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old (of people); venerable (person); experienced; of long standing; always; all the time; of the past; very; outdated; (of meat etc) tough
6 strokes
Dict coverage rank #98 U+8001
How 老 is formed
Pictograph (象形字)
A person bent over with long hair 匕 and a crutch; compare 耂
components: 耂 匕
How to remember it
old man · Heisig RSH #1029
土 soil + walking stick + spoon — as a component also called: Santa Claus
Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.
Characters built with 老 as their sound component
These characters all use 老 (lǎo) as their phonetic component — compare how they read:
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 老 sound component | lǎo | old, aged; experienced |
| 咾 | lǎo | onomatopoeic; sound, noise |
| 栳 | lǎo | basket |
| 铑 | lǎo | rhodium |
Words containing 老
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 老大不小 | lǎo dà bù xiǎo | no longer a child (idiom) |
| 老头子 | lǎo tóu zi | (coll.) old man; (said of an aging husband) my old man |
| 长生不老 | cháng shēng bù lǎo | (idiom) to live forever and never grow old |
| 老人家 | lǎo rén jiā | polite term for old woman or man |
| 老头儿 | lǎo tóu r | see 老頭子|老头子[lao3 tou2 zi5] |
| 天老儿 | tiān lǎo r | albino (human) |
| 上有老下有小 | shàng yǒu lǎo xià yǒu xiǎo | lit. above are the elderly, below are the young (idiom); fig. to have to take care of both… |
| 老子 | Lǎo zǐ | Laozi or Lao-tze (c. 500 BC), Chinese philosopher, the founder of Taoism; the sacred book … |
| 老子 | lǎo zi | father; daddy; "I, your father" (in anger, or out of contempt); I (used arrogantly or jocu… |
| 老人 | lǎo rén | old man or woman; the elderly; one's aged parents or grandparents |
| 老大 | lǎo dà | old age; very; eldest child in a family; leader of a group; boss; captain of a boat; leade… |
| 老头 | lǎo tóu | old fellow; old man; father; husband |
| 老中 | lǎo zhōng | (slang) Chinese people; we Chinese (often self-referential, ironic); China; the Chinese si… |
| 老生 | lǎo shēng | venerable middle-aged or elderly man, usually wearing an artificial beard (in Chinese oper… |
| 老儿 | lǎo ér | father; husband; old man |
| 老天 | lǎo tiān | God; Heavens |
| 龙头老大 | lóng tóu lǎo dà | big boss; leader of a group; dominant (position) |
| 老小 | lǎo xiǎo | the old and the young; the youngest member of the family |
| 老小老小 | lǎo xiǎo lǎo xiǎo | (coll.) as one ages, one becomes more and more like a child |
| 家老 | jiā lǎo | (old) a senior in one's household |