Word · Frequency #24019
concubine
妾；姨太太
A woman who lives with a man as a sexual partner without being legally married to him, especially as a secondary wife in a polygamous household.
常指旧时一夫多妻制中地位低于正妻的女子，也可指与男子同居但非其妻子的女人。
- 1.
A sexual partner, especially a woman, to whom one is not or cannot be married.
性伴侣,尤指不能或无法与之结婚的女性。
- 2.
a woman who cohabits with an important man
与重要人物同居的女人
- 3.
A woman who lives with a man, but who is not a wife.
与男性同居但非其妻子的女性。
性伴侣,尤指不能或无法与之结婚的女性。；与重要人物同居的女人；与男性同居但非其妻子的女性。；妾；姘妇；[法] 妾
In use
In ancient China, the emperor had many concubines living in the harem.
The novel describes the life of a concubine who struggled for power in the palace.
Historical records show that some concubines were chosen from noble families.
have a concubine
In ancient China, wealthy men could have several concubines.
在古代中国，有钱的男人可以有几个妾。
be a concubine
She was forced to become a concubine at a young age.
她年纪轻轻就被迫做了妾。
a concubine of [person]
Connections
Collocations
- take a concubine
- 纳妾
- In ancient times, wealthy men could take a concubine.在古代，有钱人可以纳妾。
- imperial concubine
- 皇妃
- The imperial concubines lived in the inner palace.皇妃们住在内宫。
- royal concubine
- 王室妃子
- She was a royal concubine before becoming queen.她在成为王后之前是王室的一名妃子。
- have a concubine
- 有妾
- He was known to have a concubine in another town.众所周知他在另一个城镇有妾。
- son of a concubine
- 庶子
- The son of a concubine seldom inherited the throne.庶子很少继承王位。
- become a concubine
Learner notes
Memory Tip
联想：con（共同）+ cub（幼兽）+ ine（女性）→ 和男人同住的女性，即'妾'。
Context & Register
语域：formal 常见场景：历史文本、文学描写、正式讨论 该词比较常见于历史、文学或正式语境，通常译为“妾”或“姨太太”；日常口语中较少使用，带有书面或略带古旧的语感。
Grammar Note
可数名词
Pronunciation & Spelling
这些词都与 concubine 的结尾音 /aɪn/ 押韵，其中 combine 的末尾 /baɪn/ 与 concubine 完全相同。注意拼写以 -ine 结尾但读 /ɪn/ 的词，如 medicine /ˈmɛdəsɪn/、engine /ˈɛndʒɪn/，并不与本词押韵。
Learn the forms together
页面下方列出了常见词形变化。学习时注意它们在句子中的语法位置。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.