new to forum, and chinese in general

[1ukesama]

I got into this Chinese program where we're going to China over the summer, so I'm learning it now (or at least the basics). I was looking through some book to learn it and I noticed the sentence: Wanshang wo xiansheng you lei you kun.

I was wondering, isnt xiansheng a little redundant here, since it means Mr.

*sigh* sorry i'm so very new to this.

[ax]

xiansheng here means my hubby...

that's how chinese address their husband...

there used to be laogong and xianggong...

ask other how they address husband and wife in different countries...

ax

[1ukesama]

but doesnt the sentence mean "in the evening, i am both tired and sleepy"? so where would husband fit into it?

[skylee]

From the pinyin, I would say the sentence means "in the evening, my husband is tired as well as sleepy".

"xiansheng" can mean teacher, mister, or husband. "wo" means I, me, and can also mean "my" (shortened from "wo de"). So "wo xiansheng" is my husband.

[1ukesama]

ah, thank you!

[smithsgj]

there used to be laogong

Ax I don't think anyone seriously addresses their husband as 先生 do they? 老公 in Taiwan and I would have thought all over. 先生 as a form of address means Sir, American usage.

[skylee]

A previous discussion on "Husband" -> http://www.chinese-forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=718

[Quest]

"laogong"老公 is colloquial, I would guess Taiwan borrowed it from HK.

[smithsgj]

Thanks for the link sky, i remember now.

yes 老公 is colloquial. Obviously you address your own husband in a colloquial way. It was stated earlier that 先生 was used to address your husband, and that was what I was disputing.