(gǔ lǎo) - ancient, age-old in Mandarin
gǔlǎoTraditional: 古老
Translation
ancient, age-old
Word origin
A compound of 古 (gǔ, ancient, antiquity) and 老 (lǎo, old), the two words for age reinforcing one another.
- Origin
- compound
- Root
- 古 (gǔ, ancient) + 老 (lǎo, old)
Stroke order
古
老
Examples
。
This is an ancient city.
。
They still keep to a great many age-old traditions.
村棵。
The tree at the entrance to the village is extremely old.
，。
This story is very old, and nobody knows who wrote it.
。
There are plenty of ancient objects in the museum.
古老 (gǔ lǎo) describes something that has been around for a very long time: a city, a building, a tree, a custom, a legend, a language. It carries a note of respect. Calling a tradition 古老 says it has weight, not that it is out of date.
Note the tone sandhi. Two third tones in a row means the first is said as a second tone, so 古老 comes out as gú lǎo in speech even though it is written gǔ lǎo. That rule catches a lot of learners on this particular word.
The English-speaker trap is using it for people. 古老 never means an old person; that is 老 on its own, or politely 年纪大. Nor does it mean stale or outdated, which is 过时. Keep 古老 for things whose age is the point of them.
Where this fits
Add to review queue
Track this word in your spaced-repetition queue and be tested on it at the right interval.
Go to my review queueMandarin · Free printables
古老: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "古老" (ancient, age-old): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
Free for members
The printable worksheets, infographics and PDFs are free with an account. Start a free week and download as many as you like.
Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 59.