1ukesama Posted April 7, 2004 at 12:09 AM Report Share Posted April 7, 2004 at 12:09 AM I got into this Chinese program where we're going to China over the summer, so I'm learning it now (or at least the basics). I was looking through some book to learn it and I noticed the sentence: Wanshang wo xiansheng you lei you kun. I was wondering, isnt xiansheng a little redundant here, since it means Mr. *sigh* sorry i'm so very new to this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ax Posted April 7, 2004 at 12:56 AM Report Share Posted April 7, 2004 at 12:56 AM xiansheng here means my hubby... that's how chinese address their husband... there used to be laogong and xianggong... ask other how they address husband and wife in different countries... ax Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1ukesama Posted April 7, 2004 at 01:08 AM Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2004 at 01:08 AM but doesnt the sentence mean "in the evening, i am both tired and sleepy"? so where would husband fit into it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skylee Posted April 7, 2004 at 01:33 AM Report Share Posted April 7, 2004 at 01:33 AM From the pinyin, I would say the sentence means "in the evening, my husband is tired as well as sleepy". "xiansheng" can mean teacher, mister, or husband. "wo" means I, me, and can also mean "my" (shortened from "wo de"). So "wo xiansheng" is my husband. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1ukesama Posted April 7, 2004 at 01:41 AM Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2004 at 01:41 AM ah, thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithsgj Posted April 7, 2004 at 01:56 AM Report Share Posted April 7, 2004 at 01:56 AM there used to be laogong Ax I don't think anyone seriously addresses their husband as 先生 do they? 老公 in Taiwan and I would have thought all over. 先生 as a form of address means Sir, American usage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skylee Posted April 7, 2004 at 02:06 AM Report Share Posted April 7, 2004 at 02:06 AM A previous discussion on "Husband" -> http://www.chinese-forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=718 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quest Posted April 7, 2004 at 07:37 PM Report Share Posted April 7, 2004 at 07:37 PM "laogong"老公 is colloquial, I would guess Taiwan borrowed it from HK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithsgj Posted April 8, 2004 at 04:52 AM Report Share Posted April 8, 2004 at 04:52 AM Thanks for the link sky, i remember now. yes 老公 is colloquial. Obviously you address your own husband in a colloquial way. It was stated earlier that 先生 was used to address your husband, and that was what I was disputing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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