<ul>
<li><p>原 (original/ first)</p>
</li>
<li><p>配 (match)</p>
</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>
<p>&quot;原配&quot; is short for &quot;原配夫人&quot; (first legal wife)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In olden time China, it was very common for rich men to have multiple legal wives. And the first wife is called  &quot;原配夫人&quot; or simply &quot;原配&quot;.</p>
<p>Nowadays, it simply means a man's wife</p>
<ul>
<li><p>手 = hands</p>
</li>
<li><p>撕 = tear</p>
</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>
<p>The term 手撕 is most commonly seen in &quot;手撕鸡&quot; (hand shredded chicken)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>&quot;小三&quot; is nickname for  &quot;mistress&quot; (a man's out of wedlock lover)</p>
<p>&quot;(原配)(手撕小三)&quot;  means &quot;(wife) (tears mistress apart with her own hands)&quot;</p>
<blockquote>
<p>&quot;原配手撕小三&quot; describes &quot;a man's wife attacks that man's mistress and humiliates her&quot;</p>
<p>In other words: &quot;妻子狠狠羞辱情婦&quot;(Wife humiliates mistress severely)</p>
</blockquote>
<p><em>&quot;Attack&quot; here mostly refers to verbal abuse like names calling and yelling. The term 手撕 implies some physical contact is involve. (roughed her up)</em></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-01-27T19:27:57.880Z
I think it doesn’t necessarily mean using violence. It’s more of the meaning of confrontation, which involves different kinds of actions/words.
sylvia
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-01-27T19:31:52.833Z
I know, just changed to attack, (name calling, yelling, pulling or pushing  etc. things that you do to degrade someone)
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-01-27T19:50:17.257Z
```手撕``` comes from chinese ww2 tv series
Shaw
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-01-27T19:18:46.620Z
2020-01-28T10:03:49.890Z
2020-06-17T09:50:11.587Z
Tang Ho
<p>原配/手撕/小三</p>

<p>as indicated by the other answer, 原配 means his first/legal wife and 小三 <em>mistress</em>.  </p>

<p>手撕 is used metophorically here.  Its literal meaning is <em>tear by hand</em>.  In the context, I could imagine his wife pinched and twisted the mistress' face and inflicted some other humiliating attacks. 手撕 here indicates more <em>physically</em> than <em>verbally</em>. </p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-01-28T08:43:18.747Z
Yes, some physical harm, however slight, was inflicted as 撕 would imply. Otherwise terms like, 羞辱, (Xiūrù) or 侮辱, (Wǔrǔ) would be used instead.
Wayne Cheah
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-01-30T02:38:07.340Z
Not necessarily. 手撕 in most cases doesn't really involve physical altercation, but just verbal attacks.
Vim
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-01-30T08:24:34.090Z
@Vim, can you give some example? To me, in the OP's context, it does involve physical attacks. Otherwise, other words would be used as indicated by Wayne Cheah.
dan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-01-30T11:08:18.893Z
@dan 手撕 is a very popular internet slang in China, and, although in the literal meaning it does involve physical damage (tear apart by hand), the actual meaning we're using is usually the derived meaning i.e. to blame/verbally attack/expose someone which are non physical. Example usage: 王思聪手撕刘亦菲 (王思聪 exposes 刘亦菲 for something bad she did).
Vim
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-01-30T11:14:23.323Z
Per OP's example, because they don't provide context, I can't be totally certain whether it's physical or not, although my guess would be it's non physical, just meaning the wife attacks/blames/exposes the mistress using language and not violence.
Vim
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-01-30T11:31:47.480Z
@Vim I got this from Baidu "手撕和撕逼的意思相近，意思是彻底翻脸，互殴、争斗、打骂、吵闹等。手撕闺蜜就是和闺蜜翻脸，要斗个鱼死网破的意思，手撕引申义是用手撕开指轻而易举，所以用手撕的话表明具有相当大的优势，可以较为轻易的斗死对方。现在多具调侃的含义，并非真的在争斗。" If they were fighting through the internet, there is no sense it's physical.  But if it's in real life, I'd expect something physical.
dan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-01-28T01:27:42.397Z
2020-01-28T01:27:42.397Z
dan
<p>lol</p>

<p><code>手撕</code> is just a humorous way of saying "launching a fierce attack".</p>

<p><code>手</code> doesn't necessarily mean <code>hand</code> or <code>physical</code>. 
