老
lǎo
Pinyin

Definition

老
 - 
lǎo
  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 outdated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

Character Decomposition

Compounds (26)

老
lǎo
  1. 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. 2 old (of people)
  3. 3 venerable (person)
  4. 4 experienced
  5. 5 of long standing
  6. 6 always
  7. 7 all the time
  8. 8 of the past
  9. 9 very
  10. 10 outdated
  11. 11 (of meat etc) tough
鳍
qí
  1. 1 fin
姥
lǎo
  1. 1 grandma (maternal)
姥
mǔ
  1. 1 governess
  2. 2 old woman
嗜
shì
  1. 1 addicted to
  2. 2 fond of
  3. 3 stem corresponding to -phil or -phile

Related Words (20)

老
lǎo
  1. 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. 2 old (of people)
  3. 3 venerable (person)
  4. 4 experienced
  5. 5 of long standing
  6. 6 always
  7. 7 all the time
  8. 8 of the past
  9. 9 very
  10. 10 outdated
  11. 11 (of meat etc) tough
老公
lǎo gōng
  1. 1 (coll.) husband
老婆
lǎo pó
  1. 1 (coll.) wife
老妈
lǎo mā
  1. 1 mother
  2. 2 mom
老师
lǎo shī
  1. 1 teacher
  2. 2 classifier: 个 gè
  3. 3 classifier: 位 wèi

Idioms (20)

一粒老鼠屎坏了一锅粥
yī lì lǎo shǔ shǐ huài le yī guō zhōu
  1. 1 lit. a piece of rat feces spoiled the whole pot of congee (idiom)
  2. 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. 1 lit. a piece of rat feces spoiled the whole pot of soup (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch
上有老下有小
shàng yǒu lǎo xià yǒu xiǎo
  1. 1 lit. above are the elderly, below are the young (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. to have to take care of both one's aging parents and one's children
  3. 3 sandwich generation
不听老人言，吃亏在眼前
bù tīng lǎo rén yán , chī kuī zài yǎn qián
  1. 1 (idiom) ignore your elders at your peril
天荒地老
tiān huāng dì lǎo
  1. 1 until the end of time (idiom)

Sample Sentences

现在很多学生，上课的时候不是在打盹儿，就是在和哥们儿聊天儿，没几个好好儿听课、把老师当回事儿的。老师们看了，很不是滋味儿。
xiànzài hěnduō xuésheng ，shàngkè de shíhou búshi zài dǎdǔnr ，jiùshì zài hé gēmenr liáotiānr ，méi jǐge hǎohāor tīngkè 、bǎ lǎoshī dāng huí shìr de 。lǎoshī men kàn le ，hěn búshi zīwèier 。
Nowadays many students either take naps in class, or chat with their friends. Few of them would listen to the class carefully and take the teacher seriously. The teachers saw and felt sad about it.
Go to Lesson 
能老实说吗？
néng lǎoshíshuō ma ？
Can I be honest with you?
Go to Lesson 
老实说，我觉得这个提案很难执行。
lǎoshíshuō ，wǒ juéde zhège tíàn hěn nán zhíxíng 。
Honestly speaking, I think it’s hard to proceed with your proposal.
Go to Lesson 
老实说，我不这么认为。
lǎoshíshuō ，wǒ bù zhème rènwéi 。
Honestly speaking, I don’t see it that way.
Go to Lesson 
你需要一个团队，我明白。可是老板还没同意。
nǐ xūyào yīgē tuánduì ，wǒ míngbai 。kěshì lǎobǎn hái méi tóngyì 。
I understand that you need a team. But our boss hasn’t given us the green light/
Go to Lesson 
很多老一辈的中国人喜欢听相声，尤其是郭德纲先生的。说起郭德纲，他不只相声厉害，还熟悉各种戏曲，所以很多人想成为他的学生呢。
hěnduō lǎoyībèi de Zhōngguó rén xǐhuan tīng xiàngsheng ，yóuqí shì Guōdégāng xiānsheng de 。shuōqǐ Guōdégāng ，tā bù zhǐ xiàngsheng lìhai ，hái shúxī gèzhǒng xìqǔ ，suǒyǐ hěnduō rén xiǎng chéngwéi tā de xuésheng ne 。
Many older Chinese like to listen to cross talk, especially Mr. Guo Degang’s. Speaking of Guo Degang, he is not only good at cross talk, but also familiar with various operas, so many people want to be his students.
Go to Lesson 
老板，已经九点了。我们还加班呀？
lǎobǎn ，yǐjīng jiǔ diǎn le 。wǒmen hái jiābān ya ？
Boss, it’s already nine o’clock at night. Do we still have to work overtime?
Go to Lesson 
老板，过奖了。这是我应该做的。
lǎobǎn ，guòjiǎng le 。zhè shì wǒ yīnggāi zuò de 。
Boss, you’re overcomplimenting me. This my responsibility.
Go to Lesson 
老板，我要加点。加点一碗牛肉面。
lǎobǎn ，wǒ yào jiādiǎn 。jiādiǎn yīwǎn niúròumiàn 。
Boss, I would like to order something in addition. An additional bowl of beef noodles.
Go to Lesson 
老师，我想加长考试时间。
lǎoshī ，wǒ xiǎng jiācháng kǎoshì shíjiān 。
Teacher, I want to extend the exam time.
Go to Lesson