老人

Chinese

		old; aged; venerable old; aged; venerable; outdated; experienced; (affectionate prefix)	man; person; people
trad. (老人)		老	人
simp. #(老人)		老	人
alternative forms		老儂／老侬 coastal Min (colloquial)

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): lǎorén

  (Zhuyin): ㄌㄠˇ ㄖㄣˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): lou⁵ jan⁴
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): ló-ngìn
• Northern Min (KCR): sē-nêng
• Eastern Min (BUC): lâu-nè̤ng
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): lāu-lâng / lǎu-lâng / ló-jîn

  (Teochew, Peng'im): lao² nang⁵

• Wu (Wugniu)
  • (Northern): ⁶lau-gnin

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: lǎorén
    • Zhuyin: ㄌㄠˇ ㄖㄣˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: lǎorén
    • Wade–Giles: lao³-jên²
    • Yale: lǎu-rén
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: laoren
    • Palladius: лаожэнь (laožɛnʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /lɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʐən³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: lou⁵ jan⁴
    • Yale: lóuh yàhn
    • Cantonese Pinyin: lou⁵ jan⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: lou⁵ yen⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /lou̯¹³ jɐn²¹/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: ló-ngìn
    • Hakka Romanization System: lo` nginˇ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: lo³ ngin²
    • Sinological IPA: /lo³¹ ŋin¹¹/
• Northern Min
  • (Jian'ou)
    • Kienning Colloquial Romanized: sē-nêng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /se⁵⁵ neiŋ³³/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: lâu-nè̤ng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /l̃au²⁴²⁻⁵⁵ nˡøyŋ⁵³/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, General Taiwanese, Zhangzhou, Singapore)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lāu-lâng
    • Tâi-lô: lāu-lâng
    • Phofsit Daibuun: lauxlaang
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /lau²²⁻²¹ laŋ¹³/
    • IPA (Taipei): /lau³³⁻¹¹ laŋ²⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /lau³³⁻²¹ laŋ²³/
    • IPA (Xiamen, Singapore): /lau²²⁻²¹ laŋ²⁴/
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou, Jinjiang, Philippines)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lǎu-lâng
    • Tâi-lô: lǎu-lâng
    • IPA (Jinjiang, Philippines): /lau³³⁻²² laŋ²⁴/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /lau²² laŋ²⁴/
  • (Hokkien: General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: ló-jîn
    • Tâi-lô: ló-jîn
    • Phofsit Daibuun: loyjiin
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /lɤ⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ zin²³/

Note:

• lāu-lâng - colloquial;
• ló-jîn - literary.

• (Teochew)
  • Peng'im: lao² nang⁵
  • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: láu nâng
  • Sinological IPA ^(key): /lau⁵²⁻³⁵ naŋ⁵⁵/
• Wu
  • (Shanghai):
    • Wugniu: ⁶lau-gnin
    • MiniDict: lau^去 nyin
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ³lau-nyin
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /lɔ²² n̠ʲin⁴⁴/

---

• Middle Chinese: lawX nyin

Rime
Character	老	人
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Initial (聲)	來 (37)	日 (38)
Final (韻)	豪 (89)	眞 (43)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open
Division (等)	I	III
Fanqie	盧晧切	如鄰切
Baxter	lawX	nyin
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/lɑuX/	/ȵiɪn/
Pan Wuyun	/lɑuX/	/ȵin/
Shao Rongfen	/lɑuX/	/ȵʑjen/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/lawX/	/ȵin/
Li Rong	/lɑuX/	/ȵiĕn/
Wang Li	/lɑuX/	/ȵʑĭĕn/
Bernard Karlgren	/lɑuX/	/ȵʑi̯ĕn/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	lǎo	rén
Expected Cantonese Reflex	lou5	jan4

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*C.rˤuʔ  ni[ŋ]/

  (Zhengzhang): /*ruːʔ  njin/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	老	人
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	lǎo	rén
Middle Chinese	‹ lawX ›	‹ nyin ›
Old Chinese	/*C.rˁuʔ/	/*ni[ŋ]/
English	old	(other) person
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	老	人
Reading #	1/1	1/1
No.	7666	10800
Phonetic component	老	人
Rime group	幽	眞
Rime subdivision	1	1
Corresponding MC rime	老	仁
Old Chinese	/*ruːʔ/	/*njin/

Noun

老人

1. old person; the old; the elderly

   他的父親看起來是一位精神矍鑠的老人。 [MSC, trad.]
   他的父亲看起来是一位精神矍铄的老人。 [MSC, simp.]

   Tā de fùqīn kànqilai shì yī wèi jīngshén juéshuò de lǎorén. [Pinyin]

   His father looks like a sprightly old man.

   從老人一直到小孩無不歡欣鼓舞。 [MSC, trad.]
   从老人一直到小孩无不欢欣鼓舞。 [MSC, simp.]

   Cóng lǎorén yīzhí dào xiǎohái wúbù huānxīngǔwǔ. [Pinyin]

   Everyone from the elderly to the children rejoiced.

