See How Fast You Can Learn Chinese
Try our interactive spaced repetition demo—study your first words in 60 seconds
Studying for the HSK? Don't like subscriptions? Try our one-time HSK Study Access package for $9.99 (PPP available).
老
Sign in to save this word to your study lists.
Definitions
- 1. 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
- 2. old (of people)
- 3. venerable (person)
- 4. experienced
- 5. of long standing
- 6. always
- 7. all the time
- 8. of the past
- 9. very
- 10. outdated
- 11. (of meat etc) tough
Example Sentences
1 shown老 問題。
Sentence data courtesy of Tatoeba.org.
Words Containing 老
see 天荒地老[tiān huāng dì lǎo]
(coll.) eagle
ancient
venerable middle-aged or elderly man, usually wearing an artificial beard (in Chinese opera)
Donald Duck
the youngest member of the family
minor divinity concerned with marriage
bachelor (lit. fifth child of the Wangs)
regular patron (at brothels)
honest
@
presbyopia
fig. cunning person
(dialect) sparrow
Lao Cai, Vietnam
aged
rat
(slang) hairdresser
see 一粒老鼠屎壞了一鍋粥|一粒老鼠屎坏了一锅粥[yī lì lǎo shǔ shǐ huài le yī guō zhōu]
polite appellation for an elderly male
Lao She (1899-1966), Chinese novelist and dramatist
Eldrick \Tiger\ Woods (1975-), American golfer
(slang) very close friend
presbyopia
female brothel keeper
common people
(dialect) corn
elderly
everybody
lit. one pellet of rat feces spoiled the whole pot of congee (idiom)
to age (of person or object)
cheat
helmet (archaic)
(coll.) just and incorruptible official
same place as before
amah
priority seating for the aged (on buses etc)
callus (patch or hardened skin)
(coll.) father-in-law (wife's father)
heavy smoker
Wanglaoji (beverage brand)
father
\Tiger Vegetable Salad
(coll.) experienced and usually well-positioned middle-aged man
Laocheng district of Luoyang City 洛陽市|洛阳市[luò yáng shì], Henan
(slang) period
Laozi or Lao-tze (c. 500 BC), Chinese philosopher, the founder of Taoism
the three plain colors used for clothing in the PRC in the 1960s: black, gray and blue
common name for cormorant
fellow townsman; fellow villager; sb from the same hometown
hackneyed
see 薑還是老的辣|姜还是老的辣[jiāng hái shì lǎo de là]
mature
the elderly
lit. one pellet of rat feces spoiled the whole pot of soup (idiom)
Robam (brand)
vulture
same as 烏魯克恰提|乌鲁克恰提 in Xinjiang
septuagenarian
many
elder
respect the aged
very
female proprietor
senile dementia
slick customer
fig. aged person with great aspirations
to spend one's last years
teacher
like mice trying to pull a turtle, nowhere to get a hand grip (idiom)
elderly lady (respectful)
fig. a May-December relationship
doddering
always
to play the wolf in sheep's clothing; to disguise oneself as sth harmless in order to lull one's target into letting their guard down
(coll.) eunuch
cunning
aged
ancestors
(coll.) an American
big boss
God
maternal grandmother
Mickey Mouse
to look after one's aged parents and arrange proper burial after they die
uncouth fellow
peddler
advanced years
Zhuangzi and Laozi, the Daoist masters
middle-aged but still attractive woman
Westerner (esp. a Russian) (derog.)
\Madam\ (affectionate term for an elderly woman)
chronic illness
commander-in-chief 將帥|将帅, the equivalent of king in Chinese chess
nursing home
The Travels of Lao Tsan, novel by late Qing novelist Liu E 劉鶚|刘鹗[liú è]
all kinds of people
maternal grandmother
paper tiger
Mindanao (island in the Philippines)
honest
the elderly
see 老頭子|老头子[lǎo tóu zi]
face
dim sight of the aged
things as they were
very far away
(literary) person aged over fifty
primary wife
callus; corns (on the feet)
(idiom) ignore your elders at your peril
Madam (polite address)
pretentious and vacuous person
nickname for official
Presbyterianism
to age
to provide for the elderly (family members)
lit. above are the elderly, below are the young (idiom)
in one's seventies (age)
Mr Wang from next door (term used jocularly to refer to a neighbor who is supposedly sleeping with one's wife)
vise
henpecked
classic car
(respectful) lord
obsolete
to go back to one's roots
calm; unperturbed (from Taiwanese, Tai-lo pr. [lāu-sîn-tsāi-tsāi])
(coll.) a Mexican
veteran
father
home of respect for aged
to thump repeatedly with one's fist
honestly speaking; to be frank, ...