It has some connotation of "directly, unaided." (much like <code>手动</code> vs <code>自动</code>)</p>

<p>It best translates to "the wife tears the mistress apart by her own hand".</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-01-30T05:55:23.533Z
2020-01-30T05:55:23.533Z
Kevin
<p>In fact, rather than asking the meaning, I want to know which components this phrase consist of.</p>

<p>原配手撕小三:
Is it:</p>

<ol>
<li>原 - 配手 - 撕 - 小三</li>
<li>原配手 - 撕 - 小三</li>
<li>原配手撕 - 小三</li>
</ol>

<p>I know 小三 mean mistress and 撕 mean to tear, so I could roughly guess the meaning. The first three words are the source of my confusion. Personally, I think it's number 1, but if that's indeed the case, what's the use of "原" here? Isn't it kind of redundant? </p>

<grammar><meaning-in-context><spelling>
What does 原配手撕小三 mean?
# What does 原配手撕小三 mean?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-01-27)

In fact, rather than asking the meaning, I want to know which components this phrase consist of.

原配手撕小三:
Is it:

1. 原 - 配手 - 撕 - 小三
2. 原配手 - 撕 - 小三
3. 原配手撕 - 小三

I know 小三 mean mistress and 撕 mean to tear, so I could roughly guess the meaning. The first three words are the source of my confusion. Personally, I think it's number 1, but if that's indeed the case, what's the use of "原" here? Isn't it kind of redundant?

**Tags:** grammar, meaning-in-context, spelling

---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2020-01-27. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

* 原 (original/ first)
* 配 (match)

> "原配" is short for "原配夫人" (first legal wife)

In olden time China, it was very common for rich men to have multiple legal wives. And the first wife is called "原配夫人" or simply "原配".

Nowadays, it simply means a man's wife

* 手 = hands
* 撕 = tear

> The term 手撕 is most commonly seen in "手撕鸡" (hand shredded chicken)

"小三" is nickname for "mistress" (a man's out of wedlock lover)

"(原配)(手撕小三)" means "(wife) (tears mistress apart with her own hands)"

> "原配手撕小三" describes "a man's wife attacks that man's mistress and humiliates her"
>
> In other words: "妻子狠狠羞辱情婦"(Wife humiliates mistress severely)

*"Attack" here mostly refers to verbal abuse like names calling and yelling. The term 手撕 implies some physical contact is involve. (roughed her up)*

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: I think it doesn’t necessarily mean using violence. It’s more of the meaning of confrontation, which involves different kinds of actions/words.  
> **username_1**: I know, just changed to attack, (name calling, yelling, pulling or pushing  etc. things that you do to degrade someone)  
> **username_3**: ```手撕``` comes from chinese ww2 tv series  

---

### Answer by username_4 on 2020-01-28. Score: 2

原配/手撕/小三

as indicated by the other answer, 原配 means his first/legal wife and 小三 *mistress*.

手撕 is used metophorically here. Its literal meaning is *tear by hand*. In the context, I could imagine his wife pinched and twisted the mistress' face and inflicted some other humiliating attacks. 手撕 here indicates more *physically* than *verbally*.

> **Comments:**
> **username_5**: Yes, some physical harm, however slight, was inflicted as 撕 would imply. Otherwise terms like, 羞辱, (Xiūrù) or 侮辱, (Wǔrǔ) would be used instead.  
> **username_6**: Not necessarily. 手撕 in most cases doesn't really involve physical altercation, but just verbal attacks.  
> **username_4**: @Vim, can you give some example? To me, in the OP's context, it does involve physical attacks. Otherwise, other words would be used as indicated by Wayne Cheah.  
> **username_6**: @dan 手撕 is a very popular internet slang in China, and, although in the literal meaning it does involve physical damage (tear apart by hand), the actual meaning we're using is usually the derived meaning i.e. to blame/verbally attack/expose someone which are non physical. Example usage: 王思聪手撕刘亦菲 (王思聪 exposes 刘亦菲 for something bad she did).  
> **username_6**: Per OP's example, because they don't provide context, I can't be totally certain whether it's physical or not, although my guess would be it's non physical, just meaning the wife attacks/blames/exposes the mistress using language and not violence.  
> **username_4**: @Vim I got this from Baidu "手撕和撕逼的意思相近，意思是彻底翻脸，互殴、争斗、打骂、吵闹等。手撕闺蜜就是和闺蜜翻脸，要斗个鱼死网破的意思，手撕引申义是用手撕开指轻而易举，所以用手撕的话表明具有相当大的优势，可以较为轻易的斗死对方。现在多具调侃的含义，并非真的在争斗。" If they were fighting through the internet, there is no sense it's physical.  But if it's in real life, I'd expect something physical.  

---

### Answer by username_7 on 2020-01-30. Score: 2

lol

`手撕` is just a humorous way of saying "launching a fierce attack".

`手` doesn't necessarily mean `hand` or `physical`.
It has some connotation of "directly, unaided." (much like `手动` vs `自动`)

It best translates to "the wife tears the mistress apart by her own hand".


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