ChinesePod

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10 outdated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

Idioms (20)

一粒老鼠屎坏了一锅粥

yī lì lǎo shǔ shǐ huài le yī guō zhōu

1 lit. a piece of rat feces spoiled the whole pot of congee (idiom)
2 fig. one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch

一颗老鼠屎坏了一锅汤

yī kē lǎo shǔ shǐ huài le yī guō tāng

1 lit. a piece of rat feces spoiled the whole pot of soup (idiom)
2 fig. one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch

上有老下有小

shàng yǒu lǎo xià yǒu xiǎo

1 lit. above are the elderly, below are the young (idiom)
2 fig. to have to take care of both one's aging parents and one's children
3 sandwich generation

不是一家人不进一家门

bù shì yī jiā rén bù jìn yī jiā mén

1 people who don't belong together, don't get to live together (idiom)
2 marriages are predestined
3 people marry because they share common traits

不是冤家不聚头

bù shì yuān jiā bù jù tóu

1 destiny will make enemies meet (idiom)
2 (often said about lovers who have a disagreement)

Sample Sentences

你想念你的老家吗？

nǐ xiǎngniàn nǐ de lǎojiā ma ？

Do you miss your hometown?

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我要搬回我老家了！这鬼地方我待不下去了！

wǒ yào bān huí wǒ lǎojiā le ！zhè guǐ dìfang wǒ dāi bù xiàqu le ！

I want to move back to our old family home! I can't stay in this hellish place any longer!

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我们老家的四川火锅蘸酱，我妹的目标是向“老干妈”看齐，但上市那得靠缘分了，如果无缘，至少也要营销成蘸酱界第一个“老干妹儿”。

wǒmen lǎojiā de Sìchuān huǒguō zhànjiàng ，wǒ mèi de mùbiāo shì xiàng “lǎogānmā ”kànqí ，dàn shàngshì nà děi kào yuánfèn le ，rúguǒ wúyuán ，zhìshǎo yě yào yíngxiāo chéng zhànjiàng jiè dì yī ge “lǎogānmèir ”。

For the Sichuanese hotpot dipping sauce from our hometown. My cousin's objective is to emulate Laoganma dipping sauce, but hitting the market is all up to chance, if there's no opportunity for that, at least she wants to market it as the first little sister of the laoganma dipping sauce brand.

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在我老家，这时候已经开始变冷，出门得穿外套了。

zài wǒ lǎojiā ，zhèshíhòu yǐjīng kāishǐ biàn lěng ，chūmén děi chuān wàitào le 。

In my hometown, it already starts to turn cold at this time and you have to wear a jacket outside.

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在这里，真正感觉到凉意，可能要到十一月了吧。你老家秋天的景色怎么样呢？会有明显的变化吗？

zài zhèlǐ ，zhēnzhèng gǎnjué dào liángyì ，kěnéng yào dào shí yī yuè le ba 。nǐ lǎojiā qiūtiān de jǐngsè zěnmeyàng ne ？huì yǒu míngxiǎn de biànhuà ma ？

Here, to really feel the chill, you have to wait until November. What is the scenery like in Autumn in your hometown? Are there any obvious changes?

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眼珠子滴溜一转）是啊是啊，我妈妈湖南的，我们老家是湖南邵阳的，后来去了四川，早几年来这儿打工了，现在湖南这边过来打工的人可多了，要是没个熟人领路，还真不好找个称心的事情做。

yǎnzhūzǐ dīliū yī zhuǎn ）shì a shì a ，wǒ māma Húnán de ，wǒmen lǎojiā shì Húnán Shàoyáng de ，hòulái qù le Sìchuān ，zǎo jǐniánlái zhèr dǎgōng le ，xiànzài Húnán zhèbiān guòlai dǎgōng de rén kě duō le ，yàoshì méi gè shúrén lǐnglù ，hái zhēn bù hǎo zhǎo gè chèngxīn de shìqing zuò 。

(Looks around him calculatingly) Yes, yes, my mum is from Hunan. Our ancestral home is in Shaoyang in Hunan, but later we moved to Sichuan. I came here to get work several years ago. Now lots of people come here from Hunan to get work. Unless they know someone to show them the ropes, it's really hard to find good work.

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这么说吧，考完语文、数学、英语三门基础课后，我是胸有成竹，觉得自己就是上清华北大的料，但考完综合之后我就觉得自己只有留在老家的命了。

zhèmeshuō ba ，kǎo wán yǔwén 、shùxué 、yīngyǔ sān mén jīchǔ kè hòu ，wǒ shì xiōngyǒuchéngzhú ，juéde zìjǐ jiùshì shàng qīnghuáběidà de liào ，dàn kǎo wán zōnghé zhīhòu wǒ jiù juéde zìjǐ zhǐyǒu liú zài lǎojiā de mìng le 。

Let's put it this way, after taking the basic tests in Chinese language, mathematics and English, I'd already got to grips with things, so I felt I'd be able to get into Tsing Hua University or Peking University, but after my general exam I thought I'd just have to remain in my hometown for life.

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是啊！中国僵尸片的内容主要是从乡野奇谈来的，据说起源是”湘西赶尸”，是一种运送尸体回老家安葬的方式，贴上符箓，就是道士指挥尸体的办法。

shì a ！Zhōngguó jiāngshī piàn de nèiróng zhǔyào shì cóng xiāngyě qítán lái de ，jùshuō qǐyuán shì ”xiāngxīgǎnshī ”，shì yīzhǒng yùnsòng shītǐ huí lǎojiā ān zàng de fāngshì ，tiēshàng fúlù ，jiùshì dàoshi zhǐhuī shītǐ de bànfǎ 。

Really! Most Chinese zombie movies are from folk tales, I heard that the story originated in the practice of sending corpses back home to be buried in Xiangxi, and that the curse placed on the corpse by a Taoist monk was to direct it on its way.

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是我外公说的，他说他年轻时在老家看过”赶尸队“。

shì wǒ wàigōng shuōde ，tā shuō tā niánqīngshí zài lǎojiā kàn guò ”gǎnshīduì “。

My grandfather told me, he said that when he was younger he once saw a procession of people taking a corpse back home in his hometown.

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那个时候周丽跟我说，因为她爸病重而且很想见到自己未来的女婿，所以想让我假装她的男朋友去老家见她爸。

nàge shíhou zhōui2 gēn wǒ shuō ，yīnwèi tā bà bìngzhòng érqiě hěn xiǎng jiàndào zìjǐ wèilái de nǚxu ，suǒyǐ xiǎng ràng wǒ jiǎzhuāng tā de nán péngyou qù lǎojiā jiàn tā bà 。

Zhou Li said to me then, that because her dad is seriously ill and really wants to see his future son-in-law, so she asked me to pretend to be her boyfriend to go back home to see her dad.

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