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老

lǎo

1. adjective old; aged (opposite of 少)

   他老了，头发白了。

   Tā lǎo le, tóufa bái le.

   He has grown old; his hair has turned white.

2. adverb always; constantly (colloquial)

   他老迟到。

   Tā lǎo chídào.

   He's always late.

3. prefix prefix before names or titles

   老张是我的邻居。

   Lǎo Zhāng shì wǒ de línjū.

   Lao Zhang is my neighbor.

4. prefix forms person/animal nouns, marks familiarity

   街上有几个老外。

   Jiē shàng yǒu jǐ ge lǎowài.

   There are a few foreigners on the street.

5. adjective old; long-standing; experienced

   这是我的老朋友，我们认识很久了。

   Zhè shì wǒ de lǎo péngyou, wǒmen rènshi hěn jiǔ le.

   This is my old friend; we have known each other for a long time.

6. adjective overcooked; tough (of food)

   这牛肉煮得太老了，咬不动。

   Zhè niúròu zhǔ de tài lǎo le, yǎo bù dòng.

   This beef has been cooked for too long; it's too tough to chew.

7. adverb very; quite (colloquial intensifier)

   老远就能听到他的笑声。

   Lǎo yuǎn jiù néng tīngdào tā de xiàoshēng.

   His laughter can be heard from very far away.

The full ChinesePath dictionary entry for 老 includes audio for every reading and example sentence, more example sentences, collocations, synonyms and links to the course units where it is taught.