See also:
U+8001, 老
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-8001
耀
[U+8000]
CJK Unified Ideographs
[U+8002]
U+2F7C, ⽼
KANGXI RADICAL OLD

[U+2F7B]
Kangxi Radicals
[U+2F7D]
U+F934, 老
CJK COMPATIBILITY IDEOGRAPH-F934

[U+F933]
CJK Compatibility Ideographs
[U+F935]

Translingual edit

Stroke order
 
Stroke order
 

Han character edit

(Kangxi radical 125, +0, 6 strokes, cangjie input 十大心 (JKP), four-corner 44711, composition )

  1. Kangxi radical #125, .

Derived characters edit

References edit

  • Kangxi Dictionary: page 960, character 25
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 28842
  • Dae Jaweon: page 1407, character 8
  • Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 4, page 2778, character 1
  • Unihan data for U+8001

Chinese edit

trad.
simp. #
alternative forms 𠄰
𦒳
𠈣

Glyph origin edit

Historical forms of the character
Shang Western Zhou Spring and Autumn Warring States Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han) Liushutong (compiled in Ming) Libian (compiled in Qing) Kangxi Dictionary (compiled in Qing)
Oracle bone script Bronze inscriptions Bronze inscriptions Bronze inscriptions Chu slip and silk script Qin slip script Small seal script Transcribed ancient scripts Clerical script Ming typeface
                   

Ideogrammic compound (會意会意): (man) + (hair) + (cane) – a man with long hair (an old man), leaning on a cane. Compare top component to (OC *qʰruːs).

Cognate to (OC *kʰluːʔ); the most commonly cited example of 轉注 (“reciprocal meaning”).

Etymology edit

Unknown. Compare Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-raw (withered, residue, corpse), *rwat (stiff, tough), whence Burmese ရော် (rau, wither, become overripe; age), ရွတ် (rwat, old, stiff, tough). See also (), ().

An old Sino-Vietnamese borrowing is rệu (overripe, pulpy).

Pronunciation edit


Note:
  • sē, la̿u, lo̤̿ - vernacular;
  • lǎu - literary.
  • Eastern Min
  • Note:
    • lâu - vernacular;
    • lō̤ - literary.
  • Southern Min
  • Note:
    • lāu/lǎu - vernacular;
    • láu - vernacular (sometimes considered literary);
    • làu - vernacular (limited, e.g. 老闆);
    • lǎ - vernacular (limited, e.g. 老鶚);
    • ló/ló͘/nó͘ - literary.
    Note:
    • lao6 - vernacular;
    • lao2 - literary.
  • Wu
  • Xiang

  • Rime
    Character
    Reading # 1/1
    Initial () (37)
    Final () (89)
    Tone (調) Rising (X)
    Openness (開合) Open
    Division () I
    Fanqie
    Baxter lawX
    Reconstructions
    Zhengzhang
    Shangfang
    /lɑuX/
    Pan
    Wuyun
    /lɑuX/
    Shao
    Rongfen
    /lɑuX/
    Edwin
    Pulleyblank
    /lawX/
    Li
    Rong
    /lɑuX/
    Wang
    Li
    /lɑuX/
    Bernard
    Karlgren
    /lɑuX/
    Expected
    Mandarin
    Reflex
    lǎo
    Expected
    Cantonese
    Reflex
    lou5
    BaxterSagart system 1.1 (2014)
    Character
    Reading # 1/1
    Modern
    Beijing
    (Pinyin)
    lǎo
    Middle
    Chinese
    ‹ lawX ›
    Old
    Chinese
    /*C.rˁuʔ/
    English old

    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
    Reading # 1/1
    No. 7666
    Phonetic
    component
    Rime
    group
    Rime
    subdivision
    1
    Corresponding
    MC rime
    Old
    Chinese
    /*ruːʔ/

