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古老 (gǔ lǎo) — ancient; age-old

Definition

古老 means 'ancient, age-old' and is used for things, traditions, or styles with a very long history. It feels more literary than 旧 (worn/former objects) and pairs naturally with 久远 and 悠久 (long, remote in time).

adjective
ancientage-old

Examples

  • 古老。
    Zhè zuò chéng shì de jiàn zhù fēng gé hěn gǔ lǎo.
    The architectural style of this city is very ancient.
  • ，古老。
    Zhè ge chuán tǒng yǐ jīng yǒu jǐ bǎi nián de lì shǐ le, hěn gǔ lǎo.
    This tradition has a history of several hundred years; it's very ancient.
  • 古老。
    Guān yú zhè tiáo hé de chuán shuō hěn gǔ lǎo.
    The legend about this river is very old.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

古gǔancient
老lǎoold

Both 古 and 老 convey age or remoteness, so together they mean ancient or long-standing.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

One reading of 古 sees a shield-like shape above an open mark, showing strength and firmness. Another sees a person spitting out bad-tasting food.

Open 古 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The shape 老 combines 人 (man), 毛 (hair), and 匕 (cane), showing a man with long hair leaning on a cane.

Open 老 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5HSK 2.0 Level 5History5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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