An Online Survey on the Contemporary Use of Spousal Terms in the Chinese Language

Abstract

The present study conducted an online survey on the use of spousal terms in the Chinese Language with 460 participants (327 female, 133 male) aged between 20 and 50. The results showed that both young and older people most commonly use “老公 lǎogōng” (old lord) to refer to male spouses and “老婆 lǎopo” (old granny) for female spouses. The gender-neutral term “爱人 àiren” (loved one), popular in the 1950s through the 1970s, is only used by a few middle-aged and elderly people. Meanwhile, the traditional terms “先生xiānsheng” (senior) and “太太 tàitai” (madam) are making a comeback. Notably, “太太 tàitai” (madam), which used to be taboo, was the second most preferred term among female spouses. “丈夫 zhàngfu” (tall man) and “妻子 qīzi” (wife) are now used almost exclusively in formal written language rather than casual spoken language.