study Chinese with Keats School. Here are a few tips for you to memorize the characters.

The character “娶” is used to refer to a groom bringing his bride home to take her hand in marriage. This is also called “娶媳妇(qǔ xífù) ”. The character was written as “取” in the ancient times. The left-hand side of “取” is “耳” (ear), while the right-hand side is “又” (which denoted hand in the ancient times). Together it depicts a hand cutting of an ear. In ancient China, combatants would chop off the left ear of an enemy killed in battle as a record of meritorious service. So the original meaning of “取” is “to obtain something by force”. When the custom of “marriage by capture” was practiced in ancient China, using force to obtain one’s wife was called “取”. Later, in order to make the character’s meaning clear, the component “女” (female) was added, resulting in character “娶”. As far as men are concerned, getting married is “娶”.

When women get married, it is known as “出嫁(chū jià)” or “嫁人(jià rén)”. The character “嫁” consists of “女” (female) and “家”(home). This means a married woman moves in with her husband and her husband’s home becomes her own home.