| Ways to call "husband" and "wife" in Chinese! | |
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| Apr 10, 2008 04:23 |   |
 | In Chinese, we have many ways to call our husband and wife. How many ways do you know? Here are they. Ways to call your wife: 1，配偶 2，妻子 3，老婆 4，夫人 5，太太 6，爱人 7，内人 8，媳妇 9，那口子 10，拙荆 11，贤内助 12，老伴 13，孩他妈 14，孩他娘 15，内子 16，婆娘 17，糟糠 18，娃他娘 19，崽他娘 20，山妻 21，贱内 22，贱荆 23，女人 24，马子 25，主妇 26，女主人 27，财政部长 28，纪检委 29，浑人 30， 娘子 31，屋里的 32，另一半 33，女当家 34，浑家 35，发妻 36，堂客 37，婆姨 38，领导 39，烧火婆 40，伙计 41，黄脸婆 Ways to call your husband: 1，丈夫 2，爱人 3，那口子 4，当家的 5，掌柜的 6，孩子他爹 7，孩子他亲爹 8，老公 9, 亲爱的 10，先生 11，官人 12，相公 13，挨千刀的 14，老伴 Acutally, some are very interesting. Can you find them out? |
| Apr 10, 2008 04:41 | #1 |
| Here is a joke. A Chinese girl gets married with an American. Her husband is really fond of Chinese. One day, he asked her wife:" what does 婆婆 mean in Chinese?" His wife answered:" I' ll explain to you by an example. When I see your mom, I call her 婆婆 (mother in law)." Then her husband said:" I understand. If I see your mom, I should call her 婆婆. Am I right?" His wife laughed loudly and said:" No. You shouldn't call her 婆婆." （Do you know why she laugh loudly?） Several days later, he asked his wife another question:" Why do your colleagues ask me to call you 老婆？As you said, my mom is 婆婆. You are younger than than her. Thus, I shouldn't call you 老婆." |
| Apr 10, 2008 16:08 | #2 |
| She laughed because 婆婆 means her mother-in-law...her husband's mother. As for some of those names for wives.... Minister of Finance...volcano...and there was one that had something to do with mouth...in the USA some men have wives that they call big mouths (very derogatory - but usually well deserved). I have a feeling you better explain them...or I'll get in trouble. I do feel safe using this one though... 贤内助 ... Of course, with my luck I mis-translated it...and it really means wicked old witch ;-) |
| Apr 14, 2008 20:54 | #3 |
| "I do feel safe using this one though... 贤内助 ... Of course, with my luck I mis-translated it...and it really means wicked old witch ;-) Oh, no Griz. 贤内助 doesn't mean wicked old witch. If you call your wife 贤内助, she will be very happy. In Chinese, 贤内助 means that the wife is very capable. She gives useful ideas to his husband, share his unhappiness and support her family members very well. Since my English is not good, I can't find a suiteable English word for 贤内助. The dictionary gives me a translation of 贤内助----helpful helpmate. Personally, I think that it has explained 贤内助 very well. |
| Apr 14, 2008 22:30 | #4 |
| "I have a feeling you better explain them...or I'll get in trouble." Ok, I' ll try my best to explain them. Hope that you can understand what I am talking about :-) Ways to call your wife: No.1 配偶 (spouse). Very formal. Usually we see this word in documents. In daily life, we seldom call them 配偶. For example, you'd better not say " 这是我的配偶 (this is my spouse)" when introducing your wife to others. No.2 妻子 (wife). This word is frequently used. And I think that most of you know how to use it. No.3 老婆. It is not as formal as 妻子. On some formal occasions, you shouldn't call your wife 老婆. For example, you'd better not say 老婆 when introducing her to other guests in a big party. 妻子 is more suitable. No.4 夫人and 太太 is out of date. In modern times, we seldom hear someone calls her wife 夫人 or 太太. To my impression, these two words were used during the 20th century. No.5 爱人 It is similar with 妻子 and often used on some formal occasions. No.6 内人 and 内子If you hear some guys call his wife 内人 or 内子, he must be a bookish or a guy who lives in ancient times. At present, people seldom call their wives 内人 or 内子. |
| Apr 14, 2008 22:31 | #5 |
| No.7 媳妇. Usually, people in rural areas call their wives 媳妇. However, some young guys call their wives 媳妇 in a teasing way. For example, two friends （very familiar with each other） gather together. A asks: “ 你媳妇最近可好？（How is your wife?）” I don’t know if foreigners greet each other’s wife when meeting. But Chinese people do this. No.8 那口子 This word usually appears in the movie. In daily life, people seldom call their wives 那口子. I guess that this word is derived from 两口子 (a couple). No.9 拙荆. Very formal. However, people seldom use this word now. It was used in ancient times. No.10 老伴. The old people usually call their husband or wife 老伴. Young guys don’t do this. No.11 孩他妈，孩他娘. They both appears in the movies. In some remote rural areas, the husband still calls his wife 孩他妈 or 孩他娘. 