"Wife" and "Husband"

太太 and 内人 is equally good to me.

I can imagine if a foreigner introduced his wife to me, and say "it's my 内人", how impressed I'd be.

Here are some more you can learn, but just take it for fun.

爱人 Lover---- A common word that once refered to wife or husband in modern china, but i really doubt its popularity today.

女人 Woman ---- Some still use it to refer to his wife, though it's quite weird. Don't forget to add "我" before it.

Could someone expand a little bit about the common equivalents for "wife," "husband," "woman," and "man." The numerous Chinese words for these have always driven me crazy.

What are the differences among these words for "wife"?:

妻子 qīzi; 太太; 爱人 ai4ren2; 老婆 lao3po2; 妇[婦] fù; 夫人 fūren; etc.

How about these words for "husband"?:

先生 xiānsheng; 丈夫 zhàngfu; 爱人[愛-] àiren; 夫 fū

How about these words for "woman"?:

女人 nu:3rén; 女的 nu:de; 婆 pó; 女性 nǚxìng; 妇[婦] fù

and these words for "man"?:

男人 nánrén; 男的 nánde; 男性 nánxìng

ok, I will do it. Come back from those hot topics and answer some questions people!

妻子: ancient term for wife. also, today's official and formal term for a man's wife. I like this word, most beautiful way to say "wife" imo.

太太: married woman. polite way to address a married woman. It can mean wife.

爱人: formal way to address your wife/husband in front of other people (usually strangers or not so close friends), but some people (e.g. me) find it very 肉麻. 内人 and 内子 belong here, too.

老婆: this one you should know, very casual way of calling your wife in front of friends, or people you know well.

妇[婦]: literary term for women or females, usually older ones, not girls.

夫人: same as 太太, but it's an older usage, it's almost classical chinese.

先生: mister/man/husband/teacher/knowledgeable person

丈夫: see 妻子

老公: see 老婆

女人: noun. woman

女的: adjective (no equivalent in English? feminine?)

婆: old woman

女性: female

and these words for "man"?:

男人: see 女人

男的: see 女的

男性: see 女性

先生: mister/man/husband/teacher/knowledgeable person

I've asked the woman "你先生在哪裡呢?"

and she replied "Well..i've graduated for a long time".

perhaps for avoiding confusion, 先生 is least common to refer a husband today.

For making these titles more complicated ,

you can also learn these terms too.

娘子: classical way to refer to your own wife only.

拙荊: same as the above, but more euphemistical and highly humble.

賢內助: classical way to refer to others' wives.

Some more here: 正室、髮妻、拙妻、山荊.....considering the structure of old chinese family, it isn't hard to imagine that there may be 100 ways to refer a wife.

Here in Beijing, the most common one I hear for your own husband or wife (when talking to third parties) is 爱人. If you are talking about someone else's, 爱人, or 妻子/丈夫 are all used. I've never heard 太太 or 先生 to refer to a spouse (I have never heard 太太 at all, I think).

Another way of distinguishing the genders is 男生 / 女生 - I'd originally thought this was for students only, but people have told me I won't like a book or a film because I'm a 男生, and it seems to be used where English might have 'some guy' or 'a girl', when the person in question is fairly young. There's also a karaoke classic along the lines of '你是男生, 我是女生 . . .' which I'm sure many of us have heard.

Roddy

PS. Of course, if you are annoyed with them, there's always 哪个谁. Don't let them hear you though.

To Roddy

You are right. its primarily for students, but some people use it anyways. Its ok, especially for girls.However, I would still suggest you not use 男生,女生.

It depents on your personality and style. I've read some of the Chinese you wrote, and I think you have reached the point where you should develop your personaly language style. There are many commonly used phrases that you would not want to use. One big group is girlish talking.

男生女生 is not massively girlish, but I personally would not use them.

I would just say 男的 女的 or 男人 女人。

In Hong Kong, 太太 and 先生 are commonly used to refer to one's own or other people's spouse.

