ChinesePod

老子

lǎo zi

Pinyin

Definition

老子

lǎo zi

father
daddy
"I, your father" (in anger, or out of contempt)
I (used arrogantly or jocularly)

老子

Lǎo zǐ

Laozi or Lao-tze (c. 500 BC), Chinese philosopher, the founder of Taoism
the sacred book of Daoism, 道德經|道德经 by Laozi

Character Decomposition

老

子

Related Words (20)

儿子

ér zi

1 son

女子

nǚ zǐ

1 woman
2 female

子

zǐ

1 son
2 child
3 seed
4 egg
5 small thing
6 1st earthly branch: 11 p.m.-1 a.m., midnight, 11th solar month (7th December to 5th January), year of the Rat
7 Viscount, fourth of five orders of nobility 五等爵位[wǔ děng jué wèi]
8 ancient Chinese compass point: 0° (north)

孩子

hái zi

1 child

房子

fáng zi

1 house
2 building (single- or two-story)
3 apartment
4 room
5 classifier: 栋 dòng
6 classifier: 幢 zhuàng
7 classifier: 座 zuò
8 classifier: 套 tào
9 classifier: 间 jiān

Idioms (20)

一瓶子不响，半瓶子晃荡

yī píng zi bù xiǎng , bàn píng zi huàng dang

1 lit. a full bottle makes no sound; a half-filled bottle sloshes (idiom)
2 fig. empty vessels make the most noise

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

不入虎穴，焉得虎子

bù rù hǔ xué , yān dé hǔ zǐ

1 How do you catch the tiger cub without entering the tiger's lair? (idiom); Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Sample Sentences

换成你是我，你就不会这么想了。看到我爸那样，我就什么主意也没了。你说，以前那么精神的一个人，怎么会变成现在这样呢。一想到这儿，就觉得不管多难，都要自己照顾他。儿子照顾老子，天经地义。即使再累，我也要尽到做儿子的本分。

huànchéng nǐ shì wǒ ，nǐ jiù bùhuì zhème xiǎng le 。kàndào wǒ bà nàyàng ，wǒ jiù shénme zhǔyi yě méi le 。nǐ shuō ，yǐqián nàme jīngshen de yī ge rén ，zénme huì biànchéng xiànzài zhèyàng ne 。yī xiǎngdào zhèr ，jiù juéde bùguǎn duō nán ，dōu yào zìjǐ zhàogu tā 。érzi zhàogu lǎozi ，tiānjīngdìyì 。jíshǐ zài lèi ，wǒ yě yào jìndào zuò érzi de běnfèn 。

If I were you, you wouldn't think that way. When I see my dad that way, I have no idea what to do. Tell me, how could a person who used to be so alert become this way? As soon as I think of it, I feel that, no matter how hard it is, I should care for him myself. Sons caring for their parents is the way things should be. No matter how exhausted I get, I have to do everything I can to be a good son.

Go to Lesson

说到闲散，你手边这本是【老子】吧？听说，现在老子思想很受老外欢迎，反倒是国内，一般人对老子的微言大义望之却步，认识不深。

shuō dào xiánsǎn ，nǐ shǒubiān zhè běn shì 【lǎozǐ 】ba ？tīngshuō ，xiànzài lǎozǐ sīxiǎng hěn shòu lǎowài huānyíng ，fǎndào shì guónèi ，yìbānrén duì lǎozi de wēiyán dàyì wàng zhī quèbù ，rènshi bù shēn 。

Talking of leisure, that book you've got there is Laozi, yes? I heard that Laozi's thinking is very popular among foreigners nowadays. It's actually now in China that normal people can't get to grips with Laozi's wisdom, due to their unfamiliarity with it.

Go to Lesson

这不就正好跟老子以“减法”生活，来追求人心平静的哲学相反吗？

zhè bù jiù zhènghǎo gēn lǎozǐ yǐ “jiǎnfǎ ”shēnghuó ，lái zhuīqiú rénxīn píngjìng de zhéxué xiāngfǎn ma ？

Isn't that the exact opposite of Laozi's idea of subtraction in life and the philosophy of finding inner peace?

Go to Lesson

所以老子反对全球化吗？

suǒyǐ lǎozǐ fǎnduì quánqiúhuà ma ？

So Laozi is against globalization?

Go to Lesson

啊哟！是谁把飞镖刺到老子身上的！站出来！

āyō ！shì shéi bǎ fēibiāo cì dào lǎozi shēnshàng de ！zhàn chūlái ！

Ouch! Who threw this dart into me? Step forward!