ANSWER: stupid (愚) wife (妻)
The Chinese character 愚 (우) means "foolish" or "stupid," and 妻 (처) means "wife," so 우처 (愚妻) literally means "stupid (愚) wife (妻)." The word was used to refer to one's wife in a demeaning way in front of others in an attempt to appear humble (겸사말). I don't know if Korean men still use the word, but I wonder how Korean wives these days would feel if they heard their husbands refer to them as "stupid"?
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| From Dong-A's Prime Korean-English Dictionary |
Another word that was used to refer to one's wife under similar circumstances is 형처 (荊妻), which literally means "thorn (荊) wife (妻)" or "thorny-bush wife." It sounds like 형처 might be similar to an American man referring to his wife as "the old battle-axe."
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| From Dong-A's Prime Korean-English Dictionary |
The following video lists twenty-four 4-character idioms that include the Chinese character 妻 (처), which again means "wife." One of the idioms is 사가망처 (徙家忘妻), which literally means "to move (徙) [one's] home (家) [but] forget (忘) [one's] wife (妻)." The idiom is used to refer to someone who is so forgetful that he even forgets his wife when the family moves to a new residence.
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