结婚
jiéhūn
The English word marriage is translated into Chinese as 结婚 (jiéhūn).
结婚 specifically refers to the act of getting married or to marry. If you wish to discuss marriage in a general sense or handle wedding-related matters, you can use 婚事. To express the idea of forming an inseparable bond through marriage, the phrase 结为连理 is used.
Meaning: union of two people (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word 结婚 consists of 结 (to tie/knot) and 婚 (marriage).
Which one should you use?
While 结婚 refers to the act or state of getting married, 婚礼 refers specifically to the wedding ceremony.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Cantonese, the term for marriage is 結婚. In Taiwanese Hokkien, the term for marriage is 婚姻.
How does it change in a sentence?
Because 结婚 is a verb, you often add 了 to indicate the change of state from single to married.
How do you pronounce it?
jiéhūn
What mistakes should you avoid?
Unlike English, 结婚 is an intransitive verb and cannot take a direct object. You cannot say 结婚他 to mean "marry him."
Did you know?
- In traditional Chinese culture, the 'marriage' process was historically governed by 父母之命，媒之言, meaning 'the parents' command and the matchmaker's words'.
- In certain traditional contexts, the act of 结婚 was not considered complete until the 'three bows' were performed: to heaven and earth, to the parents, and to each other.
- The phrase 结为连理 evokes the image of two trees growing together into one. It uses the 'intertwined branches' metaphor to describe a marriage of deep spiritual and physical unity.
Examples in context
- 我很惊讶，你竟然不知道他们结婚了。I'm surprised that you don't know about their marriage.This sentence is useful for expressing surprise regarding someone's marital status using 结婚.Tatoeba #2045902 by sadhen, translation #400222 by CK
- 结婚前，我管女朋友的妈妈叫“阿姨”，结婚后，我就改叫“妈”了。Before getting married, I called my girlfriend's mother "Auntie". After marriage, I started calling her "Mom" instead.This sentence illustrates how social titles change after 结婚.Tatoeba #8845190 by Leetsan, translation #9711740 by kupo033
- 结婚是所有离婚的主要原因。Marriage is the main cause of all divorces.This sentence shows how to use 结婚 when discussing the causes of divorce.Tatoeba #796732 by fucongcong, translation #664042 by bluepie88
- 他们的婚姻非常幸福Their marriage is very happy.
- 他们准备结婚了They are getting married.
- 婚事安排得如何了?How are the wedding preparations going?
- 他们已经完婚了They are already married.
- 他们结为连理已经多年了They have been united in marriage for many years.
- 4 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Zhiqiang and Jiayi are talking about their future plans.
- 志强 Zhiqiang佳怡，你打算什么时候结婚？Jiayi, ni dagsuan shenme shihou jiehun?Jiayi, when do you plan to get married?
- 佳怡 Jiayi我还没想好，现在想先工作。Wo hai mei xiang hao, xianzai xiang xian gongzuo.I haven't decided yet, I want to work first.
- 志强 Zhiqiang我也一样，我觉得还没准备好结婚。Wo ye yiyang, wo juede hai mei zhunbei hao jiehun.Me too, I feel I'm not ready for marriage yet.
- 佳怡 Jiayi没错，结婚应该是慎重的决定。Meicuo, jiehun yinggai shi shenzhong de jueding.Exactly, marriage should be a carefully considered decision.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
