办公室怨种老板和员工的搞笑日常

What does “本宫 (bengong)” mean in Chinese?

In this office comedy a character mock-scolds a colleague: “怎么跟本宫说话的?” (“Is that how you speak to 本宫?”). 本宫 (běngōng) is how an empress or high consort refers to herself in 宫廷剧 (gōngtíngjù), Chinese palace dramas. Modern speakers borrow it to sound grandly, jokingly self-important, like calling yourself “Her Majesty.”

Palace dramas come with a whole set of special pronouns: the emperor says 朕 (zhèn) for “I,” a widowed empress says 哀家 (āijiā), servants call themselves 奴婢 (núbì). Smash hits like 甄嬛传 (The Legend of Zhen Huan) made these everyday in-jokes. Drop 本宫 with a smirk and any Chinese friend gets the reference.