    Definitions edit

    1. old; aged; elderly
      Antonyms: ,
        ―  lǎoshù  ―  old tree
      婦人妇人  ―  lǎo fùrén  ―  old woman
      記憶力 [MSC, trad.]
      记忆力 [MSC, simp.]
      Rén lǎo le jìyìlì jiù chā le. [Pinyin]
      One's memory worsens when age increases.
    2. old (as opposed to new); of long standing
      Antonym: (xīn)
        ―  lǎo  ―  old song
      朋友  ―  lǎopéngyǒu  ―  old friend
    3. outdated; old-fashioned
    4. original; former
      地方  ―  lǎo dìfāng  ―  usual place
      本行  ―  lǎo běnháng  ―  original profession
    5. the elderly; one's elders
        ―  jìnglǎo  ―  to respect the elderly
    6. Used after the surname of an old person to address a venerable old person
        ―  Wáng lǎo  ―  revered old Wang
    7. (figurative) experienced
      Antonym: (nèn)
        ―  lǎoshǒu  ―  an old hand
        ―  lǎobīng  ―  veteran
    8. (literary) to respect (the elderly, one's elders)
    9. (of cooked food) overcooked; tough; stringy; hard
      牛排 [MSC, trad.]
      牛排 [MSC, simp.]
      Niúpái tài lǎo le, wǒ yǎo bù dòng tā. [Pinyin]
      The steak was so tough I couldn't eat it.
      雞蛋掌握火候 [MSC, trad.]
      鸡蛋掌握火候 [MSC, simp.]
      Zhè jīdàn zhǔ lǎo le, nǐ méi zhǎngwò hǎo huǒhòu. [Pinyin]
      This egg is hard; you didn't time it properly.
    10. (of food or potable liquids) stale; not fresh
    11. always; all the time
      這樣这样  ―  Nǐ bié lǎo zhèyàng!  ―  Stop being always like this!
    12. (chiefly dialectal) very; quite
        ―  lǎozǎo  ―  very early
        ―  Tā rén lǎo hǎo le.  ―  He is such a nice person! [colloquial, somewhat regional]
      看到真個開心 [Shanghainese, trad.]
      看到真个开心 [Shanghainese, simp.]
      5khoe-tau 6non 1tsen-gheq 6lau 1khe-shin-gheq [Wugniu]
      I am really happy to see you.
    13. (euphemistic, of an elderly person) to die; to pass away (usually with (le) or (diào))
    14. (endearing, respectful) Used before surnames to refer to heads or elder members of families.
      (xiǎo) (for younger people)
      馬上趕緊收拾 [MSC, trad.]
      马上赶紧收拾 [MSC, simp.]
      Lǎo Zhāng mǎshàng lái le, wǒ děi gǎnjǐn shōushí yī xià wū zǐ. [Pinyin]
      Old Zhang is going to be here any minute. I need to hurry up and straighten the room up a bit.
    15. (usually respectful and endearing) Used by analogy in several other relationship terms.
        ―  lǎoshī  ―  teacher
        ―  lǎo  ―  wifey
        ―  lǎogōng  ―  hubby
    16. (obsolete, originally honorific) Prefix for animals or people considered senior, fierce, and often awe-inspiring.
        ―  lǎoyīng  ―  eagle
        ―  lǎo  ―  tiger
        ―  lǎoshǔ  ―  mouse, rat; (obsolete) bat
        ―  lǎoláng  ―  (rare) elder and experienced wolf
        ―  lǎomāo  ―  (rare) elder (potentially annoying) cat
      狐狸  ―  lǎohúlí  ―  (surviving usage) elder, cunning and experienced fox
      傢夥家伙  ―  lǎojiāhuǒ  ―  (please add an English translation of this usage example)
      東西东西  ―  lǎodōngxī  ―  (please add an English translation of this usage example)
      雜碎杂碎  ―  lǎozásuì  ―  (please add an English translation of this usage example)
    17. (Cantonese, colloquial) Prefix for nouns with negative impressions or connotations.
      [Hong Kong Cantonese]  ―  lou5 koeng4-2 [Jyutping]  ―  rape
      [Cantonese]  ―  faat3 lou5 pei4-2 [Jyutping]  ―  to get angry
      [Hong Kong Cantonese]  ―  lou5 gaai2 [Jyutping]  ―  People's Liberation Army
    18. (Cantonese, colloquial) Prefix for nouns to express familiarity.
      [Hong Kong Cantonese]  ―  lou5 zim1 [Jyutping]  ―  Tsim Sha Tsui
      [Hong Kong Cantonese]  ―  lou5 tung4-2 [Jyutping]  ―  Causeway Bay
    19. (colloquial) Used before nouns, especially names of ethnicities, places and countries, to form nouns.
        ―  lǎowài  ―  foreigner; (pejorative) layman, one who lacks knowledge of a subject
        ―  lǎoměi  ―  Yank
        ―  lǎobiǎo  ―  a friend (direct speech, may be intimate or offensive depending on provinces)
      毛子  ―  lǎomáozi  ―  (pejorative) Russian person
      蒙古  ―  lǎoménggǔ  ―  (pejorative) Mongols
      北京  ―  lǎoběijīng  ―  indigenous Beijing person
      山東山东  ―  lǎoshāndōng  ―  indigenous Shandong person
      西兒西儿  ―  lǎoxīr  ―  (affectionate) Shanxi person
      回回  ―  lǎohuíhuí  ―  Hui person (affectionate in some cases, pejorative in other cases, never neutral, depend on the region, speaker, listener situation and speaking mood)
    20. Short for 老子 (Lǎozǐ, “Laozi; Lao Tzu”).
    21. (Mainland China, Hong Kong) Short for 老撾老挝 (Lǎowō, “Laos”).

    Synonyms edit

    • (old):
    • (very):
    • (to die):

    Antonyms edit

    Compounds edit

    Descendants edit

    Sino-Xenic ():
    • Korean: /(老) (ro/no)
    • Vietnamese: lão ()

    References edit

    Japanese edit

    Kanji edit

    (grade 4 “Kyōiku” kanji)

    1. old age, an elderly person, the aged, the elderly

    Readings edit

    Compounds edit

    Korean edit

    Etymology edit

    From Middle Chinese (MC lawX).

    Historical Readings
    Dongguk Jeongun Reading
    Dongguk Jeongun, 1448 로ᇢ〯 (Yale: lwǒw)
    Middle Korean
    Text Eumhun
    Gloss (hun) Reading
    Hunmong Jahoe, 1527[2] 늘글〮 (Yale: nùlkúl) 로〯 (Yale: lwŏ)

    Pronunciation edit

    • (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA(key): [ɾo̞(ː)] ~ [no̞(ː)]
    • Phonetic hangul: [(ː)/(ː)]
      • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

    Hanja edit

    (eumhun 늙을 (neulgeul ro), South Korea 늙을 (neulgeul no))

    1. Hanja form? of / (old). [affix; suffix]

    Compounds edit

    Vietnamese edit

    Han character edit

    : Hán Việt readings: lão[1][2][3]
    : Nôm readings: lảo[1][3][4], lảu[1][3][4], lão[1][2], lẽo[1][3], láu[3][4], rảu[3][4], láo[1], lạo[1], não[1], rau[1], sáu[1], lểu[2], lếu[3], lẩu[3]

    1. chữ Hán form of lão (old; aged).

    References edit