老 (lǎo) — old (of people); prefix used before surnames to indicate familiarity or affection; always, all the time
Definition
老 covers several distinct uses: an adjective for people being old, a familiar/affectionate prefix before surnames (老张), and an adverb meaning 'always' (他老迟到). For objects, use 旧 (jiù) instead — 旧 is for things, 老 is for people.
old (of people)prefix used before surnames to indicate familiarity or affectionalwaysall the time
Easily confused
Examples
- 老。lǎo Zhāng shì wǒ de hǎo péng you.Lao Zhang is my good friend.
- 老，。Wǒ nǎi nai lǎo le, tā zài jiā xiū xi.My grandmother is old, she rests at home.
- 老，。Tā lǎo chí dào, lǎo shī hěn bù gāo xìng.He is always late, the teacher is very unhappy.
Grammar
Appears in
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