媳妇 xífu wife
(dialect) wife; (dialect) young married woman
How to remember 媳妇: 媳 daughter-in-law + 妇 married woman = wife.
Characters
How it is used
- Colloquially (esp. northern) one's wife: 我媳妇 (wǒ xífu) my wife; also 'daughter-in-law' in 儿媳妇.
- Dialectal warmth; a man calls his wife 媳妇, while the standard word is 妻子/太太.
- Note neutral tone (xífu); the meaning shifts by region and by whose 媳妇 it is.
Example sentences
- 你媳妇怎么样，汤姆？ Nǐ xífù zěnmeyàng, tāngmǔ?How's your wife, Tom?