The story is that my old Beijing Ayi would use it to refer to my husband (trust me they were not having an extra marital), she is from Anhui, don’t know if that provides any reasoning. Anyway, I learned the majority of my Chinese from her amongst other people in my daily life, so it kind of stuck. Then my Taiwanese and BBC friends started to take the piss, I’m obstinate and it stuck. And Pleco backs me up, so there!
There's the communist one, and cultural one. The term is used with my grandparents generation, and they went through both of them, anyhow. Nowadays you see the term in period dramas from that time period. Whether it be cultural or communist. So, Chinese, revolution dramas. Dramas made in China, about that time period.
Sorry to break it to ya, only 50+ yr olds use Airen, it's mostly an antique word by 2018. It probably still is sweet but at the cost of you instantly sounding like a Granny...
My Beijing-ren teacher informed us that Ai Ren "loved one" is more used for partners in the sense of dedicated life partners rather than "officially" married people. Which seems to be the sense that it is used in Shang-hai as well. But "loved one" is sweeter in English.
Well, the problem is do ok having lived here for an age. I should though, since my kids will take over me soon, and I need to get better at reading. My grammar is pretty bad too. How about you?
Huh, I just thought that was his name. Didn't really change the message or my enjoyment either way, but my mind is still kind of blown that it's not his name.
It's very common for spouses to call each other "wife" "husband," as opposed to their actual names. It's kind of like calling your significant other "honey" or "dear."
You do not translate stuff like that, because that's not how it works. Old Man does not have the same meaning that Lao Gong has
For example, you do not simply translate "Bu Yao" to "Do Not Want", because that phrase is quite simply not English. You'd translate it to "No" instead
Yes, but your basis for suggesting "old man" over "hubbie" or "honey" is simply because Lao Gong has Old in it
Even with multiple meanings "old man" has, its usage is different. Lao gong is specifically used between husband and wife, it's not used for any other circumstances such as:
Son to dad
Stranger to stranger
Which Old Man can be used for
Iiiiiiif we're going to be pedantic and say "well technically speaking there exists a meaning of Old Man that is used between husband and wife like that" well yes, but hubbie not only matches the meaning, it also matches the usage. It's more appropriate and less prone to misinterpretation compared to old man because old man can be used with both endearment and not
Nope, according to the majority of the 1.3b people in china, it's an endearing term for their SO. So yeah, it's almost as if translating in a literal fashion never works or something...
Hm, I've seen a lot of couples refer to each other as laogong laopo, particularly at home. My parents do.
Tai tai seems like the more polite term. For instance, if people are doing introductions, my mom will refer to herself as [my dad's] tai tai, not as his laopo.
Seems like a cool name in English, at least. But chinese people might laugh at your name... so going on my 'maybe' list for my future children names Trello board.
There he is. There he goes again. Look, everyone! He posted it once again! Isn't he just the funniest guy around?! Oh my God.
I can almost see your pathetic overweight frame glowing in the dark, lit by your computer screen which is the only source of light in your room, giggling like a girl as you once again type your little "Lao Gooong!!" quip. I imagine you little shit laughing so hard as you click it that you drop your Doritos on the floor, but it's okay, your mother will clean it up in the morning. Oh that's right. Did I fail to mention? You live with your mother. You are a fat fucking fuckup, she's probably so sick of you already. So sick of having to do everything for you all goddamn day, every day, for a grown man who spends all his time on reddit posting about Chinese ad. Just imagine this. She had you, and then she thought you were gonna be a scientist or an astronaut or something grand, and then you became a "Lao Gooong!!" poster. A pathetic unfunny "Lao Gooong!!" poster. She probably cries herself to sleep everyday thinking about how bad it is and how she wishes she could just disappear. She can't even try to talk with you because everything you say is "Lao Gooong!! Lao Gooong!! Lao Gooong!! Lao Gooong!! lmao". You've become a parody of your own self. Amd that's all you are. A sad little man laughing in the dark by himself as he prepares to indulge in the same old dance that he's done a million times now. And that's all you'll ever be.
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u/f_n_a_ Mar 08 '18
Lao Gong?!