Dictionary › 老
老
lǎo
老 (lǎo) means "old; elderly". It is an HSK 3.0 level 3 word, and was HSK 3 in the old six-level list.
What 老 means
- prefix used before the surname of a person or a numeral indicating the order of birth of the children in a family or to indicate affection or familiarity
- old (of people)
- venerable (person)
- experienced
- of long standing
- always
- all the time
- of the past
- very
- outdated
- (of meat etc) tough
How 老 is used in grammar
老 is a grammar word. Each link goes to its own section: what it does in that pattern, the structure, three example sentences with pinyin, and the mistake to avoid.
The official HSK 3.0 grammar outline lists it at level 3, prefixes; level 4, adverbs (频率副词).
Example sentences
-
他很老。He was very old.
-
老问题。The same old problem.
-
我老了。I'm old.
-
我不老。I'm not old.
-
猫老了。The cat is old.
-
老师好！Hello teacher!
Words starting with 老
- 老师lǎo shīteacher
- 老板lǎo bǎnboss; business proprietor
- 老虎lǎo hǔtiger
- 老人lǎo rénold man or woman; the elderly; one's aged parents or grandparents
- 老百姓lǎo bǎi xìngordinary people; the "person in the street"
- 老鼠lǎo shǔrat; mouse
- 老实lǎo shihonest; sincere; well-behaved; naive; gullible
- 老婆lǎo pó(colloquial) wife
- 老公lǎo gong(colloquial) eunuch; see also 老公
- 老大lǎo dàold age; very; eldest child in a family
- 老头lǎo tóuold fellow; old man; father
- 老太太lǎo tài taielderly lady (respectful); esteemed mother
- 老是lǎo shialways
- 老爸lǎo bàfather; dad
- 老子lǎo zifather; daddy; "I, your father" (in anger, or out of contempt)
- 老家lǎo jiānative place; place of origin; home state or region
- 老爷lǎo ye(respectful) lord; master; (colloquial) maternal grandfather
- 老外lǎo wài(colloquial) foreigner (esp. non Asian person); layman; amateur
- 老妈lǎo māmother; mom
- 老乡lǎo xiāngfellow townsman; fellow villager; sb from the same hometown
- 老人家lǎo rén jiāpolite term for old woman or man
- 老总lǎo zǒngboss; sir (person with a leading role in an organization)…
- 老板娘lǎo bǎn niángfemale proprietor; lady boss; boss's wife
- 老朋友lǎo péng youold friend; (slang) period; menstruation
Words containing 老
- 古老gǔ lǎoancient; old; age-old
- 衰老shuāi lǎoto age; to deteriorate with age; old and weak
- 长老zhǎng lǎoelder; term of respect for a Buddhist monk
- 养老yǎng lǎoto provide for the elderly (family members); to enjoy a life in retirement
- 年老nián lǎoaged
- 苍老cāng lǎoold; aged; (of calligraphy or painting) vigorous
- 回老家huí lǎo jiāto go back to one's roots; to return to one's native place…
- 元老yuán lǎosenior figure; doyen; founding member; veteran
- 养老金yǎng lǎo jīnpension
- 圣诞老人Shèng dàn Lǎo rénFather Christmas; Santa Claus
- 二老èr lǎomother and father; parents
- 米老鼠Mǐ Lǎo shǔMickey Mouse
- 男女老少nán nǚ lǎo shàomen, women, young and old; all kinds of people; people of all ages
- 百老汇Bǎi lǎo huìBroadway (New York City)
- 大老远dà lǎo yuǎnvery far away
- 法老fǎ lǎopharaoh (loanword)
- 王老五wáng lǎo wǔbachelor (lit. fifth child of the Wangs)
- 养老院yǎng lǎo yuànnursing home
- 父老fù lǎoelders
- 中老年zhōng lǎo niánmiddle and old age
- 说老实话shuō lǎo shi huàto be honest; to tell the truth; to be frank
- 唐老鸭Táng Lǎo yāDonald Duck
- 小老婆xiǎo lǎo póconcubine; mistress; (dialect) woman
- 月老yuè lǎomatchmaker; go-between; same as 月下老人
Characters that look like 老
Easy to confuse on sight. Compare them side by side once and the pair stops costing you.
- 来láito come; (used as a substitute for a more specific verb)…
- 考kǎoto beat; to hit; variant of 考
- 弗fú(literary) not; used in transliteration
- 匈XiōngHungary; Hungarian; abbr. for 匈牙利
- 寿shòulong life; old age; age
- 甫fǔ(classical) barely; just; just now
Sounds the same
Read lǎo, tone for tone, but written differently.
- 姥grandma (maternal)
- 佬male; man (Cantonese)
- 铑rhodium (chemistry)
- 栳used in 栲栳
- 咾a noise; a sound
- 㧯round-bottomed wicker basket; (dialect) to lift; to carry on one's shoulder
- 轑spokes
- 狫name of a tribe
- 潦flooded; heavy rain
Where 老 is taught
In the GraphChinese course it is part of Abstract Nouns & Key Concepts (HSK 3), HSK 1 Characters · Set 12 (HSK 1), each one a topic in the dependency graph of HSK 1–6 that opens only once its prerequisites are solid.
Go deeper
- Every HSK 3 word, with the rest of its level.
- How characters are built from components.
- How to learn Chinese characters.
- The four tones and the neutral tone, to read lǎo correctly.
- Look up another word in the free dictionary.
Looking a word up is not learning it. GraphChinese puts all of HSK 1–6 into one dependency graph, teaches each piece only once its prerequisites are solid, and schedules reviews to land just before you would forget.
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