老妪 (lǎo yù) — (literary) old woman, elderly woman

Definition

Literary/formal word for 'old woman' — used in writing and narrative, not everyday speech. For an elderly woman in daily use, say 老人.

noun

(literary) old womanelderly woman

老妪。
Yí wèi lǎo yù zuò zài shù xià xiū xi.
An old woman was sitting under a tree resting.
老妪，。
Nà wèi lǎo yù suī rán nián jì dà le, dàn shēn tǐ hěn hǎo.
That elderly woman, though advanced in years, is in good health.
老妪。
Xiǎo shuō lǐ miáo xiě le yí wèi cí xiáng de lǎo yù.
The novel describes a kind old woman.

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.

妪yùelderly woman

老妪: 老 old and 妪 elderly woman give an old woman.

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.

女区妪

Meaning part形符xíngfú

女女nǚwoman

Sound part声符shēngfú

区

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

妪 puts 女 (woman) beside 区, which gives the sound.