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夫君 (fū jūn) — (archaic, literary) my husband (term of address or reference); (Tang dynasty, archaic) respectful term for a male friend

Definition

An archaic or literary way for a wife to address or refer to her husband, common in period dramas and classical writing. In some Tang dynasty poems it instead means a respected male friend.

noun
(archaic, literary) my husband (term of address or reference)(Tang dynasty, archaic) respectful term for a male friend

Examples

  • 夫君，？
    fū jūn, Nǐ shén me shí hou huí lái?
    My husband, when will you return?
  • 夫君。
    Zhè shǒu táng shī zhōng de fū jūn zhǐ de shì shī rén de péng you.
    In this Tang poem, 'fujun' refers to the poet's friend.
  • ，夫君。
    Zài gǔ zhuāng jù lǐ, qī zi cháng chēng zhàng fu wèi fū jūn.
    In period dramas, wives often call their husbands 'fujun'.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

夫fūhusband
君jūnlord/husband

夫 and 君 both point to a husband or respected man, together forming a literary term.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

夫 originally drew a man. It was borrowed purely for its sound to write a pronoun, so the picture and the pronoun meaning are unrelated.

Open 夫 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
尹
尹yǐn君jūn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

君 combines 尹 and 口. Early forms were often interchangeable with 尹, and 口 may show commands or simply be decorative.

Open 君 →
Appears in
Family & KinshipIdentity & Titles

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