你家夫婿今日不在家
“[Fill Your Belly] Your husband is not home today?”
THE DIALOGUE REEL
李大人
“Lord Li?”
你家夫婿今日 不在家
“[Fill Your Belly] Your husband is not home today?”
他出门办事去了
“[Fill Your Belly] He went out on business.”
“I need to know if your husband is here, as social decorum limits my interaction with you alone.”
In traditional Chinese society, visiting a married woman when her husband was absent was improper; establishing his presence was critical social protocol.
LEARNING CHUNKS & PARTICLES
husband (classical/formal)
A traditional, elegant term for referring to another person's husband in historical contexts.
go out to handle business
A standard, polite way to explain that someone is away on necessary errands or duties.
VOCABULARY & EXPRESSIONS
Parallel Spoken Cinema Scenes (语义近邻切片)
“That husband of yours—”
“Where is your husband now?”
“your husband writes really nice couplets—”
“My husband is in good health.”
“Her husband sure is lucky.”
“and you haven't accompanied me.”