Definition
夫子 is a classical Chinese honorific originally used to address Confucius or one's Confucian teacher, but it has since expanded into a derogatory term for a pedantic person in modern colloquial speech (e.g., 老夫子 ‘old pedant’). It may also appear in classical texts to mean 'my husband'. The word carries strong literary and historical connotations, so its tone depends heavily on context — respectful in reference to Confucius, sarcastic in everyday use.
n.
Master (historically, a respectful term for Confucius or a Confucian teacher)pedant (modern colloquial, often sarcastic)(classical) husbandmy husband
Examples
- 夫子。Kǒng fū zi shì Zhōngguó gǔdài zuì wěidà de sīxiǎngjiā.Master Kong (Confucius) was the greatest thinker of ancient China.
- ，。Bié lǎo xiàng gè lǎo fū zi yíyàng shuōjiào, méi rén ài tīng.Don't keep preaching like an old pedant — no one wants to hear it.
- ，“夫子”，“夫子”。Gǔwén zhōng, “fū zi” yǒushí zhǐ zhàngfu, rú “huàn fū zi bú zhì.”In classical texts, 夫子 sometimes means ‘husband’, as in 'called for her husband but he didn't come.'
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