TongTong
Sign in

老东西 (lǎo dōng xī) — (derogatory) old fart, old bastard (insult for an elderly person); (literal) old stuff, old thing

Definition

A derogatory insult aimed at an elderly person (literally 'old thing'). Always offensive — don't confuse with the neutral 老人, which just means 'old person'.

noun
(derogatory) old fartold bastard (insult for an elderly person)(literal) old stuffold thing

Examples

  • 老东西，。
    Nà ge lǎo dōng xī yòu zài mà rén le, zhēn tǎo yàn.
    That old fart is yelling at people again, so annoying.
  • 老东西，。
    Nǐ bǎ zhè xiē lǎo dōng xī dōu rēng le ba, liú zhe yě méi yòng.
    Just throw away all this old stuff; keeping it is useless.
  • 老东西，。
    Tā jū rán gǎn jiào zì jǐ de fù qīn lǎo dōng xī, tài bú xiào le.
    He actually dared to call his own father an old bastard — so unfilial.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

老lǎoold
东西thing
东dōngeast西xīwest
联合Coordinate

“老” gives oldness, while “东” and “西” together mean thing, hence an insult calling someone an old thing.

Characters in this word

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 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 東; 东 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 東 originally drew a full bag tied at both ends. The simplified 东 is a later shorthand, not the historical shape.

Open 东 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 西 →
Appears in
People (General)

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.