三姑六婆

Chinese
three paternal aunt six grandmother; matron; mother-in-law
simp. and trad.
(三姑六婆)		 三 姑 六 婆

Etymology

Refers to the three 姑 (gū):

  • 尼姑 (nígū, “Buddhist nun”),
  • 道姑 (dàogū, “Taoist nun”), and
  • 卦姑 (guàgū, “female fortune teller”),

and the six 婆 (pó):

  • 牙婆 (yápó, “female human trafficker”),
  • 媒婆 (méipó, “female matchmaker”),
  • 師婆／师婆 (shīpó, “sorceress”),
  • 虔婆 (qiánpó, “female brothel keeper”),
  • 藥婆／药婆 (yàopó, “female doctor”), and
  • 穩婆／稳婆 (wěnpó, “female midwife”).

In ancient China, women of these occupations often swindled money from people and were not reputable.

Pronunciation

Idiom

三姑六婆

  1. women with disreputable or illegal professions
  2. (figuratively) (female) gossipmongers
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.