老公

lǎogōng

noun HSK 4 #2,327

Meanings

Tā lǎogōng zài Běijīng gōngzuò.

Her husband works in Beijing.

Lǎogōng, jīntiān wǎnshang chī shénme?

Honey, what should we eat tonight?

Wǒ lǎogōng zuò fàn hěn hǎochī.

My husband cooks really well.

usage

老公 is the casual/intimate term for husband. 丈夫 (zhàngfu) is more formal. 先生 (xiānsheng) is used when referring to someone else's husband politely.

history

Historically, 老公 meant 'eunuch' (太监). Its shift to meaning 'husband' happened through dialect evolution — quite an ironic change.

老 lǎo

公 gōng