老

lǎo

HSK 3

老 — lǎo

1. old (of people); venerable; experienced; having lived a long time

   她的父亲今年八十岁了，是位很受人尊敬的老教授。 tā de fùqīn jīnnián bāshísuì le shì wèi hěn shòu rén zūnjìng de lǎo jiàoshòu — Her father is eighty this year; he is a much-respected old professor.

2. old (thing); of long standing; outdated; past

   这些老办法已经不适用了。 zhèxiē lǎobànfǎ yǐjīng bùshì yòng le — These old methods are no longer usable.

3. experienced; skilled; seasoned

   他是个老司机，开车很稳。 tā shì gè lǎo sījī kāichē hěn wěn — He's an experienced driver; he drives steadily.

4. always; all the time; continually

   他老是迟到。 tā lǎo shì chídào — He's always late.

5. very (colloquial intensifier)

   这个菜老好吃了！ zhège cài lǎo hǎochī le — This dish is really delicious!

6. tough (of meat); chewy

   这块肉太老了，嚼不动。 zhèkuài ròu tài lǎo le jué bùdòng — This piece of meat is too tough to chew.

7. prefix placed before a surname or numeral to indicate familiarity or order of birth (e.g. 老王, 老大)

   老王昨天来拜访我们。 lǎowáng zuótiān lái bàifǎng wǒmen — Old Wang came to visit us yesterday.