三下り半

Japanese

Kanji in this term
三	下	半
み Grade: 1	くだ Grade: 1	はん Grade: 2
kun’yomi

Alternative forms

• 三行半

Etymology

Literally "three and a half lines". During the Edo period, a husband could divorce his wife by writing a formalized note consisting of three fixed lines of text.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mikudarihan/

Noun

三(み)下(くだ)り半(はん) • (mikudarihan) 

1. a letter of divorce given from a husband to a wife
2. divorce

See also

• 離婚 (rikon)
• 離婚状 (rikonjō)