2. elder

Synonyms

• (old person):

• 家先生 (Hakka, polite, term of address)
• 老人家 (polite, term of address)
• 老大人 (Hokkien, polite, term of address)
• 老年人 (lǎoniánrén)
• 老者 (lǎozhě) (literary)
• 黃髮／黄发 (huángfà) (literary)

 

• (elder):

• 上一代 (shàng yīdài)
• 上輩／上辈 (shàngbèi)
• 先輩／先辈 (xiānbèi)
• 前輩／前辈 (qiánbèi)
• 老勻／老匀 (Xiamen Hokkien, Zhangzhou Hokkien)
• 老輩／老辈 (lǎobèi)
• 長輩／长辈 (zhǎngbèi)

 

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of "elder"):

• 下一代 (xià yīdài)
• 下勻／下匀 (Hokkien)
• 下輩／下辈 (xiàbèi)
• 小輩子／小辈子 (xiao³ bei⁴ zi³) (Sichuanese)
• 序細／序细 (Hokkien)
• 後輩／后辈 (hòubèi)
• 晚輩／晚辈 (wǎnbèi)
• 細輩／细辈 (Teochew)

 

Derived terms

• 不聽老人言，吃虧在眼前／不听老人言，吃亏在眼前 (bùtīng lǎorén yán, chīkuī zài yǎnqián)
• 老人失智症 (lǎorén shīzhìzhèng)
• 老人家
• 老人星 (Lǎorénxīng)
• 老人機／老人机 (lǎorénjī)
• 老人毋講古，少年毋捌寶／老人毋讲古，少年毋捌宝
• 老人贍養／老人赡养 (lǎorén shànyǎng)
• 耶誕老人／耶诞老人 (yēdàn Lǎorén)
• 聖誕老人／圣诞老人 (Shèngdàn Lǎorén)

 

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (老人):

• → Japanese: 老人(ろうじん) (rōjin)
• → Korean: 노인(老人) (noin)

See also

• 老一輩／老一辈 (lǎoyībèi)

Japanese

Kanji in this term
老	人
ろう Grade: 4	じん Grade: 1
kan’on

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “Probably borrowed from Chinese”)

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) ろーじん [ròójíń] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [ɾo̞ːʑĩɴ]

Noun

老(ろう)人(じん) • (rōjin) ^{←らうじん (rauzin)?}

1. old person; elderly

Synonyms

• 老(ろう)者(しゃ) (rōsha)
• 年(とし)寄(よ)り (toshiyori)
• 古(こ)老(ろう) (korō)

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 老(ろう)人(じん)性(せい) (rōjinsei, “senile”)
• 老(ろう)人(じん)福(ふく)祉(し) (rōjin fukushi, “welfare for the aged”)
• 老(ろう)人(じん)医(い)学(がく) (rōjin igaku, “geriatrics”)
• 老(ろう)人(じん)学(がく) (rōjingaku, “gerontology​”)
• 老(ろう)人(じん)福(ふく)祉(し)施(し)設(せつ) (rōjin fukushishisetsu, “retirement home”)
• 老(ろう)人(じん)性(せい)白(はく)内(ない)障(しょう) (rōjinsei hakunaishō, “senile cataract”)
• 老(ろう)人(じん)ホーム (rōjin hōmu, “nursing home”)
• 老(ろう)人(じん)斑(はん) (rōjinhan, “senile plaque”)
• 老(ろう)人(じん)施(し)設(せつ) (rōjin shisetsu, “old folks' home”)
• 老(ろう)人(じん)介(かい)護(ご) (rōjin kaigo, “elderly care”)
• 老(ろう)人(じん)問(もん)題(だい) (rōjin mondai, “problems of the elderly; problems of an aging society”)
• 老(ろう)人(じん)保(ほ)健(けん)施(し)設(せつ) (rōjin hokenshisetsu, “rehabilitation facility for the elderly​”)
• 老(ろう)人(じん)病(びょう) (rōjinbyō, “geriatric diseases”)
• 老(ろう)人(じん)医(い)療(りょう) (rōjin iryō, “geriatrics”)
• 老(ろう)人(じん)病(びょう)院(いん) (rōjin byōin, “geriatric hospital”)
• 老(ろう)人(じん)福(ふく)祉(し)法(ほう) (rōjin fukushihō, “elderly welfare law”)
• 老(ろう)人(じん)医(い)療(りょう)保(ほ)険(けん) (rōjin iryōhoken, “medical insurance for the elderly”)
• 老(ろう)人(じん)力(りょく) (rōjinryoku, “grey power”)
• 老(ろう)人(じん)性(せい)痴(ち)呆(ほう) (rōjinsei chihō, “senile dementia”)
• 老(ろう)人(じん)性(せい)痴(ち)呆(ほう)症(しょう) (rōjinsei chihōshō, “senile dementia”)
• 老(ろう)人(じん)性(せい)認(にん)知(ち)症(しょう) (rōjinsei ninchishō, “senile dementia”)
• 老(ろう)人(じん)遺(い)棄(き) (rōjin iki, “abandoning old people in the mountains, etc.​”)
• 老(ろう)人(じん)性(せい)愛(あい) (rōjin seiai, “gerontophilia​”)

Korean

Hanja in this term
老	人

Noun

老人 • (noin) (hangeul 노인)

1. Hanja form^? of 노인 (“old person, elderly”).