How about if you are directly addressing someone's wife? For instance, if I meet my teacher's wife, and I know her surname is Zhang, what is the best (polite) way to address her?

Thanks, Jo

If the teacher's name is Zhang, then his wife is Zhang taitai (張/章太太). Or perhaps you may call her 師母.

Thanks Skylee. Do you know if that holds all over the country (bearing in mind Roddy's comment above)?

Thanks for all the responses.

Or perhaps you may call her 師母.

Does this work even if you are ten or more years older than her and her husband?

If the teacher's name is Zhang, then his wife is Zhang taitai (張/章太太).

This raises another point I have never been sure of. Can I use 太太 and its equivalents with either the maiden name of the wife or with her husband's surname?

女的: adjective (no equivalent in English? feminine?)

I originally thought 女的 and 男的 meant only female and male; however, it seems to pop in contexts that suggest a contrast between the two. Could one use these expressions in a sentence like this: 这种电影是女的往往都喜欢的, 可是那种电影是男的往往都喜欢的? ("Women tend to like this kind of move, but men tend to like that kind?")

By the way, how strong is the expression 肉麻, how does it compare with 讨厌? My dictionaries seem to say "disgusting," but this seems a little strong.

saying 师母 is always safe.

people work in state-owned enterprises or uper 40 year old usually use 爱人 according to my personal experiences, younger ones say 老婆/老公 in informal conversation, 妻子/丈夫 as the formal form. 太太/先生 sounds a bit south feeling, but some ppl use them too(formal).

Does this work even if you are ten or more years older than her and her husband?

yes, but a little bit funny. seems you'd better call her name directly.

This raises another point I have never been sure of. Can I use 太太 and its equivalents with either the maiden name of the wife or with her husband's surname?

sure her husband's name.

I originally thought 女的 and 男的 meant only female and male; however, it seems to pop in contexts that suggest a contrast between the two. Could one use these expressions in a sentence like this: 这种电影是女的往往都喜欢的, 可是那种电影是男的往往都喜欢的? ("Women tend to like this kind of move, but men tend to like that kind?")

sure, adjusting the wording a bit will be better.

as for the 肉麻, i dont know how to explain it in english, lets wait other guy's responses.

Thanks Skylee. Do you know if that holds all over the country (bearing in mind Roddy's comment above)?

sure, in every place of china, you can say 師母 or X太 (the surname of her husband ) to your teachers' wives. The latter one is a more general use. Some westerners get used to mention the name of your friend's wife directly (like Susan) , but it's relatively less common in china.

If you're very closed friend, you can call your friend's wife "嫂嫂". 嫂 originally refers to the wife of your brother.

However, all these titles can be changed depending on the person you meet.

If you're not very sure, always use the polite one. Don't be surprised if they say "No, no, no, don't call me like this"

and correct the title. Remember that it doesn't mean you're wrong, it's simply another way to greet in china. ("No" may not always mean "No" here)

How about these words for "woman"?:

女人 nu:3rén; 女的 nu:de; 婆 pó; 女性 nǚxìng; 妇[婦] fù

My Chinese teacher insists that the word 女人 is a derogatory term when you use it to refer to a specific woman eg 站在那边的女人。 I have indeed heard Chinese friends saying things like 那个臭女人。。。

She says the term 女的 is preferable.

Also, i don't think you would ever use 婆 on its own to mean "woman".

Even though 女人 is rude, it's apparently ok to say 男人 when talking about a man.

Here in Beijing, the most common one I hear for your own husband or wife (when talking to third parties) is 爱人

What ever happened to 媳妇儿 for 'wife'?

What ever happened to 媳妇儿 for 'wife'?

We actually quite often use it to refer to our girlfriends.

女人: noun. woman

女的: adjective (no equivalent in English? feminine?)

婆: old woman

女性: female

and these words for "man"?:

男人: see 女人

男的: see 女的

男性: see 女性

_________________

for supplement

sometimes 女/男人means wife/ husband though these words in this usage are not usual nowaday.

Eg 她是我的女人`= she is my wife

他是我的男人=he is my husband