やもめ

や

も

め

Meanings

widower; divorced man not remarried

usually written using kana alone

Refers to a man who has lost his spouse through death or divorce and has not remarried. Often used in the compound 男やもめ (おとこやもめ) for clarity. The female counterpart is 寡婦 (かふ) or 未亡人 (みぼうじん).

See also: 男やもめ (おとこやもめ) · 寡婦 (かふ)

彼かれは若わかくしてやもめになった。
He became a widower at a young age.
やもめ暮ぐらしも慣なれてきた。
I've gotten used to living as a widower.

See all 3 example sentences ›

Kanji

鰥widower, unmarried man
夫husband, man

Related words

男おとこやもめ
Explicitly means 'male widower/divorced man'; やもめ alone can be ambiguous but usually refers to a man.
寡か婦ふ
Formal term for a widow or divorced woman who has not remarried; the female counterpart of やもめ.
未み亡ぼう人じん
Common term for a widow, specifically a woman whose husband has died; more specific than やもめ.

Opposites

寡か婦ふ
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

鰥やもめ
Rare single-kanji form; not commonly used in modern writing.
鰥夫やもめ
Rare two-kanji form; not commonly used in modern writing.

Etymology

The origin is uncertain. The word やもめ is a native Japanese term, and the kanji 鰥 is a Chinese character meaning 'widower' that was later applied to this reading.