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10 outdated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

老公

lǎo gōng

1 (coll.) husband

老婆

lǎo pó

1 (coll.) wife

老妈

lǎo mā

1 mother
2 mom

老家

lǎo jiā

1 native place
2 place of origin
3 home state or region

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

不听老人言，吃亏在眼前

bù tīng lǎo rén yán , chī kuī zài yǎn qián

1 (idiom) ignore your elders at your peril

以防万一

yǐ fáng wàn yī

1 to guard against the unexpected (idiom); just in case
2 prepared for any eventualities

Sample Sentences

这些我也都知道，可是我还是接受不了。可能是我的传统观念太强了。老话不是说“养儿防老”吗？我爸辛辛苦苦把我拉扯大，容易吗？现在老了，应该是我孝敬他的时候了。

zhèxiē wǒ yě dōu zhīdào ，kěshì wǒ háishi jiēshòu buliǎo 。kěnéng shì wǒ de chuántǒng guānniàn tài qiáng le 。lǎohuà bù shì shuō “yǎng\'érfánglǎo ”ma ？wǒ bà xīnxīnkǔkǔ bǎ wǒ lāche dà ，róngyì ma ？xiànzài lǎo le ，yīnggāi shì wǒ xiàojìng tā de shíhou le 。

I know all that, but I just can't accept it. Maybe my traditional views are too strong. Doesn't the old proverb go ''Raise a child to ward off old age?" My dad busted his hump to raise me. Do you think that was easy? Now that he's old, this is the time when I should be a good son for him.

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你们这些丁克啊，挑战了“养儿防老”的传统观念，但这样一来，家庭的保障功能，就得靠社会福利机制的完善才能达成了。

nǐmen zhèxiē dīngkè ā ，tiǎozhàn le “yǎng\'érfánglǎo ”de chuántǒng guānniàn ，dàn zhèyàngyīlái ，jiātíng de bǎozhàng gōngnéng ，jiù děi kào shèhuì fúlì jīzhì de wánshàn cáinéng dáchéng le 。

You DINK couples are really challenging the traditional notion of "raising kids to look after you in old age". However, this way, you need to rely on a comprehensive social welfare system to safeguard your families.

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老公，我们还是进入“1 1=3”的模式吧。比起“以房养老”，还是“养儿防老”更靠谱些。

lǎogōng ，wǒmen háishì jìnrù “yījiāyīděngyúsān ”de móshì ba 。bǐqǐ “yǐfángyǎnglǎo ”，háishì “yǎngérfánglǎo ”gèng kàopǔ xiē 。

Honey, we should enter into the ”1 1=3“ model. Compared to “using homes to take care of the old”, “raising children to prevent problems in old age” is more reliable.

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当然！而且农民没有退休金，所以“养儿防老”的观念才那么根深蒂固。还有你说的什么住别墅，没错，他们不缺面积，但是大部分农村基础设施不完善，比如没有下水道，也不能用抽水马桶。

dāngrán ！érqiě nóngmín méiyǒu tuìxiūjīn ，suǒyǐ “yǎng\'érfánglǎo ”de guānniàn cái nàme gēnshēndìgù 。háiyǒu nǐshuōde shénme zhù biéshù ，méicuò ，tāmen bù quē miànji ，dànshì dàbùfēn nóngcūn jīchǔshèshī bù wánshàn ，bǐrú méiyǒu xiàshuǐdào ，yě bùnéng yòng chōushuǐmǎtǒng 。

Of course! Furthermore, they don't get pensions, which is why the idea of raising sons to support you in your old age is so deep-rooted. Also, the thing you were saying about living in villas: you're right. They're not lacking in surface area, but the majority of the infrastructure is imperfect. For instance, there's no sewer and they can't use flush toilets, either.

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老外真有爱心。我们中国人讲究“养儿防老”，谁会自己找个包袱来背呢？

lǎowài zhēn yǒu àixīn 。wǒmen Zhōngguórén jiǎngjiu “yǎng\'érfánglǎo ”，shéi huì zìjǐ zhǎo ge bāofu lái bēi ne ？

Foreigners are so compassionate. We Chinese adhere to the principle of "raise sons to support you in your old age." Who would go out of their way to take on such a burden?

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