嫁(よめ)

よめ
noun
bride, wife
informalfamily
1. bride
A woman on her wedding day or about to be married.
嫁(よめ)に行(い)く。
To get married (said of a woman).
嫁に行く = to marry into another family
お嫁(よめ)さんがきれいだった。
The bride was beautiful.
お嫁さん = bride (polite/affectionate)
娘(むすめ)を嫁(よめ)に出(だ)す日(ひ)が来(き)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(かのじょ)は来年(らいねん)お嫁(よめ)さんになる予定(よてい)だ。
She is planning to become a bride next year.
小(ちい)さい頃(ころ)、「大(おお)きくなったらお嫁(よめ)さんになりたい」と言(い)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(よめ)は料理(りょうり)が上手(じょうず)だ。
My wife is good at cooking.
嫁 used casually to mean 'wife'
息子(むすこ)の嫁(よめ)が来月(らいげつ)来(く)る。
My son's wife is coming next month.
嫁 meaning daughter-in-law
彼女(かのじょ)を嫁(よめ)にもらった。
I took her as my wife.
嫁にもらう = to take as a wife (traditional expression)
嫁(よめ)と姑(しゅうとめ)の関係(かんけい)がうまくいかないことがある。
The relationship between a daughter-in-law and her mother-in-law sometimes doesn't go well.
嫁と姑 = wife and mother-in-law (common topic in Japanese culture)
嫁(よめ)さんのことを友達(ともだち)に自慢(じまん)するのが好(す)きだ。
He likes to brag about his wife to his friends.
嫁さん = wife (casual/affectionate)

Usage: 嫁(よめ) 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

Related words

Watch out

Calling one's own wife 嫁(よめ) or うちの嫁(よめ) is common in casual speech, but many people find it old-fashioned or belittling, since 嫁(よめ) first meant a woman who joins her husband's household; 妻(つま) is the neutral word.

Related Words

Synonym: 妻(つま) (wife (neutral, standard))
Related: 婿(むこ) (groom, son-in-law)
Related: 家内(かない) (wife (humble))
Compare: 奥様(おくさま) (wife (polite), madam)
Compare: 新婦(しんぷ) (bride)
Related: 奥(おく)さん (wife (someone else's))
core
Added 2026.1.13 1:08 · Revised 2026.10.15 22:12
03500/03670_yome