big brother
God
(dialect) veteran actor
Laohekou, county-level city in Xiangfan 襄樊[xiāng fán], Hubei
dotard
decrepit
glutton
lit. a dog who catches mice (idiom)
to look to the past for guidance (idiom)
elder brother (often used self-referentially)
until death do us part
sweet and sour pork
aging (population)
title of respect for the queen mother or the emperor's father
slot machine
(coll.) wife
(coll.) father's father's mother
middle-aged but still attractive woman
every potter praises his own pot (idiom)
(affectionate form of address for a male who is not very much younger than oneself) my boy
uneducated person
a truism
Eagle or Star Queen Nebula M16
late-Qing underground resistance movement against the Qing dynasty
wine, esp. Shaoxing wine
upper house
second-eldest child in a family
fig. birthing a son at an advanced age
a much-travelled person, well acquainted with the ways of the world
mouse hole
rigid conventions
lit. when a rat crosses the street, people chase it down (idiom)
hillbilly
\the Eight Great Eminent Officials\ of the CCP, namely 鄧小平|邓小平[dèng xiǎo píng], 陳雲|陈云[chén yún], 李先念[lǐ xiān niàn], 彭真[péng zhēn], 楊尚昆|杨尚昆[yáng shàng kūn], 薄一波[bó yī bō], 王震[wáng zhèn], and 宋任窮|宋任穷[sòng rèn qióng]
matchmaker
see 惱羞成怒|恼羞成怒[nǎo xiū chéng nù]
tiger
mutton dressed as lamb
lit. a good sword always remains sharp (idiom)
aging
custom
uncle
splendid and powerful (of story)
Yama
nursing home
wife, kids and a warm bed (idiom)
immortality
outdated
respect for the aged
one who tries never to offend anybody
lit. rat's tail; fig. a follower of inferior stature
father
(lit.) past years' almanac
backscratcher (made from bamboo etc)
Laobian district of Yingkou City 營口市|营口市, Liaoning
(coll.) to live with and depend on one's parents even upon reaching adulthood
youngest
Laobian district of Yingkou City 營口市|营口市, Liaoning
the cat weeps for the dead mouse (idiom); hypocritical pretence of condolence
to cheat (in gambling)
Mickey Mouse
Laozi or Lao-tze (c. 500 BC), Chinese philosopher, founder of Taoism
see 老牛破車|老牛破车[lǎo niú pò chē]
to admit to one's advancing years
(coll.) docile
mother
(coll.) father's father's father
highly eligible bachelor
presbyopia
Laoshan Velodrome, a Beijing 2008 Olympics venue
very far away
spinster
senile dementia
when the mice drag a shovel, the biggest thing comes second
presbyopia
shop, firm, or brand of merchandise with a long-established reputation
capital
father
crafty fellow
Broadway (New York City)
to respect the wise and venerate the worthy (idiom); to honor the great and the good
nonagenarian
elderly gentleman (respectful)
ordinary people
pension
husband's father
accomplished though young
to wait patiently
rigorous schemes and deep foresight (idiom); astute and circumspect
ungraduated ruler
familiar way
Laozi and Zhuangzi (or Lao-tze and Chuang-tze), the founders of Daoism
(coll.) black person
see 老天爺|老天爷[lǎo tiān yé]
(coll.) adults still living with and depending on their parents
father
proud of one's age and experience (idiom)
a crow
shrewd and ruthless
presbyopic glasses
dark soy sauce
mother and father
pharaoh (loanword)
centenarian
until the end of time (idiom)
Laohekou, county-level city in Xiangfan 襄樊[xiāng fán], Hubei
(coll.) husband
to recover one's youthful vigor
presenilins
stinking intellectual (contemptuous term for educated people during the Cultural Revolution)
(dialect) father
just who do (you) think (you) are? (or \just who does (she) think (she) is?\ etc)
fig. (of parents) to dote on one's children
aged enzyme
previous generation
in the country of the blind the one-eyed man is king (idiom)
Laos
heavy smoker
(coll.) a long time
shamelessly
tigress
outmoded
senior center
experienced and careful
where in the order of seniority among siblings?
coxswain
If the father is a hero, the son is a real man. If the father is a reactionary, the son is a bastard. (Cultural Revolution slogan)
regarding oneself as number one in terms of leadership, seniority or status
dual pension scheme (PRC)
to forget (everything one has learned)
until death do us part
sb or sth detested by all
(coll.) debt dodger
(idiom) to be unable to return to one's hometown due to the shame of failure (originally referred to Xiang Yu 項羽|项羽[xiàng yǔ], who chose not to retreat to Jiangdong after his humiliating defeat)
aged
concubine
senior figure
sb who passed the county level imperial exam (in Ming dynasty)
(coll.) foreigner (esp. non Asian person)
to look after the elderly and the young
overly conservative
hot spell during autumn
veteran
geezer
cadaver for dissection in training medical students
to age prematurely
experienced in the ways of the world (idiom); worldly-wise
Father Christmas; Santa Claus
veteran
fig. the fate of humankind (i.e. mortality)
slot machine
seasoned
(coll.) as one ages, one becomes more and more like a child
fig. slow and inefficient
senile
experienced and knowledgeable
to be honest
senile dementia
experienced person
aged gentleman (dialect, respectful term)
elders
a long time ago
penny-pincher
another name for Laozi 老子[lǎo zǐ]
no longer a child (idiom)
(coll.) Alzheimer's disease
to age
(coll.) jumping spider (called a \fly tiger\ because it preys on houseflies)
hackneyed
Chinese name for Sichote-Alin mountain range in Russia's Primorsky Krai around Vladivostok
lit. heaven won't let the sparrows go hungry (idiom)
(of an elderly couple) husband or wife
fake important personage
carer of elderly persons
tiger bench (torture method in which the victim sits with legs extended horizontally along a bench, upper legs held down with straps while bricks are inserted under the feet, forcing the knee joint to bend in reverse)
middle-aged and elderly people
Lao San Pian, three short essays written by Mao Zedong before the PRC was established
native place