老相好 (lǎo xiāng hǎo) — old flame, former lover; old close friend, intimate friend

Definition

Literally 'old mutual-good' — a euphemism for a former lover (old flame). It can also loosely mean a long-time intimate friend, but the romantic sense is the core meaning.

noun
old flameformer loverold close friendintimate friend

Examples

  • 老相好，。
    Zuó tiān wǒ zài jiē shàng yù dào le wǒ de lǎo xiāng hǎo, wǒ men liáo le hěn jiǔ.
    Yesterday I ran into my old flame on the street, and we chatted for a long time.
  • 老相好。
    Tā hé tā de lǎo xiāng hǎo yì qǐ kāi le yì jiā xiǎo fàn guǎn.
    He and his old close friend opened a small restaurant together.
  • ，老相好，。
    Bié wù huì, tā zhǐ shì wǒ de lǎo xiāng hǎo, bú shì nǚ péng you.
    Don't misunderstand — she's just an old friend of mine, not my girlfriend.

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/former
相好intimate friend
相xiāngmutual好hǎogood
偏正Modifier + head

老 (old/former) + 相 (mutual) + 好 (good) builds the sense of a long-standing intimate friend or lover.

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.

In 相, 目 is an eye and 木 is a tree, showing an eye looking at a tree; this originally meant “to observe.”

Open 相 →

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

好 joins 女 (woman) and 子 (child), understood as a woman with a child, linked to goodness or affection.

Open 好 →

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