The Chinese character 老 means old; aged; or experienced. It is commonly used as a prefix to the surname of a person to show affection or familiarity. It is also used to indicate birth order in a family. It is pronounced lǎo.
The character 老 is a radical, but is made up of two elements - 耂 and 匕. The first element, 耂, is also pronounced lǎo, and is simply a variant of the character 老. The second element is 匕 (pronounced bǐ) and means spoon, ladle; or knife. It also looks a little bit like a cane, so the character 老 could be imagined as an old man with a cane.
The character 考 (kǎo) is related to 老 because it originally meant "old". The modern meaning of 考 (kǎo) is to check; to verify; to test; to examine; to take an exam. Its radical is listed as 老 (lǎo).
There are very few characters based on the radical 老 (lǎo). They mostly have to do with aging, and include:
- 耄 - mào - aged
- 者 - zhě - -ist, -er (person); person (who does something)
- 耆 - qí - man of sixty or seventy
- 耋 - diè - aged; in one`s eighties
Mandarin Vocabulary With Lǎo
| Traditional Characters | Simplified Characters | Pinyin | English |
| 老師 | 老师 | lǎo shī | teacher |
| 白頭諧老 | 白头谐老 | bái tóu xié lǎo | live to ripe old age in conjugal bliss; remain a devoted couple to the end of their lives |
| 古老 | 古老 | gǔ lǎo | ancient/old/age-old |
| 老百姓 | 老百姓 | lǎo bǎi xìng | ordinary people; the "person in the street" |
| 老闆 | 老板 | lǎo bǎn | boss; business proprietor |
| 老二 | 老二 | lǎo èr | the second child or brother (or sister) |
| 老公 | 老公 | lǎo gong | (informal) husband |
| 老婆 | 老婆 | lǎo pó | (informal) wife |
| 老虎 | 老虎 | lǎo hǔ | tiger |
| 老家 | 老家 | lǎo jiā | native place; place of origin; home state or region |
| 老實巴交 | 老实巴交 | lǎo shí bā jiāo | honest; good natured |
| 老鼠 | 老鼠 | lǎo shǔ | rat; mouse |
| 聖誕老人 | 圣诞老人 | shèng dàn lǎo rén | Santa Claus |
| 老撾 | 老挝 | lǎo wō | Laos |
