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

Stroke order
6 strokes
Stroke order

Han character

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

  1. Kangxi radical #125, .

Derived characters

References

Chinese

trad.
simp. #
alternative forms 𠄰
𦒳
𠈣

Glyph origin

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) : (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

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


Note:
  • sē, la̿u, lo̤̿ - vernacular;
  • lǎu - literary.
  • Min Dong
    • (Fuzhou)
      • Bàng-uâ-cê: lâu / lō̤
      • Sinological IPA (key): /l̃ɑu²⁴²/, /l̃o³³/
Note:
  • lâu - vernacular;
  • lō̤ - literary.
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.

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

  1. old; aged; elderly
    Antonyms: (yòu), (shǎo)
       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.]
    [kʰø³³ tɔ⁴⁴ nʊŋ²³ t͡səɲ⁵⁵ ɡ̊əʔ²¹ lɔ²³ kʰe̞⁵⁵ ɕɪɲ²¹] [IPA]
    I am really happy to see you.
  13. (euphemistic, of an elderly person) to die; to pass away (usually with (le))
  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 example)
    東西东西   lǎodōngxī   (please add an English translation of this example)
    雜碎杂碎   lǎozásuì   (please add an English translation of this example)
  17. (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)
  18. Short for 老子 (Lǎozǐ, “Laozi; Lao Tzu”).
  19. (Mainland China, Hong Kong) Short for 老撾老挝 (Lǎowō, “Laos”).

Synonyms

  • (old):
  • (very):
  • (to die):

Antonyms

Compounds

Descendants

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

References

Japanese

Kanji

(grade 4 “Kyōiku” kanji)

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

Readings

Compounds

Korean

Etymology

From Middle Chinese (MC lɑuX).

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

Pronunciation

  • (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

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

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

Compounds

Vietnamese

Han character

: 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

  1. Nguyễn (2014).
  2. Nguyễn et al. (2009).
  3. Trần (2004).
  4. Hồ (1976).
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