敬老 (jìng lǎo) — to respect the elderly; to show respect for older people

Definition

敬老 is a verb-object phrase meaning to show respect and care for elderly people. Unlike the more common adjective 尊老, 敬老 is typically used as a verb or in set phrases like 敬老了.

verb
to respect the elderlyto show respect for older people

Examples

  • 敬老。
    Zhōng guó yǒu zūn lǎo jìng lǎo de chuán tǒng.
    China has a tradition of respecting the elderly.
  • 。
    Tā men měi nián dōu huì dào shè qū jìng yí cì lǎo.
    They go to the community every year to show respect to the elderly.
  • 敬老。
    Zhèng fǔ gǔ lì quán shè huì jìng lǎo.
    The government encourages the whole society to respect the elderly.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

敬jìngrespect
老lǎoelderly

“敬” respect and “老” elderly together mean to respect older people.

Characters in this word

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

  • 茍茍jìkneeling person or sitting dog
  • 攴攴pūhand holding a stick, authority

敬 is possibly formed from 茍, a kneeling person or sitting dog, and 攴, a hand holding a stick.

Open 敬 →

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 →

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