(lǎo) - old, aged; always (prefix) in Mandarin
lǎoTraditional: 老
Translation
old, aged; always (prefix)
Word origin
老 means old or aged, and serves as a familiar prefix. It is a pictograph of an old person with long hair leaning on a stick.
- Origin
- pictograph
- Root
- 老 (lǎo), a stooped elder with a stick
Stroke order
老
Examples
。
He is getting on in years.
，！
Old friend, long time no see!
。
He is always late.
。
We are old friends.
老 (lǎo) - old, aged; always (prefix).
Where this fits
Appears in 10 words
Multi-character compounds in the corpus that contain 老.
Used in
Stories
(13)打电话
3 min read · Core 1000
大伟的工作
3 min read · Core 1000
新的医生
3 min read · Core 1000
一起做饭
3 min read · Core 1000
今年去哪里
4 min read · Core 1000
卖东西的地方
4 min read · Core 1000
等了三年
5 min read · Core 5000
都变了
5 min read · Core 5000
旧手机
5 min read · Core 5000
那件事
5 min read · Core 5000
三天
5 min read · Core 5000
想起那个约定
5 min read · Core 5000
中间的树
5 min read · Core 5000
Grammar articles
(17)The Mandarin 把 (bǎ) Construction: Fronting the Object to Say What You Did To It
The Mandarin 被 (bèi) Passive: Saying Something Was Done To the Subject
Mandarin Causatives 使 (shǐ), 令 (lìng) and 让 (ràng): Making Someone Feel or Do Something
Mandarin 除了...以外: One Frame, Two Opposite Meanings
Chinese Measure Words (Mandarin Classifiers): The Core Dozen, Which One Your Noun Takes, and the Safe Default
The Mandarin Copula 是 (shì): To Be, and When to Leave It Out
How to Say Even Though and Even If in Mandarin: 虽然, 即使, 就算 and 尽管
Mandarin Intermediate Grammar (B1-B2 / HSK 4-5): Complements, Conjunctions and the Full 了 System
The Two 了 in Mandarin: Completion 了 After the Verb vs Change-of-State 了 at the End
The Mandarin 连...都/也 Construction: How to Say 'Even', and Why the Word Has to Move
The Spoken Passives 让 (ràng), 叫 (jiào) and 给 (gěi): What People Say Instead of 被
Mandarin Possession with 的 (de): My, Your, His, and When Mandarin Drops the Particle
Mandarin Sentence-Final Particles: 吧, 呢, 啊, 嘛, 吗 and the Final 了
The Three de in Mandarin: 的, 得, and 地 and How to Tell Them Apart
Mandarin Sentence Structure: Word Order, Topic-Comment and the 把 Construction
The Mandarin 以 (yǐ) Family: 以为, 以及, 以便, 以免, 以来 and 以...为...
Mandarin 之 (zhī): 之一, 之间, 之后, 之中, 总之 and the Written Ancestor of 的
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老: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "老" (old, aged; always (prefix)): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 9.