1.
bride
A woman on her wedding day or about to be married.
嫁に行く。
To get married (said of a woman).
嫁に行く = to marry into another family
お嫁さんがきれいだった。
The bride was beautiful.
お嫁さん = bride (polite/affectionate)
娘を嫁に出す日が来た。
The day has come to send our daughter off as a bride.
嫁に出す = to send one's daughter off in marriage
彼女は来年お嫁さんになる予定だ。
She is planning to become a bride next year.
小さい頃、「大きくなったらお嫁さんになりたい」と言っていた。
When she was little, she used to say, 'I want to be a bride when I grow up.'
2.
wife, daughter-in-law
A married woman (from the perspective of her husband or his family).
うちの嫁は料理が上手だ。
My wife is good at cooking.
嫁 used casually to mean 'wife'
息子の嫁が来月来る。
My son's wife is coming next month.
嫁 meaning daughter-in-law
彼女を嫁にもらった。
I took her as my wife.
嫁にもらう = to take as a wife (traditional expression)
嫁と姑の関係がうまくいかないことがある。
The relationship between a wife and mother-in-law sometimes doesn't go well.
嫁と姑 = wife and mother-in-law (common topic in Japanese culture)
嫁さんのことを友達に自慢するのが好きだ。
He likes to brag about his wife to his friends.
嫁さん = wife (casual/affectionate)
USAGE: 嫁 can mean (1) bride, (2) wife (casual/informal), or (3) daughter-in-law. The meaning depends on context and the speaker's perspective.
COMMON PATTERNS:
- 嫁に行く (to get married - for women)
- 嫁にもらう (to take as a wife)
- 嫁さん (wife - casual/affectionate)
- お嫁さん (bride)
RELATED:
- 花嫁 - bride (at wedding)
- 婿 - groom, son-in-law
- 妻 - wife (formal)