孤老 (gū lǎo) — solitary elderly person; old person living alone

Definition

Refers specifically to an elderly person living alone, without children or spouse to care for them. Often used in policy, news, and social-welfare contexts about aging populations.

noun
solitary elderly personold person living alone
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 孤老。
    Shè qū zhì yuàn zhě jīng cháng qù kàn wàng nà wèi gū lǎo.
    Community volunteers often go to visit that solitary elderly person.
  • 孤老。
    Zhèng fǔ wèi gū lǎo tí gōng le miǎn fèi yī liáo fú wù.
    The government provides free medical services for solitary elderly people.
  • 孤老。
    Zǐ nǚ yīng gāi duō guān xīn jiā zhōng de gū lǎo.
    Children should care more about the solitary elderly at home.

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.

孤gūalone
老lǎoold person

孤 means alone, and 老 means old person, giving an elderly person living alone.

Characters in this word

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
子子zǐchild
Sound part声符shēngfú
瓜
瓜guā孤gū
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

孤 uses 子 (child) to show a child, and 瓜 to give the sound.

Open 孤 →

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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