(lǎo bǎn) - boss, owner in Mandarin
lǎobǎnTraditional: 老闆
Translation
boss, owner
Word origin
老板 means boss or owner. 老 (lǎo) is a familiar prefix (an elder with a stick). 板 (bǎn) means board or plank, with the 木 'wood' radical and phonetic 反 (fǎn); the traditional 闆 shows a face 品 in a gate 門.
- Origin
- compound
- Root
- 老 (lǎo, familiar prefix) + 板 (bǎn, board; traditional 闆)
Stroke order
老
板
Examples
格。
My boss is very strict.
。
The boss isn't in today.
。
He is the owner of this shop.
,菜。
Boss, please give me a menu.
。
The new boss is strict with the staff.
Where this fits
Used in
Stories
(5)Grammar articles
(4)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 Intermediate Grammar (B1-B2 / HSK 4-5): Complements, Conjunctions and the Full 了 System
The Spoken Passives 让 (ràng), 叫 (jiào) and 给 (gěi): What People Say Instead of 被
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
老板: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "老板" (boss, owner): 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 14.