老太 (lǎo tài) — old lady | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Informal, everyday term for 'old lady' — familiar and slightly casual in tone, unlike more formal or polite terms.

noun

old lady

Measure word · 个

老太。
Nà wèi lǎo tài jīn nián bā shí bā suì le.
That old lady is eighty-eight years old this year.
老太。
Lóu xià de lǎo tài měi tiān zǎo shàng dōu zài gōng yuán sàn bù.
The old lady downstairs takes a walk in the park every morning.
老太。
Qǐng gěi nà wèi lǎo tài ràng gè zuò.
Please give that old lady a seat.

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.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

太 is a modified form of 大, with an extra dot added to show 'too big'.

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