Married life in Chinese 婚后生活
hūnhòu shēnghuó
Married life in Chinese is 婚后生活 (hūn hòu shēng huó).
Also searched for as: married life, marriage, husband and wife, married couple, in-laws.
In-laws, chores and growing old together. 15 essential married life words in Mandarin Chinese, with pinyin and English. Open it in the app to hear each word, tick off the ones you know and turn them into flashcards.
Married life in Chinese is 婚后生活 (hūn hòu shēng huó), and its vocabulary is refreshingly down to earth. There are words for sharing chores, 做家务 (zuò jiā wù), for deciding who 管钱 (guǎn qián), manages the money, and for the famous 婆媳关系 (pó xí guān xi), the relationship between a wife and her mother-in-law. Long-married couples affectionately call themselves 老夫老妻 (lǎo fū lǎo qī).
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 已婚 | yǐ hūn | married |
| 婚姻 | hūn yīn | marriage |
| 婚后生活 | hūn hòu shēng huó | married life |
| 老夫老妻 | lǎo fū lǎo qī | old married couple |
| 过日子 | guò rì zi | to live (together); to get by day to day |
| 婆婆 | pó po | mother-in-law (husband's mother) |
| 丈母娘 | zhàng mu niáng | mother-in-law (wife's mother) |
| 婆媳关系 | pó xí guān xi | relations between a wife and her mother-in-law |
| 做家务 | zuò jiā wù | to do the housework |
| 管钱 | guǎn qián | to manage the money |
| 私房钱 | sī fang qián | secret stash of money |
| 妻管严 | qī guǎn yán | henpecked (pun on 气管炎 "bronchitis") |
| 七年之痒 | qī nián zhī yǎng | seven-year itch |
| 要孩子 | yào hái zi | to have kids |
| 结婚纪念日 | jié hūn jì niàn rì | wedding anniversary |
Usage tips
- Chinese has a different word for each mother-in-law: a wife's mother-in-law is 婆婆 (pó po), while a husband's is 丈母娘 (zhàng mu niáng) or, more formally, 岳母 (yuè mǔ).
- 妻管严 (qī guǎn yán), "strictly managed by the wife", is a pun on 气管炎 (qì guǎn yán), bronchitis. It's a teasing term among friends, and many husbands use it about themselves half-jokingly.
- 过日子 (guò rì zi) means living day to day as a household, with all the compromises that involves. It's what older relatives mean when they tell newlyweds 好好过日子 (hǎo hǎo guò rì zi), "make a good life together".
Common mistakes
- Learners use 婆婆 (pó po) for any mother-in-law, but it only means the husband's mother. A man talking about his wife's mother should say 丈母娘 (zhàng mu niáng) or 岳母 (yuè mǔ).
- 已婚 (yǐ hūn) sounds like form language, so 你已婚吗 is stiff as a casual question. In conversation, ask 你结婚了吗 (nǐ jié hūn le ma).
Mini dialogue
- A你们结婚多久了？Nǐ men jié hūn duō jiǔ le?How long have you been married?
- B快十年了，都老夫老妻了。Kuài shí nián le, dōu lǎo fū lǎo qī le.Nearly ten years. We're an old married couple now.
- A在你们家，谁管钱？Zài nǐ men jiā, shéi guǎn qián?In your house, who manages the money?
- B当然是我老婆。不过家务我们轮流做。Dāng rán shì wǒ lǎo po. Bù guò jiā wù wǒ men lún liú zuò.My wife, of course. But we take turns with the housework.
- A那你有私房钱吗？Nà nǐ yǒu sī fang qián ma?So have you got a secret stash?
- B嘘，小声点！Xū, xiǎo shēng diǎn!Shh, keep your voice down!
Example sentences
- 你已婚还是单身？Are you married or single?
- 婚姻需要两个人经营。A marriage takes work from both people.
- 婚后生活跟我想的不一样。Married life isn't what I expected.
- 我们都老夫老妻了，还过什么情人节？We're an old married couple, why bother with Valentine's Day?
- 两个人过日子要互相包容。Two people sharing a life have to make allowances for each other.
- 我跟婆婆关系很好。I get on well with my mother-in-law.
- 丈母娘看女婿，越看越喜欢。The more a mother-in-law sees of her son-in-law, the more she likes him.
- 婆媳关系是个大问题。Getting on with your mother-in-law is a big issue.
- 我们轮流做家务。We take turns doing the housework.
- 在我们家是老婆管钱。In our house, my wife handles the money.
- 他偷偷存私房钱。He's secretly squirrelling away money.
- 大家都说他是妻管严。Everyone says he's henpecked.
- 听说婚姻都有七年之痒。They say every marriage has a seven-year itch.
- 你们打算什么时候要孩子？When are you planning to have kids?
- 今天是我们的结婚纪念日。Today's our wedding anniversary.
Practise speaking
Ready to use these words? The Married life speaking island has 8 everyday questions about married life to prepare your own answers to.