The Meaning of tsuma [妻] In Japanese

妻
つま
Romaji: tsuma N5

What does 妻 mean?

Translation and Meaning

wife, spouse

Definition

What does 妻 mean? It means wife or female spouse in Japanese, referring to a married woman within a family, used in both everyday speech and formal writing.

Type

noun (名詞)

Stroke Order

Meanings

  • core social role as a married woman within a family and household
  • neutral, modern usage suitable for most contexts, including formal writing
  • commonly paired with possessives like 私の to indicate a specific relationship

Etymology

tsuma is the kun’yomi reading of 妻, while the on’yomi reading sai appears in Sino-Japanese compounds; this reflects typical kanji pronunciation shifts rather than a direct borrowing of the spoken word.

Composition

  • Single kanji 妻; radical indicates female (女); the whole character denotes a married woman within the family context

Usage

Used as a noun to denote a wife; in casual speech it appears as 私の妻 to signal a direct relationship, while in formal writing or biographies 妻 is common on its own; the term denotes marital status and is appropriate in discussions of family life or spouse-related topics.
💡 Tips
Mnemonic: Visualize 妻 as a woman with a knot or binding suggesting marriage; the idea of being tied to someone can help recall its meaning as wife, the partner in marriage.

Variations

  • kanai — wife; romaji kanai
  • nyōbō — wife; romaji nyōbō
  • okusan — wife, polite everyday term; romaji okusan
  • shujin — husband (antonymic role); romaji shujin

Example Phrases

  • 結婚後、姓をどうするか妻と話した。
    Kekkon go, sei wo dou suru ka tsuma to hanashita.
    After marriage, I talked with my wife about what to do with my surname.
    Lista:
    • 結婚後 (kekkon go) – after marriage
    • 姓を (sei wo) – surname (object marker)
    • どうするか (dou suru ka) – what to do
    • 妻と (tsuma to) – with wife
    • 話した (hanashita) – talked
    In this sentence, 「姓」 means family name; it is the object of the verb phrase どうするか.
  • 今朝 妻と 近所の カフェで 美味しい コーヒーを 飲んだ。
    kesa tsuma to kinjo no kafe de oishii koohii o nonda.
    This morning I drank delicious coffee at a neighborhood cafe with my wife.
    Lista:
    • 今朝 (kesa) – this morning
    • 妻と (tsuma to) – with wife
    • 近所の (kinjo no) – neighborhood’s
    • カフェで (kafe de) – at cafe
    • 美味しい (oishii) – delicious
    • コーヒーを (koohii o) – coffee (object marker)
    • 飲んだ (nonda) – drank
    Aqui 「妻」 significa esposa e é usada com と para indicar com quem a ação é realizada.
妻