贤妻良母
xián qī liáng mǔ
a good wife and loving mother
Character by character
贤xián
virtuous
virtuous
妻qī
wife
wife
良liáng
good
good
母mǔ
mother
mother
Example
她不想只做一个贤妻良母，结婚以后照样出去工作。
She did not want to be just a good wife and mother, and went on working after she married.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
Once plain praise; now often questioned when it is used to tell women where they belong. The ideal is old, but the phrase came into Chinese in the last years of the Qing from Meiji Japan, where 良妻賢母, “good wife, wise mother”, was the stated aim of girls’ education.
Learn this in Lesson 50 · HSK 5–6: 半边天 (Women hold up half the sky)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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