寡婦

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 寡婦, read かふ, means a woman whose husband has died.
• Basic usage: It is a formal noun used for a character in a story or in discussions of systems concerning widowed women.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Tone compared with 未亡人
  • 未亡人 also refers to a woman whose husband has died. In everyday introductions, 夫を亡くした女性 can describe the bereavement in plain language.