老夫

Chinese

		old; aged; venerable old; aged; venerable; outdated; experienced; (affectionate prefix)	husband; man
trad. (老夫)		老	夫
simp. ^#(老夫)		老	夫

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): lǎofū

(Zhuyin): ㄌㄠˇ ㄈㄨ
Cantonese (Jyutping): lou⁵ fu¹
Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): lāu-hu

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: lǎofū
  - Zhuyin: ㄌㄠˇ ㄈㄨ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: lǎofu
  - Wade–Giles: lao³-fu¹
  - Yale: lǎu-fū
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: laofu
  - Palladius: лаофу (laofu)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /lɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ fu⁵⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: lou⁵ fu¹
  - Yale: lóuh fū
  - Cantonese Pinyin: lou⁵ fu¹
  - Guangdong Romanization: lou⁵ fu¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /lou̯¹³ fuː⁵⁵/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lāu-hu
  - Tâi-lô: lāu-hu
  - Phofsit Daibuun: lauxhw
  - IPA (Xiamen): /lau²²⁻²¹ hu⁴⁴/
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /lau⁴¹⁻²² hu³³/
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /lau²²⁻²¹ hu⁴⁴/
  - IPA (Taipei): /lau³³⁻¹¹ hu⁴⁴/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /lau³³⁻²¹ hu⁴⁴/

Middle Chinese: lawX pju

Rime
Character	老	夫
Reading #	1/1	2/2
Initial (聲)	來 (37)	幫 (1)
Final (韻)	豪 (89)	虞 (24)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open	Closed
Division (等)	I	III
Fanqie	盧晧切	甫無切
Baxter	lawX	pju
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/lɑu^X/	/pɨo/
Pan Wuyun	/lɑu^X/	/pio/
Shao Rongfen	/lɑu^X/	/pio/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/law^X/	/puə̆/
Li Rong	/lɑu^X/	/pio/
Wang Li	/lɑu^X/	/pĭu/
Bernhard Karlgren	/lɑu^X/	/pi̯u/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	lǎo	fū
Expected Cantonese Reflex	lou⁵	fu¹

Pronoun

老夫

(chiefly archaic) I; me
- 老夫聊發少年狂。 [MSC, trad.]
  老夫聊发少年狂。 [MSC, simp.]
  From: 蘇軾 (Su Shi), 《江城子·密州出獵》 (to the tune of "River Town" - "Hunting in Mi Province") [late 11th century]. Translation by Qian Jia
  Lǎofū liáo fā shàonián kuáng. [Pinyin]
  I take on a young man’s arrogance for a moment.
- 老夫原不愛吟詩，
  因為囚中無所為。 [Vietnamese Literary Sinitic, trad.]
  From: 1942, 胡志明 (Hú Zhìmíng) (Hồ Chí Minh), 《獄中日記·開卷》 (Prison Diary, “Beginning the Diary”); translated based on Foreign Languages Publishing House's 1972 version
  Lão phu nguyên bất ái ngâm thi,
  Nhân vị tù trung vô sở vi. [Sino-Vietnamese]
  I’ve never been fond of writing poetry;
  But what else can I do in thraldom?
old husband
老夫老妻 ― lǎofū lǎoqī ― old couple married for a long time; autumn romance

老夫少妻 ― lǎofū shàoqī ― May-and-December romance

Usage notes

The term was primarily used in literatures of the past as a way of self-address for elderly men. However, nowadays, young people do likewise in order to create a humorous tone.

Japanese

Kanji in this term
老	夫
ろう Grade: 4	ふ Grade: 4
on'yomi

Noun

老(ろう)夫(ふ) • (rōfu)

an old man