老父亲 (lǎo fù qīn) — aged father; one's own elderly father (affectionate/respectful term)

Definition

A respectful, affectionate term for one's own elderly father, used especially in writing or when speaking with emotion. Pairs naturally with 母亲 and carries a more literary warmth than plain 爸爸.

noun
aged fatherone's own elderly father (affectionate/respectful term)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 老父亲。
    Měi nián chūn jié wǒ dōu huí lǎo jiā kàn wàng lǎo fù qīn.
    Every Spring Festival I go back to my hometown to visit my old father.
  • 老父亲，。
    lǎo fù qīn Suī rán zài nóng cūn shēng huó, dàn shēn tǐ yì zhí hěn hǎo.
    Although my old father lives in the countryside, he has always been in good health.
  • 老父亲，。
    Tā xiě le yì fēng xìn gěi lǎo fù qīn, biǎo dá sī niàn zhī qíng.
    He wrote a letter to his old father, expressing his longing.

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
父亲father
父fùfather亲qīnkin/parent
偏正Modifier + head

老父亲 joins 老 'old' and 父亲 'father' to mean an elderly father.

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 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape 父 shows a hand holding a stone blade, referring to a man working with a stone axe.

Open 父 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 親; 亲 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
見見jiànsee
Sound part声符shēngfú
辛
辛xīn親qīn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 親 uses 見 (see) for sense and 辛 (a chisel) for sound; the simplified 亲 is a shorthand and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 亲 →

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