1%
孀Usage<1%
- やもめ
  rarely-used kanji form
- かふ
  Rarely used kanji form for widow.
やまめ
out-dated reading

Etymology

A Sino-Japanese reading of Chinese 寡婦, “widow,” literally a woman left without a husband.