How to say “wife” in Chinese
wife (colloq.)
“Wife” in Chinese is 老婆, lǎo po: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke.
How to pronounce it
老婆 is read lǎo po: 2 syllables. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
Below, 女 “woman”; on top, 波 bō hints at the reading. In 老婆 it takes the neutral tone: po.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “老婆”.
More words from the lesson “Husband and wife”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “wife” in Chinese?
“Wife” in Chinese is 老婆, pinyin lǎopo.
What does 老婆 mean?
老婆 (lǎopo) means “wife (colloq.)”.
How do you write 老婆?
老婆 is 2 characters: 老 (lǎo) — old, respected; 婆 (pó) — old woman, grandma. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 老婆?
老婆 is read lǎopo. Tones: lǎo — third tone, po — neutral tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“wife” in the lesson “Husband and wife”
This word is from the topic “Family and loved ones” of HSK 5. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
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