老小 (lǎo xiǎo) — the whole family (old and young); every member of one's household

Definition

老小 refers to everyone in a household together — old and young, the whole family. Often appears in fixed phrases like 一家老小 ('the entire family') to emphasize the group as a single unit.

noun
the whole family (old and young)every member of one's household

Examples

  • 老小。
    Wǒ men yì jiā lǎo xiǎo dōu qù le gōng yuán.
    Our whole family went to the park.
  • 老小。
    Zhào gù yì jiā lǎo xiǎo hěn bù róng yì.
    It's not easy to take care of the whole family.
  • 老小。
    Tā yí gè rén yǎng yì jiā lǎo xiǎo.
    He supports his entire family by himself.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

老lǎoold people
小xiǎoyoung people

老小 puts 老 'old' and 小 'young' together to mean all household members.

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 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 八八bāto divide; to separate
  • 丨丨gǔnsmall object

The shape of 小 comes from three small dots, later elongated into its strokes; the apparent parts 八 and 丨 are a later way of seeing it.

Open 小 →

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