How to Call “Husband” and “Wife” in Chinese?

How to call husband:

1. “老公 (lăogōng)” refers to the man with whom a woman will live a long time together (i.e., get old together). In this term, “老 (lăo)” means “old” (Find out why “老” can also stand for wisdom and prestige here.) and “公 (gōng)” refers to male.
2. “孩子他/她爸 (háizi tā/tā bà)” directly means “my kids’ father,” “他 (tā)” is the equivalent word of “he,” and “她 (tā)” means “she.”
3. “先生 (xiānsheng)” also means “husband” and is very formal. Actually, besides the meaning of “husband,” this term has broad usages. The male teachers have also been called “先生 (xiānsheng).” People entitle these distinguished and honorable person as “先生 (xiānsheng),” such as accomplished scientists, politics and literary greats.
4. “丈夫 (zhàngfu)” is a widely used term referring to “husband” (formal). The general meaning of “夫 (fū)” means “male.”
5. “爱人 (àiren)” also means “husband.” (Take a quiz to make sure you know how to use the Chinese expression “爱人” correctly!) 爱 (ài)” means “love,” and “人 (rén)” means “person.” The combination of “爱 (ài)” and “人 (rén)” literally means “the person you love.” And it can also refer to “wife.” So the introduction “这是我的爱人 (Zhè shì wŏ de àiren) This is my husband/wife” can be used both by wives and husbands.
6. Women usually call their husbands as “老公 (lăogōng)” and “孩子他/她爸 (háizi tā/tā bà).” These two terms are quite informal and colloquial.

Summary: The Words Which Mean “Husband” in Chinese.

老公 (Lăogōng)

孩子他/她爸 (Háizi tā/tā bà)

先生 (Xiānsheng)

丈夫 (Zhàngfu)

爱人 (Àirén)

这是我的爱人 (Zhè shì wǒ de àirén)

How to call wife:

1. “老婆 (lăopó)” refers to the woman with whom a man will live a long time together (i.e., get old together).
2. “孩子她/他妈 (háizi tā/tā mā)” is the equivalent term as “孩子他/她爸 (háizi tā/tā bà),” and the meaning is “my kids’ mom.” That is, my kids’ mom is my wife.
3. The term “屋里的 (wū lĭ de)” describes a wife to be “the woman staying in the house.” “屋 (wū)” means “the house.” “里 (lĭ)” is a preposition and means “in.”
4. These three terms “妻子, 夫人, 太太 (qīzi, fūrén, tàitai)” are used to address married women in formal situations. “妻子 (qīzi)” is generally used along with “丈夫 (zhàngfu).” “夫人 (fūrén)” and “太太 (tàitai)” show more respect to the married women than do other terms. (How China is Pressuring Singles to Get Married?)

Summary: The Words Which Mean “Wife” in Chinese.

老婆 (Lăopó)

孩子她/他妈 (Háizi tā/tā mā)

妻子 (Qīzi)

夫人 (Fūrén)

太太 (Tàitai)

Dialogue 1:

A: hāi, zěnme yí gè rén a, nǐ lǎogōng ne?
A: 嗨， 怎么 一 个 人 啊， 你 老公 呢？
A: Hi, why are you alone here? Where is your husband?
B: Chūchāi le.
B: 出差 了。
B: (He is) on a business trip.

Dialogue 2:

A: Wǒ xiān jièshào yí xià ba, zhè shì wǒ tàitai.
A: 我 先 介绍 一 下 吧，这 是 我 太太。
A: Let me introduce first. This is my wife.
B: Nǐhǎo.
B: 你好。
B: Hello.