‘夫妇’ (fū fù) is a formal, respectful noun meaning 'married couple'—specifically a husband and wife together as a unit. The first character 夫 (fū) means 'husband', and the second 妇 (fù) means 'wife'; combined, they form a compound that emphasizes marital partnership and social recognition of the union. Unlike colloquial terms like 两口子 (liǎng kǒu zi), 夫妇 carries neutral-to-formal register and appears frequently in official documents, news reports, public announcements, and polite conversation.

This term is gender-specific and strictly binary—it refers only to a man and woman legally married to each other. It does not apply to unmarried partners, same-sex couples (in standard usage), or divorced individuals. While it can appear with measure words like 一对 (yī duì) or 一户 (yī hù), it is often used bare (e.g., 这对夫妇) or after possessives (e.g., 他们夫妇). It reflects traditional family structure but remains widely accepted in modern Chinese for describing married heterosexual pairs in both written and spoken contexts.