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嫱 (the traditional form is 嬙) is a phono-semantic compound: the left side is the female radical 女 (nǚ), which hints at a meaning related to women, and the right side 啬 (sè) , 嗇 in traditional script , is a phonetic component indicating the pronunciation. In historical usage, it referred to a female court official, such as a lady-in-waiting or a low-ranking concubine, within the imperial palaces of dynastic China. The character is seldom seen outside this courtly context; it appears mostly in classical histories and poetry describing palace life. A notable example is the compound 嫔嫱 (pín qiáng), a collective term for the various ranks of imperial concubines and female attendants who served the emperor.
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