How to say “old” in Chinese
old; long-standing
“Old” in Chinese is 老, lǎo: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
老 is read lǎo. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “老”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 老. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 他是老师tāshìlǎoshīHe’s a teacher.
- 他们是老师tāmenshìlǎoshīThey’re teachers.
- 这是我的老师zhèshìwǒdelǎoshīThis is my teacher.
- 我问一下老师wǒwènyíxiàlǎoshīI'll ask the teacher.
- 老师我有一个问题lǎoshī,wǒyǒuyígewèntíTeacher, I have a question.
- 你是老师，对吗？nǐshìlǎoshī,duìmaYou’re a teacher, right?
More characters by topic — happiness, luck, strength, nature — on the page “Chinese characters with meanings”.
More words from the lesson “Aunts, uncles and neighbors”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “old” in Chinese?
“Old” in Chinese is 老, pinyin lǎo.
What does 老 mean?
老 (lǎo) means “old; long-standing”.
How do you write 老?
老 is 1 character. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 老?
老 is read lǎo. Tones: lǎo — third tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“old” in the lesson “Aunts, uncles and neighbors”
This word is from the topic “People and personality” of HSK 3. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
Start for free