also: こうさい
noun
second wife; subsequent wife
Refers to a wife married after a previous wife, typically after divorce or death. Neutral term, but context may carry social nuance.
彼は先妻と死別した後、後妻を迎えた。
After his first wife passed away, he took a second wife.
Obsolete reading; not used in modern Japanese.
Compound of 後 (go, 'after, later') and 妻 (sai, 'wife'). The reading ごさい is the standard Sino-Japanese reading; こうさい is an older, now obsolete reading.