Hanzi
Traditional
老
Simplified
老

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or familiarity/old (of people)/venerable (person)/experienced/of long standing/always/all the time/of the past/very/outdated/(of meat etc) tough

Hanzi

Grade

Grade 1

Pinyin

lǎo

Bopomofo

ㄌㄠˇ

Jyutping

lou5

Example sentences

老 lǎo
他是我的老朋友。

He is an old friend of mine.

井 jǐng
村子裡有一口老井。
村子里有一口老井。

There is an old well in the village.

老公 lǎogōng
我的老公昨天去出差了。

My husband went on a business trip yesterday.

老婆 lǎopó
他很愛他的老婆。
他很爱他的老婆。

He loves his wife very much.

老師 / 老师 lǎoshī
老師在黑板上寫字。
老师在黑板上写字。

The teacher is writing on the blackboard.

成 chéng
他成為了一名老師
他成为了一名老师

He became a teacher.

古老 gǔlǎo
這座城市有著古老的歷史。
这座城市有著古老的历史。

This city has an ancient history.

文明 wénmíng
每個國家都有自己的古老文明。
每个国家都有自己的古老文明。

Every country has its own ancient civilization.

老人 lǎorén
我們應該尊敬老人。
我们应该尊敬老人。

We should respect the elderly.

關懷 / 关怀 guānhuái
我們應該關懷老人。
我们应该关怀老人。

We should care for the elderly.

Example Vocabulary

老

lao3

old; experienced

老公

lao3'gong1

husband (informal)

老婆

lao3'po2

wife (informal)

老媽

lao3'ma1

老師

lao3'shi1

teacher

古老

gu3'lao3

ancient; old

回老家

hui2'lao3'jia1

年老

nian2'lao3

老人

lao3'ren2

the elderly; old people; the aged

老人家

lao3'ren'jia

elderly person (respectful)

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