夫人

• Pinyin: fū rén
• Hanzi breakdown: 夫 = a man/husband; 人 = pictograph of a standing person — respectful reference to a man's wife

Meaning

Mrs.; Madam; wife (respectful). A formal and respectful way to refer to someone's wife or to address a married woman.

Used in formal or polite contexts to refer to someone else's wife. Common in diplomatic, official, and social settings. Often paired with a title or surname: 总统夫人 (the President's wife), 张夫人 (Mrs. Zhang). Not used to refer to one's own wife in modern usage.

Examples

1. 张先生和夫人一起出席了晚宴。 Mr. Zhang and his wife attended the dinner together.
2. 总统夫人参观了那所小学。 The President's wife visited that primary school.
3. 请问您夫人也一起来吗？ May I ask if your wife is also coming?

Usage Guide

Context: formal occasions, diplomacy

Tone: respectful

Do Say

• 王先生的夫人是一位大学教授。(Mr. Wang's wife is a university professor.)
• 欢迎各位先生和夫人的到来。(Welcome to all the gentlemen and their wives.)

Don't Say

• 这是我的夫人 (Sounds overly formal and old-fashioned when introducing your own wife — use 妻子, 太太, or 老婆 in modern Chinese)

Origin & History

Originally meant 'that man's person/wife.' In classical Chinese, 夫 could function as a demonstrative pronoun, and 人 meant person. Evolved into a respectful title for a married woman.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal