嫡 means “legitimate heir, direct line”

ちゃく · chaku

Also: legitimate wife, direct descent (non-bastard)

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

チャク, テキ

JLPT N1 · Taught in secondary school · 14 strokes

The story

A woman (女) beside 啇, the part 適, proper, is built on: picture the wife a house recognized as its own, and the line that runs through her. In samurai dramas the 嫡男, eldest legitimate son, is the heir everyone schemes around.

Used in 嫡男 (chakunan, eldest legitimate son), 嫡子 (chakushi, legitimate heir), and 嫡出 (chakushutsu, born in wedlock)

More from Kin & Cradle

• 嗣 heir
• 哺 nurse
• 戚 relatives
• 氏 family name
• 系 lineage
• 郎 son
• 継 inherit
• 誕 birth
• 妊 pregnant
• 稚 young
• 嫁 bride
• 娠 pregnancy

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Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.