Meaning of 老婆
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- (coll.) wife
How to use 老婆
老婆 is the everyday, informal word for wife, used when talking about your own wife or someone else's, and husbands often call their wives 老婆 directly as a pet name. In formal settings people prefer 妻子 (qīzi) or 太太 (tàitai). Example: 我老婆是老师。(Wǒ lǎopo shì lǎoshī.) My wife is a teacher.
老 (lǎo) means old and 婆 (pó) means an older woman, and 婆 has 女 (woman) at the bottom. Picture the woman you plan to grow old with, and you have 老婆, your wife.
Common mistake: Learners often read 老婆 as "old woman" and avoid it, but it simply means wife and does not suggest she is old. The word for an old woman is 老太太 (lǎotàitai) or 老奶奶 (lǎonǎinai). Also, 婆 is usually said in the neutral tone (lǎopo) in everyday speech, not with a full second tone.
老婆 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
老 lǎo · prefix used before the surname of a per… · 6 strokes
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婆 pó · old woman · 11 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 老婆.
| 老师 | lǎoshī | teacher |
| 老人 | lǎorén | old man or woman; the elderly |
| 老朋友 | lǎo péngyou | old friend; (slang) period |
| 老是 | lǎoshì | always |
| 老年 | lǎonián | elderly; old age |
| 老王 | Lǎo Wáng | |
| 老板 | lǎobǎn | boss; proprietor |
| 老太太 | lǎotàitai | elderly lady (respectful); esteemed mother |
| 老百姓 | lǎobǎixìng | ordinary people; the "person in the street" |
| 老头儿 | lǎotóur | see 老頭子|老头子[lao3 tou2 zi5] |
| 老公 | lǎogōng | (coll.) husband |
| 老实 | lǎoshi | honest; sincere; well-behaved |
Questions about 老婆
What does 老婆 mean?
老婆 (lǎopo) means "(coll.) wife" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 老婆?
老婆 is made of 2 characters: 老 (6 strokes), 婆 (11 strokes). That is 17 strokes in total.
Is 老婆 an HSK word?
Yes. 老婆 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the male version of 老婆?
The matching informal word for husband is 老公 (lǎogōng). Couples often call each other 老公 and 老婆 in daily life.
Is it rude to call someone else's wife 老婆?
Among friends, saying 你老婆 (nǐ lǎopo) is normal and casual. With strangers, elders, or in polite conversation, 您太太 (nín tàitai) or 您爱人 (nín àiren) sounds more respectful.