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Lesson 6 of 47

老公 in Context

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老公

Usage 1 - "husband": 

*Sentence:

老公想说服我,改变我对这件事的看法。

English:

Husband wants to talk me into changing my view on this matter.

Top-Down Words:

这件事 zhèjianshì - this thing, this matter


Sentence:

老公很爱我。

English:

Husband loves me very much.



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The Six Steps to Learning Words

Understanding Chinese Words - Morphemes

3 Questions About Words


Member Comments from 2019-mid-2020

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William Beeman

Hi--we now have several terms for husband (and wife), liken 丈夫, 先生 as well as this one: 老公. Can you sort them out? This one looks sort of odd to me, like "old honorable" or something like that. When would you use these different terms?

Mandarin Blueprint 

Great question, William! Here's my reply:

https://www.loom.com/share/66ade248f131445c9f717a00a35f739e?from_recorder=1

丈夫 - 妻子 qīzi

先生 - 太太 (女士 nǚshì)

老公 - 老婆 lǎopo

MB Team

This is where Luke and Phil talked about your question in the Mandarin Blueprint Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZTpv6GwHS0&t=1992s

 
 
 
Great Job! Keep Going! 老外 in Context
Comments   4

Kate Gans

I used 老公 and my teacher was horrified. She said that is like saying “old grandpa” and I should use 先生 instead. Should I be an old grandma before I use 老公? 😳

I watched the loom video above and it sounds like people commonly use the 老 terms. But now I think I won’t use this word with people I know only casually.

REPLY

Mandarin Blueprint

This must depend on the region because I hear 老公 all the time here, even for relatively young people when getting married. I've heard people say 先生 as well, but her "horrified" response seems unjust, but perhaps that's just how it is in her hometown.

REPLY

Melissa Niesen 😊🤝 倪茉莉

It might also be a generational thing, too. My teacher (东北人,45多岁) was also horrified when I said 老公. She said it was because it also means eunuch and wondered if younger people didn't know that connection or didn't understand the historical things behind that. However, my 35+ year old friend/colleague in 天津 has said it as well as my early 30s colleague from 成都. So, I guess I'll be a little selective where I use it.

REPLY

MB Team

This is where Luke and Phil talked about your question in the Mandarin Blueprint Podcast:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWtaMTiY938&t=2525s

REPLY