tai tai

noun

A wealthy woman who lives a life of leisure.

OriginMandarin 太太 →
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Meanings

noun

alternative tai-tai

  1. Hong KongMalaysiaSingaporeA wealthy woman who lives a life of leisure.

Origin

  1. Mandarin太太
  2. Englishtai tai

Borrowed from Mandarin 太太 (tàitai, literally “great-great”), originally a high-ranking honorific title for the wives of officials during the Ming dynasty, later generalising to "madam", "Mrs.", or "wife" in modern Mandarin. In Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong English, the term underwent a semantic shift to specifically denote a wealthy married woman who enjoys a life of conspicuous leisure.

More words from Mandarin

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

tai tai. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tai%20tai

MLA

“tai tai.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tai%20tai. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tai tai,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tai%20tai.

Source: tai tai on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.