老态 (lǎo tài) — appearance or manner of an old person; aged look; old way of acting or bearing

Definition

老态 refers to the visibly aged look, manner, or bearing of an older person — slow movements, stooped posture, old-fashioned habits. It is almost always used in the set phrase 老态龙钟 (feeble and doddering with age).

noun
appearance or manner of an old personaged lookold way of acting or bearing
Easily confused

Examples

  • ，老态。
    Tā suī rán nián jì bú dà, què yǐ jīng xiǎn chū lǎo tài.
    Although he is not old in age, he already shows signs of an old person's manner.
  • 老态。
    Lǎo rén de lǎo tài ràng rén gǎn dào cí xiáng hé wěn zhòng.
    The old man's aged appearance makes people feel kind and steady.
  • ，老态。
    Tā bù zi huǎn màn, yí fù lǎo tài.
    She walks slowly, with the appearance of an old person.

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
态tàiappearance

老 describes 态 as the manner of old age, giving an aged appearance.

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
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
太
太tài态tài
Same sound today

态 is made of 太, which gives the sound, and 心 (heart).

Open 态 →

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