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老伴 (lǎo bàn) — (colloquial) one's spouse (used especially by older married couples)

Definition

老伴 literally 'old companion' — a warm, colloquial word for one's spouse, used mostly by or about older married couples. Equivalent to 'my wife / my husband' in casual family talk.

noun
(colloquial) one's spouse (used especially by older married couples)
Measure word · 位

Examples

  • 老伴。
    Wǒ de lǎo bàn měi tiān zǎo chén dōu qù gōng yuán sàn bù.
    My spouse goes for a walk in the park every morning.
  • ，老伴。
    Jǐ shí nián le, lǎo bàn yì zhí péi zài wǒ shēn biān.
    For decades, my spouse has always been by my side.
  • 老伴？
    Nǐ lǎo bàn shēn tǐ hái hǎo ma?
    How is your spouse's health?

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.

老lǎoold
伴bàncompanion

An old companion is a spouse, especially in a long marriage.

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.

Open 老 →

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
亻Written in full as人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
半
半bàn伴bàn
Same sound today

伴 puts 亻 (person) beside 半. The person part fits the meaning of companion, and 半 gives the sound.

Open 伴 →
Appears in
Family & Kinship

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