主婦
しゅふ · shufu · JLPT N3 · noun
housewife
🏠🧹 主婦 = main (主) + wife/woman (婦): the main woman of the household
主 means main or master, as in 主人 (head of household). 婦 means wife or married woman, as in 夫婦 (married couple). Sound hook: shufu is one vowel off shefu, the chef who runs the home kitchen.
主 — flame/lamp on top of a stand 王
Originally a pictograph of a lamp with a flame on top of its stand, representing the lord or master of the household who tended the fire. The meaning extended from 'lamp/host' to 'master, owner, main, principal'. The character 炷 (wick) preserves the original 'lamp' sense.