娃他娘 and 崽他娘 is similar with 孩他妈 and 孩他娘. No.12 婆娘. Sometimes, it has a derogatory meaning. For example, “这个婆娘怎么是个泼妇啊? (She is really a shrew.)” However, in some areas, people call their wives 婆娘 (no derogatory meaning). No.13 糟糠. Very formal. You usually see this word in literary works. Have you ever heard of “糟糠之妻”? It refers to a woman who accompany with you through hardships and poverty. As an old Chinese saying says, 糟糠之妻不可弃. In English, it means that you shouldn’t abandon your wife who has accompanied you through poverty and hardships. This is very immoral. No.14 山妻.Originally, it was used to call a hermit’s wife. Later on, many people call their wives 山妻 in a humble way. No.15贱内，贱荆. Same as 山妻. People use them in a humble way. But in daily life, they seldom call their wives贱内，贱荆. No.16 女人. Very informal and rude. In some rural areas, people call their wives 女人. When talking about their wives, they usually say “我女人….” No.17马子. In Hong Kong movies, those bullies or people in gangsterdom call their GF as 马子. Later on, some young guys used this word in daily life, calling their GFs 马子. Personally, I don’t like it very much. It sounds to me that those who call their GFs 马子 are bad guys. No.18 主妇. It is derived from 家庭主妇 (housewife). No.19女主人，财政部长，纪检委, 女当家，领导，Those women are usually the real master of their families. Usually, their husbands are all hen-pecked. Their salaries are all handed in. No.20 浑人. It is a derogatory term. If you consult this word in the dictionary, you will find that it refers to those fools or ignorant people. In ancient times, men were more superior than women. Women were uneducated so that they were “ignorant”. |
| Apr 14, 2008 22:31 | #6 |
| No.21 娘子. It was also used in ancient times. Now, people seldom call their wives 娘子. No.22 屋里的. In some areas, people call their wives 屋里的. For example, “你屋里的那位现在怎样了?” No.23 浑家 is similar with 浑人. No.24 发妻. It is derived from 结发夫妻. During the reign of Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong, an official named Jia Zhiyan was exiled to the South China Sea. Before leaving, he told her wife:” I may not come back alive. Considering of your future, you’d better remarry someone.” His wife said with tears in her eyes:” Could you help comb my hair again?” Jia tied a knot on her head and used a silk handkerchief to wrap the knot. While leaving, his wife said farewell to him and swore:” I will be waiting for you until you come back alive and untie the knot.” 20 years later, Jia Zhiyan came back home alive. After seeing that the knot on his wife’s head was still untied, he was deeply moved by her wife’s loyalty. Latter on, “结发夫妻” was widely spread. No.25 堂客. It belongs to Hunan dialect. In Hunan, those married women are usually called 堂客. If you call your own wife, you just call her 堂客. This is ok. If you call other people’s wives, you need to add her family name before 堂客. For example, a married woman is called 张秀英. You just call her 张堂客. No.26 婆姨. In the north of Shaanxi, people usually call their wives 婆姨. It is said that there are many beautiful 婆姨in Mi Zhi, located in north part of Shaanxi. No.27 烧火婆 is a derogatory term. The woman has no status in the family. No.28 黄脸婆, also a derogatory term. Usually, it is used to describe a woman whose face is yellow (they use too many make-ups).. To men, such a woman has lost her attractiveness. |
| Apr 14, 2008 22:50 | #7 |
| Ways to call your husband: No.1 丈夫, 爱人 and 先生are formal. They are used on some formal occasions. No.2 那口子. Please refer to No.8 of ways to call your wife. No.3 当家的,掌柜的. The men are the head of their families. They are similar to 女主人，财政部长，纪检委, 女当家，领导. No.4 孩子他爹and 孩子他亲爹 are similar to 孩子他妈，崽他妈 and 孩他娘. No.5 老公 and 亲爱的 (darling) are informal. No.6 官人 and 相公 were used in ancient times. 相公 has another meaning. When playing mahjong，people usually have 13 titles in their hands. If your titles are less than 12 tiles, you are called 小相公. If your titles are more than 13 titles, you are called 大相公. No.7 挨千刀的. You usually hear this word in Chinese traditional dramas. In daily life, people seldom call their husbands 挨千刀的 unless they quarrel with each other. It has derogatory meaning. No.8 老伴. The older women call their husbands 老伴. |
| Oct 15, 2011 20:40 | #8 |
| GUEST68574 | 婆婆呢 <-- what does that mean. Someone please tell me A.S.A.P |
| Oct 15, 2011 21:24 | #9 |
| GUESTLEO | Quote:Originally Posted by GUEST68574 婆婆呢 <-- what does that mean. Someone please tell me A.S.A.P婆婆means mother-in-law, or the mother of your husband. |
| Oct 17, 2011 22:36 | #10 |
| GUEST6430 | Quote:Originally Posted by GUESTLEO 婆婆means mother-in-law, or the mother of your husband. 婆婆 means the mother of your husband. The mother in law means "丈母娘". |
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