主婦 / 主妇
zhǔfù
The English phrase 'housewife' is translated into Chinese as 主婦 / 主妇 (zhǔfù). Wiktionary also lists 家庭婦女 / 家庭妇女 (jiātíng fùnǚ) and 家庭主婦 / 家庭主妇 (jiātíng zhǔfù).
Meaning: female head of household (noun)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 主婦 / 主妇 | zhǔfù |
| 家庭婦女 / 家庭妇女 | jiātíng fùnǚ |
| 家庭主婦 / 家庭主妇 | jiātíng zhǔfù |
The term refers to a female head of household.
What does it mean word for word?
The term 主婦 / 主妇 is composed of 主 (zhǔ), meaning 'master' or 'owner' and 婦 (fù), meaning 'woman' or 'wife'.
Which one should you use?
While 主婦 / 主妇 focuses on the role of managing the household, 家庭婦女 / 家庭妇女 (jiātíng fùnǚ) is a more descriptive and neutral term often used in sociological or statistical contexts.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
家庭主妇 (jiātíng zhǔfù) is a formal term. Similarly, 家庭主妇 (jiātíng zhǔfù) is considered the standard, polite way to refer to a housewife in respectful conversation or formal writing.
How do you pronounce it?
zhǔfù
Did you know?
- The character 主 in 主婦 is the same word used to describe the 'Lord' in Christian contexts or the 'main' character in a movie.
- Modern Chinese speakers often use the English-influenced term 全職太太 (quánzhí tàitài), meaning 'full-time wife', to avoid the more traditional or clinical connotations of 主婦.
- In Japanese, the word for housewife is also 主婦 (shufu), reflecting a shared historical linguistic root where the woman was seen as the 'master' of the internal domestic domain.
Example sentences for Chinese are not verified yet.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “housewife” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
