老者 (lǎo zhě) — elderly man, old gentleman

Definition

Literary/formal noun for an elderly man, used in writing and respectful speech rather than daily conversation. Slightly more formal than 老人.

noun

elderly manold gentleman

Measure word · 位

老者。
lǎo zhě Zuò zài shù xià kàn shū.
The old man sat under the tree reading.
老者。
Nà wèi lǎo zhě shì wǒ men xué xiào de tuì xiū jiào shòu.
That elderly gentleman is a retired professor from our school.
老者。
Quán cūn de lǎo zhě dōu lái cān jiā zhè cì huì yì.
All the village elders came to attend this meeting.

Derived word

构词法gòucífǎ

后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

老者 names an old person: 老 means old and 者 refers to someone.

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.

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

The form 者 originally drew a sugarcane with full stems, small points around it, and an open smiling mouth at the bottom.