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老婆 (lǎo po) — wife (colloquial)

Definition

老婆 (lǎopo) is the casual, everyday word for 'wife' — used when speaking to friends or about your own wife. 妻子 is the neutral/书面 word, and 太太 is more polite (also 'Mrs.').

noun
wife (colloquial)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 老婆？
    Nǐ lǎo po zuò shén me gōng zuò?
    What does your wife do for work?
  • 老婆。
    Wǒ lǎo po jīn tiān yào qù chāo shì mǎi cài.
    My wife is going to the supermarket to buy groceries today.
  • 老婆。
    Tā lǎo po shì wǒ de dà xué tóng xué.
    His wife is my college classmate.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
前缀qiánzhuìPrefix

A fixed syllable in front that adds a shade of meaning but carries none of its own.

老lǎoprefix
婆pówoman

老 gives the familiar form, and 婆, used for a woman, gives the sense of wife.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The shape 老 combines 人 (man), 毛 (hair), and 匕 (cane), showing a man with long hair leaning on a cane.

Open 老 →

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
女女nǚwoman
Sound part声符shēngfú
波
波bō婆pó
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

婆 pairs 女 (woman) with 波, which gives the sound. The 女 part shows the character is about a woman.

Open 婆 →
Appears in
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