配偶

• Pinyin: pèi ǒu
• Hanzi breakdown: 配 = 酉 + 己 (match, pair); 偶 = 亻 + 禺 (person + counterpart — a paired figure)

Meaning

Spouse; a marriage partner; the person to whom one is legally married.

A formal and neutral term for a spouse, used in legal, medical, administrative, and academic contexts. Unlike 老公/老婆 (colloquial) or 丈夫/妻子 (standard), 配偶 is gender-neutral and often appears on official documents.

Examples

1. 申请表上要求填写配偶的姓名与职业信息。 The application form requires you to fill in your spouse’s name and occupation.
2. 法律规定配偶有相互扶养的义务。 By law, spouses have a duty to support each other.
3. 研究表明，配偶间的教育水平差异会影响婚姻满意度。 Studies show that differences in spouses’ education levels affect marital satisfaction.

Usage Guide

Context: legal, medical, government, academic

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 根据遗嘱，逝者的全部遗产归配偶及两名子女共同继承。(According to the will, the deceased's entire estate is to be jointly inherited by the spouse and two children.)
• 签证申请人须提交配偶的身份证明文件及婚姻证明原件。(Visa applicants must submit the spouse's identity documents and the original marriage certificate.)

Don't Say

• 我的配偶说她不想去 — in daily conversation use 我老婆 or 我妻子; 配偶 in casual speech sounds overly bureaucratic

Origin & History

配 (match, pair) + 偶 (counterpart, paired figure) — the matched counterpart in a life pairing

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal