referring to one's wife or husband question

[masaegu]

Originally Posted by KyleGoetz

The reasoning behind this is an 内／外 thing, right?

If you are referring to the "jokingly" part of my explanation, yes, exactly. It would seem somewhat humourous so you would not use 奥さん when introducing your wife to a stranger or superior.　

[JBaymore]

Thanks again everyone....... this is EXACTLY why I was asking the question.... to get a broad prespective on the situation. The darn language is SO complex to get a decent handle on.

And most of the interactions I will have are in the 50 to 60+ age range (I'm an Old F%rt). Most peer-to-peer level, a lot will be semi-uchi (long term friend relationships), and most all of us are mid to late career professional artists.

best,

.............john

[KyleGoetz]

Good that you get the concept of 外／内. This is a VERY important thing to understand for descriptions of family, giving/receiving/doing for someone/having something done for you verb constructions, keigo, etc.

[masaegu]

Originally Posted by JBaymore

Thanks again everyone....... this is EXACTLY why I was asking the question.... to get a broad prespective on the situation. The darn language is SO complex to get a decent handle on.

And most of the interactions I will have are in the 50 to 60+ age range (I'm an Old F%rt). Most peer-to-peer level, a lot will be semi-uchi (long term friend relationships), and most all of us are mid to late career professional artists.

best,

.............john

In that case, I would stick with 家内 and 主人 instead of having to wonder which one to use in every different situation. You couldn't go wrong with it even if you wanted to.