妻子

妻子 (qīzi) is the standard word for 'wife.' It is neutral and slightly more formal than the colloquial 老婆 (lǎopo), so you'll see 妻子 in news, on official forms, and in polite introductions: 这是我妻子 ('this is my wife'). The character 妻 already means 'wife' on its own; the 子 suffix makes it a two-syllable noun — common in modern Mandarin even though 子 is meaningless here. Two register notes for English speakers: first, men casually call their wife 老婆 with friends and family, the way English uses 'my wife' / 'the missus' — 妻子 in that context can sound stiff. Second, 妻子 cannot mean 'Mrs. So-and-so'; for that, use 太太 (Mrs.) or 夫人 (Madam, very formal).

Note: Neutral and slightly formal — common in writing, news, and introductions. In casual speech, men more often say 老婆 (lǎopo, 'wife / missus') with friends and family, or 太太 (tàitai, 'Mrs. / wife') in polite contexts.

Memory hook: 妻 already means wife; the 子 just makes it a comfortable two-syllable word, like adding -y or -er in English.