糟糠之妻

zāokāngzhīqī
  1. (humble) wife who has shared her husband’s hard lot
  2. wife who has shared her husband’s hard lot

Wiktionary

Entry Composition

1 糟糠 zāokāng
  1. chaff, husks, distillers' dregs etc (food eaten by the poor)
  2. (fig.) rubbish
  3. junk
  4. (abbr. for 糟糠妻 zāokāngqī) wife who goes through the hardships of poverty with her husband
2 之 zhī
  1. (possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的 de)
  2. him
  3. her
  4. it
=3 妻 qī (bound form) wife
=3 妻 qì to marry off (a daughter)

Containing this entry

糟糠之妻不下堂 zāokāngzhīqībùxiàtáng