‘Qǔ qī’ literally means ‘to take (a) wife’ and is a formal, literary verb used to describe the act of a man marrying a woman. The character 娶 (qǔ) specifically denotes the groom’s action of bringing a wife into his family—emphasizing the traditional perspective where the husband ‘takes’ or ‘receives’ the bride. The character 妻 (qī) means ‘wife’, distinguishing it from other terms for spouse like 夫 (fū, husband) or 配偶 (pèi’ǒu, spouse, gender-neutral). Together, 娶妻 carries connotations of marriage as a socially recognized, often family-involved event, and is commonly found in classical texts, official documents, historical narratives, or formal speech.

This term is not used in casual conversation among young people today; instead, modern speakers prefer verbs like 结婚 (jiéhūn, ‘to get married’) or 举办婚礼 (jǔbàn hūnlǐ, ‘to hold a wedding’). 娶妻 implies the completion of marriage from the groom’s side and does not refer to the ceremony itself but rather the establishment of the marital relationship.