媳婦 / 媳妇
xífù
The Chinese phrase for daughter-in-law is 媳婦 / 媳妇 (xífù). Wiktionary also lists 兒媳 / 儿媳 (érxí) and 兒媳婦 / 儿媳妇 (érxífù).
Meaning: wife of one's child (noun)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 媳婦 / 媳妇 | xífù |
| 兒媳 / 儿媳 | érxí |
| 兒媳婦 / 儿媳妇 | érxífù |
The terms are used to refer to the wife of one's child. When speaking about or addressing a daughter-in-law within a family context, 兒媳婦 / 儿媳妇 (érxífù) is the most common spoken form.
Which one should you use?
While 媳妇 (xífù) can mean daughter-in-law, in many northern Chinese dialects it is also a common colloquial term for 'wife'. 兒媳 / 儿媳 (érxí) is a more formal or written version of the term compared to the more colloquial 兒媳婦 / 儿媳妇 (érxífù).
Is it said differently in some regions?
In many northern Chinese dialects, 媳妇 (xífù) is also a common colloquial term for 'wife'.
How do you pronounce it?
xífù
Did you know?
- Chinese has specific terms for daughters-in-law based on which child they married, unlike English which uses one general term.
- The word 媳婦 / 媳妇 was originally written as 息婦, which literally meant 'son's wife'.
- In traditional Chinese culture, the daughter-in-law was often expected to serve her parents-in-law rather than her husband's parents serving her.
Examples in context
- 小张的儿媳怀孕了，我们都很开心。Xiao Zhang's daughter-in-law is pregnant, and we are all very happy.
- 我好开心，我儿子找到了一个好媳婦。I'm so happy. My son has found a good daughter-in-law.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “daughter-in-law” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 媳婦, CC BY-SA 4.0.
