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HSK 3

老

old (person/animal); always

adjectiveneutral
老
lǎo3rd tone

HSK level

1
2
3
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6
Pinyin
lǎo
Part of speech
adjective
Level
HSK 3
Strokes
6
Register
neutral

Stroke order for 老

老 is written with 6 strokes. The animation replays automatically.

What does 老 mean?

老 (lǎo) is one of the most useful and slippery characters in Chinese.

As an adjective it means 'old' — for people, animals, and friendships — but NOT for objects, which take 旧 (jiù) instead. So 老人 is 'an old person,' but an old shirt is 旧衣服, not 老衣服. As an adverb it means 'always / constantly,' usually with a complaining tone: 他老迟到 ('he's always late').

As a prefix, 老 attaches to surnames and titles to show familiarity or respect — 老王 ('old Wang,' a friendly way to address a male friend), 老师 (teacher, literally 'old master'), 老板 (boss). It also fronts the names of animals in casual speech: 老鼠 (mouse), 老虎 (tiger). The opposite for living things is 年轻 (young) or 小 (little/young); for objects it's 新 (new).

Note: When describing people directly, 老 can sound blunt. 您年纪大了 ('you're getting on in years') is more polite than 您很老. But in titles like 老师 (teacher) or 老板 (boss), 老 is honorific, not literal.

Memory hook: 老 pictures an old person leaning on a cane — long hair on top, a bent back below.

Example sentences

他是我的老朋友。

Tā shì wǒ de lǎo péngyou.

He's an old friend of mine.

neutral

这只狗很老了。

Zhè zhī gǒu hěn lǎo le.

This dog is very old.

spoken

你怎么老迟到？

Nǐ zěnme lǎo chídào?

Why are you always late?

spoken

老人需要我们的帮助。

Lǎorén xūyào wǒmen de bāngzhù.

Old people need our help.

neutral

Common phrases with 老

老人lǎorénold person; the elderly
老朋友lǎo péngyouold/longtime friend
老师lǎoshīteacher
老板lǎobǎnboss; shop owner
老是lǎoshìalways (often with mild complaint)

Synonyms

年纪大niánjì dà

年纪大 ('age is big') is the polite way to say someone is old. Use it about elders to their face; 老 can sound abrupt in that context.

总是zǒngshì

When 老 means 'always,' 总是 is the neutral synonym. 老 carries a complaint ('he's ALWAYS late'); 总是 is just a frequency statement.

Don't confuse 老 with

旧jiù

旧 means 'old' for objects (old shoes, old book). 老 is for people, animals, and relationships. Never say 老书; say 旧书.

考kǎo

考 ('to test / examine') looks visually similar to 老 — both have the same top component. 考 has a hook on the bottom right; 老 has a curving stroke. Don't write the wrong one in 考试 or 老师.

Frequently asked questions

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