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See also:
U+8001, 老
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-8001
耀
[U+8000]
CJK Unified Ideographs
[U+8002]
U+2F7C, ⽼
KANGXI RADICAL OLD

[U+2F7B]
Kangxi Radicals
[U+2F7D]
U+F934, 老
CJK COMPATIBILITY IDEOGRAPH-F934

[U+F933]
CJK Compatibility Ideographs
[U+F935]

Translingual

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Stroke order
6 strokes
Stroke order

Han character

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(Kangxi radical 125, +0, 6 strokes, cangjie input 十大心 (JKP), four-corner 44711, composition )

  1. Kangxi radical #125, .

Derived characters

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References

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  • Kangxi Dictionary: page 960, character 25
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 28842
  • Dae Jaweon: page 1407, character 8
  • Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 4, page 2778, character 1
  • Unihan data for U+8001

Chinese

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trad.
simp. #
alternative forms 𠄰
𦒳
𠈣

Glyph origin

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Historical forms of the character
Shang Western Zhou Spring and Autumn Warring States Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han) Liushutong (compiled in Ming) Libian (compiled in Qing) Kangxi Dictionary (compiled in Qing)
Oracle bone script Bronze inscriptions Bronze inscriptions Bronze inscriptions Chu slip and silk script Qin slip script Small seal script Transcribed ancient scripts Clerical script Ming typeface

Ideogrammic compound (會意会意) : (man) + (hair) + (cane) – a man with long hair (an old man), leaning on a cane. Compare top component to (OC *qʰruːs).

Cognate to (OC *kʰluːʔ); the most commonly cited example of 轉注 (“reciprocal meaning”).

Etymology

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Unknown. Compare Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-raw (withered, residue, corpse), *rwat (stiff, tough), whence Burmese ရော် (rau, wither, become overripe; age), ရွတ် (rwat, old, stiff, tough). See also (), ().

An old Sino-Vietnamese borrowing is rệu (overripe, pulpy).

Pronunciation

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Note:
  • sē, la̿u, lo̤̿ - vernacular;
  • lǎu - literary.
Note:
  • lâu - vernacular;
  • lō̤ - literary.
Note:
  • lao5 - vernacular;
  • lor3 - literary.
Note:
  • lāu/lǎu - vernacular;
  • láu - vernacular (sometimes considered literary);
  • làu - vernacular (limited, e.g. 老闆);
  • lǎ - vernacular (limited, e.g. 老鶚);
  • ló/ló͘/nó͘ - literary.
Note:
  • lao6 - vernacular;
  • lao2 - literary.

Rime
Character
Reading # 1/1
Initial () (37)
Final () (89)
Tone (調) Rising (X)
Openness (開合) Open
Division () I
Fanqie
Baxter lawX
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang
/lɑuX/
Pan
Wuyun
/lɑuX/
Shao
Rongfen
/lɑuX/
Edwin
Pulleyblank
/lawX/
Li
Rong
/lɑuX/
Wang
Li
/lɑuX/
Bernard
Karlgren
/lɑuX/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex
lǎo
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex
lou5
BaxterSagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character
Reading # 1/1
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin)
lǎo
Middle
Chinese
‹ lawX ›
Old
Chinese
/*C.rˁuʔ/
English old

Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system:

* Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence;
* Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p;
* Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix;
* Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary;

* Period "." indicates syllable boundary.
Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character
Reading # 1/1
No. 7666
Phonetic
component
Rime
group
Rime
subdivision
1
Corresponding
MC rime
Old
Chinese
/*ruːʔ/

