In male-female marriage we use the two verbs;
- 嫁給 (jiàgěi)
- 娶 (qǔ)
But these are gender specific.
- a woman can 嫁給 a man
- a man will 娶 a woman
So how does this work in same-sex marriages?
asked Jul 14, 2013 at 23:59
3 Answers
The simple answer is either word will work.
The nuance is little different though, as the word selection would show who has a "male" role or "female" role in the marriage. If this not clear, then the person who is more important (this may depend on context) would be assumed the "male" role, such as the 女总理 in Jodie's answer.
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So its the "marital role" as perceived by the speaker, that matters. Thanks. Jul 19, 2013 at 12:48
I have a Chinese magazine article about the prime minister of Iceland from about 3 years ago and the title is 冰岛女总理娶同性女友. Based on that, perhaps 娶 for anyone (male or female) marrying a woman and 嫁给 for anyone marrying a man.
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1Good point. But such usage would indicate the "active" one and the "passive" one in a couple. For example,
冰岛女总理娶同性女友suggests that女总理is the Tomboy role.– StanJul 15, 2013 at 17:10 -
2I agree with Stan here on the role each partner plays having an effect on the word being used. I would probably add 'political/financial position' to this as well. Jul 17, 2013 at 3:28
Most of time,in same-sex marriages ,there has an assertive "man"(which called "攻") and a easygoing "women"（called “受”）.
So customary, we use "‘攻’ 娶 ‘受’" or “‘受’ 嫁给 ‘攻’”
嫁/娶for same-sex marriage. Maybe a general expression is enough:Tom要和Jim结婚. It will sound more natural than sayingTom要嫁给JimorTom要娶Jim.