婚

hūn

女 + 昏

Definitions

hūn (verb) to marry; to get married

hūn (noun) marriage; wedding

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 女 represents the meaning and 昏 represents the sound.

Semantic: 女 Phonetic: 昏

About

婚 is a phono-semantic compound that combines 女 (woman) on the left with 昏 (hūn, 'dusk') on the right. The 女 radical indicates the meaning, while 昏 supplies the pronunciation and alludes to the ancient custom of holding wedding ceremonies at sunset. The character denotes marriage, the formal taking of a spouse, and the rituals and social contracts that seal the union. It serves as the root for nearly all modern vocabulary concerning weddings, marital status, and legal partnership.

Etymology Hide

Bronze Late Western Zhou (~800 BC)

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

他们去年结婚了。

Tāmen qùnián jiéhūn le.

They got married last year.

我的姐姐即将结婚。

Wǒ de jiějie jíjiāng jiéhūn.

My older sister is about to get married.

他们在教堂举行了婚礼。

Tāmen zài jiàotáng jǔxíngle hūnlǐ.

They held their wedding in a church.

婚姻需要双方共同努力。

Hūnyīn xūyào shuāngfāng gòngtóng nǔlì.

Marriage requires mutual effort from both parties.

幸福的婚姻基于相互尊重。

Xìngfú de hūnyīn jīyú xiānghù zūnzhòng.

A happy marriage is based on mutual respect.

现代婚姻观念发生了很大变化。

Xiàndài hūnyīn guānniàn fāshēngle hěn dà biànhuà.

Modern concepts of marriage have undergone significant changes.

如果婚姻出现危机，应该寻求帮助。

Rúguǒ hūnyīn chūxiàn wēijī, yīnggāi xúnqiú bāngzhù.

If marriage faces a crisis, one should seek help.

跨国婚姻需要克服文化差异和语言障碍。

Kuàguó hūnyīn xūyào kèfú wénhuà chāyì hé yǔyán zhàng'ài.

Cross-border marriages need to overcome cultural differences and language barriers.

Related Characters

Component: 女

Component: 昏

婚