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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.

Origin

Compound ideograph
六书liùshū
会意huìyì

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.

Grammar

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 3500 Most Frequent Chinese WordsHSK 2.0 Level 31000 Most Frequent Chinese WordsFrequency & DurationLife Stages & Age

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