老妈子 (lǎomāzi): older female servant; amah

Meanings

1 older female servant; amah
2 (derogatory) old housemaid
3 (figurative, sometimes self-mocking) household drudge; someone who handles all the domestic work

Characters

老

Examples

民国时期，富裕家庭都会雇老妈子。

Mínguó shíqī, fùyù jiātíng dōu huì gù lǎomāzi.

In the Republican era, wealthy families would hire amahs.

我又当妈又当老妈子，累死了。

Wǒ yòu dāng mā yòu dāng lǎomāzi, lèi sǐle.

I'm both mom and the housemaid — I'm exhausted.

Tips

register

Two registers: (1) historical / dated — 'amah', the older female servant who did housework and helped raise children, common in pre-1949 urban households; (2) modern self-deprecating — a parent (usually a mother) calling themselves a 老妈子 because they're stuck doing all the housework and errands. Avoid using it about an actual employee today; it sounds insulting.

mistakes

Don't confuse 老妈子 (lǎomāzi, servant/drudge) with 老妈 (lǎomā, affectionate 'mom'). Same first two characters, very different word: the 子 suffix and changed meaning matter.