Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 女僕 / 女仆 | nǚpú |
| 女傭 / 女佣 | nǚyòng |
| 傭婦 / 佣妇 | yōngfù |
| 侍女 | shìnǚ |
| 下女 | xiànǚ |
The term 'maid' refers to a female servant or cleaner.
What does it mean word for word?
The term 女仆 (nǚpú) is composed of 女, meaning female and 仆, meaning servant or attendant.
Which one should you use?
女仆 is the most common term used in modern contexts, such as in anime or pop culture. 侍女 (shìnǚ) specifically implies a lady-in-waiting or handmaid who serves or attends to a person, often a noble or high-ranking woman, rather than just performing cleaning tasks. In historical or period settings, 下女 (xiànǚ) refers to a maidservant, but it carries a derogatory or low-status connotation as it literally means 'lowly woman'.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
For a formal context, the term 家庭女工 can be used to mean a household female worker. In an informal context, one might use 阿姨 to refer to a maid. If you are in a modern household setting and looking for a domestic worker or a nanny, it is more natural to use 保姆 rather than more literary terms like 女仆.
How do you pronounce it?
nǚpú
Did you know?
- While 阿姨 literally means 'maternal aunt', it is the standard polite way to address a domestic worker in China to avoid the social stigma of the word 'servant'.
- The character 僕 in 女僕 was historically used to refer to male servants, but the feminine prefix 女 created a distinct social category in literary texts.
- The distinction between 女傭 and 女僕 often depends on the region, with 女傭 being more common in Cantonese-speaking areas like Hong Kong.
Examples in context
- 我家雇了一个保姆照顾我的孩子。I have hired a maid to take care of my children.
- 我请了个阿姨帮我打扫房间。I hired a maid to clean my room.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “maid” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
