in the harem
harem 指穆斯林家庭中女眷居住的场所，常用 the harem 特指某一处后宫。
The women spent most of their time in the harem.
这些妇女大部分时间都待在后宫里。
后宫；闺房
harems — plural of harem
妻妾
the women's quarters in a Muslim household
指女眷居住的地方，不是指妻妾这些人。
The private section of a Muslim household forbidden to male strangers.
闺房
living quarters reserved for wives and concubines and female relatives in a Muslim household
A group of someone's girlfriends, wives and/or concubines in a polygamous household.
A group of female animals (cows) herded and controlled by a male animal (bull) of that species for breeding purposes. Such behaviour is exhibited by bovids including cattle and buffalo as well as moose, elephants, seals (including elephant seals), sea lions, and baboons.
A group of female birds mated to or associated with a breeding male.
A genre of anime and manga in which a man is the love interest of three or more women.
The museum's guide showed us the harem and described how the women lived there.
博物馆的导游带我们看了女眷内宅，并描述了那里的女眷如何生活。
用法提示：harem 作名词，作动词 show 的宾语，指女眷居住区。
Visitors are not allowed inside the harem because it is considered a private part of the palace.
游客不允许进入女眷内宅，因为那里被视为宫殿的私密部分。
用法提示：harem 作名词，作介词 inside 的宾语，表示女眷居住的专属区域。
The old building was once a harem, and its small rooms still look very beautiful.
这座旧建筑曾经是一个女眷内宅，其小巧的房间至今看起来仍很漂亮。
用法提示：harem 作名词，作表语，说明建筑过去的用途。
harem 指穆斯林家庭中女眷居住的场所，常用 the harem 特指某一处后宫。
The women spent most of their time in the harem.
这些妇女大部分时间都待在后宫里。
也可以用所有格，如 the sultan's harem，意思相同。
The harem of the sultan was off limits to outsiders.
苏丹的后宫禁止外人进入。
harem 是可数名词，复数形式为 harems。
The palace had a harem with its own courtyard.
这座宫殿有一座带独立庭院的后宫。
seraglio 特指奥斯曼苏丹宫廷的后宫殿室，偏历史/文学用语；普通家庭语境用 harem 更自然。
zenana 主要用于南亚（印度/巴基斯坦）历史语境，地域色彩强；中东或现代语境不适用。
grammar · medium
易错句子The sultan had many harems.
正确表达The sultan had a large harem.
harem 是集合名词，指一个家庭里的妻妾群体或她们居住的闺房，不能用复数 harems 来逐个计算女性；要表达妻妾众多，应说 a large harem 或 many wives/concubines。
grammar · medium
易错句子He keeps his wives in harem.
正确表达He keeps his wives in a harem.
harem 是可数名词，前面需要冠词或限定词；汉语没有冠词，所以学习者容易漏掉 a，导致不符合英语习惯。
seraglio 特指奥斯曼土耳其宫廷的后宫，而 harem 泛指穆斯林家庭中女眷的居所；seraglio 带有更古雅、更宫廷化的色彩，不能用来指普通家庭的妻妾住所。
zenana 特指旧时印度宅院中妇女专属的居所，与印度文化背景相关；harem 则与穆斯林家庭习俗相关。两者虽然都指女眷居住区域，但地域、文化背景不同，不能随意替换。
harem 可以指妻妾群体或她们居住的区域，而 concubine 只指单个的妾。表示整体的妻妾或她们的居所时，不能用 concubine。
王室后宫
The royal harem occupied a large part of the palace.
王室后宫占宫殿的很大一部分。
后宫区域
The harem quarters were protected by high walls.
后宫区域由高墙围绕。
后宫女眷
The harem women were overseen by the queen mother.
后宫女眷由太后管理。
蓄养妻妾；拥有后宫
The emperor kept a harem of hundreds.
这位皇帝拥有一个数百人的后宫。
后宫生活
She found harem life unbearably dull.
她觉得后宫生活无聊得难以忍受。
伊斯兰国家统治者的称谓，与妻妾生活的后宫密切相关。
后宫通常位于宫殿或大户宅邸中，是女眷居住的区域。
后宫成员除妻子外还包括妾室。
在旧时一些后宫体系中，宦官负责守卫和管理内宅。
指后宫或土耳其宫廷中的女奴或侍女，与后宫场景关联紧密。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.