老王 (Lǎo Wáng): Old Wang

Functions like English 'John Doe' or 'Joe Bloggs' - a generic stand-in name for an unnamed person in hypotheticals, examples, jokes, and stories. The prefix 老 (literally 'old') is a friendly title for an adult, paired with the most common surname in China, 王, to evoke an ordinary middle-aged guy. Pair 老李, 老张, or 老刘 with 老王 when you need two or three placeholder characters in an example.

culture

Online, 隔壁老王 ('Old Wang from next door') has acquired a second life as a tongue-in-cheek meme for the stereotypical neighbour who is suspiciously close to someone's wife - a joking euphemism in marital-infidelity humour. Tone is firmly comic and not literal; in serious or formal contexts 老王 just means an unnamed Mr Wang.

In Pop Culture

隔壁老王 Gébì Lǎo Wáng

'Old Wang from next door'

Internet meme: a joking euphemism for the cliché friendly-neighbour who turns out to be sleeping with someone's wife. Spawned countless infidelity-comedy gags on Weibo and short-video apps.