Definitions

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  1. old; aged; elderly
    Antonyms: ,
      ―  lǎoshù  ―  old tree
    婦人妇人  ―  lǎo fùrén  ―  old woman
    記憶力 [MSC, trad.]
    记忆力 [MSC, simp.]
    Rén lǎo le jìyìlì jiù chā le. [Pinyin]
    One's memory worsens when age increases.
  2. old (as opposed to new); of long standing
    Antonym: (xīn)
      ―  lǎo  ―  old song
    朋友  ―  lǎopéngyǒu  ―  old friend
  3. outdated; old-fashioned
  4. original; former
    地方  ―  lǎo dìfāng  ―  usual place
    本行  ―  lǎo běnháng  ―  original profession
  5. the elderly; one's elders
      ―  jìnglǎo  ―  to respect the elderly
  6. Used after the surname of an old person to address a venerable old person
      ―  Wáng lǎo  ―  revered old Wang
  7. (figurative) experienced
    Antonym: (nèn)
      ―  lǎoshǒu  ―  an old hand
      ―  lǎobīng  ―  veteran
  8. (literary) to respect (the elderly, one's elders)
  9. (of cooked food) overcooked; tough; stringy; hard
    牛排 [MSC, trad.]
    牛排 [MSC, simp.]
    Niúpái tài lǎo le, wǒ yǎo bù dòng tā. [Pinyin]
    The steak was so tough I couldn't eat it.
    雞蛋掌握火候 [MSC, trad.]
    鸡蛋掌握火候 [MSC, simp.]
    Zhè jīdàn zhǔ lǎo le, nǐ méi zhǎngwò hǎo huǒhòu. [Pinyin]
    This egg is hard; you didn't time it properly.
  10. (of food or potable liquids) stale; not fresh
  11. always; all the time
    這樣这样  ―  Nǐ bié lǎo zhèyàng!  ―  Stop being always like this!
  12. (chiefly dialectal) very; quite
      ―  lǎozǎo  ―  very early
      ―  Tā rén lǎo hǎo le.  ―  He is such a nice person! [colloquial, somewhat regional]
    看到真個開心 [Shanghainese, trad.]
    看到真个开心 [Shanghainese, simp.]
    5khoe-tau 6non 1tsen-gheq 6lau 1khe-shin-gheq [Wugniu]
    I am really happy to see you.
  13. (euphemistic, of an elderly person) to die; to pass away (usually with (le) or (diào))
  14. (endearing, respectful) Used before surnames to refer to heads or elder members of families.
    (xiǎo) (for younger people)
    馬上趕緊收拾 [MSC, trad.]
    马上赶紧收拾 [MSC, simp.]
    Lǎo Zhāng mǎshàng lái le, wǒ děi gǎnjǐn shōushí yī xià wū zǐ. [Pinyin]
    Old Zhang is going to be here any minute. I need to hurry up and straighten the room up a bit.
  15. (usually respectful and endearing) Used by analogy in several other relationship terms.
      ―  lǎoshī  ―  teacher
      ―  lǎo  ―  wifey
      ―  lǎogōng  ―  hubby
  16. (obsolete, originally honorific) Prefix for animals or people considered senior, fierce, and often awe-inspiring.
      ―  lǎoyīng  ―  eagle
      ―  lǎo  ―  tiger
      ―  lǎoshǔ  ―  mouse, rat; (obsolete) bat
      ―  lǎoláng  ―  (rare) elder and experienced wolf
      ―  lǎomāo  ―  (rare) elder (potentially annoying) cat
    狐狸  ―  lǎohúlí  ―  (surviving usage) elder, cunning and experienced fox
    傢夥家伙  ―  lǎojiāhuǒ  ―  (please add an English translation of this usage example)
    東西东西  ―  lǎodōngxī  ―  (please add an English translation of this usage example)
    雜碎杂碎  ―  lǎozásuì  ―  (please add an English translation of this usage example)
  17. (Cantonese, colloquial) Prefix for nouns with negative impressions or connotations.
    [Hong Kong Cantonese]  ―  lou5 koeng4-2 [Jyutping]  ―  rape
    [Cantonese]  ―  lou5 zok3 [Jyutping]  ―  made-up
    [Cantonese]  ―  faat3 lou5 pei4-2 [Jyutping]  ―  to get angry
    [Hong Kong Cantonese]  ―  lou5 gaai2 [Jyutping]  ―  People's Liberation Army
  18. (Cantonese, colloquial) Prefix for nouns to express familiarity.
    [Hong Kong Cantonese]  ―  lou5 zim1 [Jyutping]  ―  Tsim Sha Tsui
    [Hong Kong Cantonese]  ―  lou5 tung4-2 [Jyutping]  ―  Causeway Bay
  19. (colloquial) Used before nouns, especially names of ethnicities, places and countries, to form nouns.
      ―  lǎowài  ―  foreigner; (pejorative) layman, one who lacks knowledge of a subject
      ―  lǎoměi  ―  Yank
      ―  lǎobiǎo  ―  a friend (direct speech, may be intimate or offensive depending on provinces)
    毛子  ―  lǎomáozi  ―  (pejorative) Russian person
    蒙古  ―  lǎoménggǔ  ―  (pejorative) Mongols
    北京  ―  lǎoběijīng  ―  indigenous Beijing person
    山東山东  ―  lǎoshāndōng  ―  indigenous Shandong person
    西兒西儿  ―  lǎoxīr  ―  (affectionate) Shanxi person
    回回  ―  lǎohuíhuí  ―  Hui person (affectionate in some cases, pejorative in other cases, never neutral, depends on the region, speaker, listener, situation and speaking mood)
  20. Short for 老子 (Lǎozǐ, “Laozi; Lao Tzu”).
  21. (Mainland China, Hong Kong) Short for 老撾老挝 (Lǎowō, “Laos”).

Synonyms

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  • (old):
edit
  • (very):
  • (to die):

Antonyms

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  • (antonym(s) of old): (nèn), (yòu)

Compounds

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Descendants

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Sino-Xenic ():
  • Korean: /(老) (ro/no)
  • Vietnamese: lão ()

References

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Japanese

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Kanji

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(Fourth grade kyōiku kanji)

  1. old age, an elderly person, the aged, the elderly

Readings

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Compounds

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Korean

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Etymology

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From Middle Chinese (MC lawX).

Historical Readings
Dongguk Jeongun Reading
Dongguk Jeongun, 1448 로ᇢ〯 (Yale: lwǒw)
Middle Korean
Text Eumhun
Gloss (hun) Reading
Hunmong Jahoe, 1527[2] 늘글〮 (Yale: nùlkúl) 로〯 (Yale: lwŏ)

Pronunciation

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  • (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA(key): [ɾo̞(ː)] ~ [no̞(ː)]
  • Phonetic hangul: [(ː)/(ː)]
    • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

Hanja

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(eumhun 늙을 (neulgeul ro), word-initial (South Korea) 늙을 (neulgeul no))

  1. hanja form? of / (old) [affix; suffix]

Compounds

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Vietnamese

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Han character

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: Hán Việt readings: lão[1][2][3]
: Nôm readings: lảo[1][3][4], lảu[1][3][4], lão[1][2], lẽo[1][3], láu[3][4], rảu[3][4], láo[1], lạo[1], não[1], rau[1], sáu[1], lểu[2], lếu[3], lẩu[3]

  1. chữ Hán form of lão (old; aged).

Compounds

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References

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