Meaning of 老人
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- old man or woman
- the elderly
- one's aged parents or grandparents
How to use 老人
老人 is a common, neutral word for elderly people, used for both men and women. It often appears in phrases about caring for or respecting the elderly. Example: 我们要照顾老人。(Wǒmen yào zhàogù lǎorén.) We should take care of the elderly.
老 (lǎo) means old and 人 (rén) means person, so 老人 is simply an old person. Picture the character 人 as a person walking, and 老 in front tells you that person has lived many years.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes assume every word starting with 老 means old, but 老师 (lǎoshī) just means teacher, and young teachers are 老师 too. Also keep the third tone on 老: in lǎorén it stays a low dipping tone because 人 is second tone, not third.
老人 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
老 lǎo · prefix used before the surname of a per… · 6 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
人 rén · person · 2 strokes
- 1
- 2
Related words
Words that share a character with 老人.
Questions about 老人
What does 老人 mean?
老人 (lǎorén) means "old man or woman; the elderly" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 老人?
老人 is made of 2 characters: 老 (6 strokes), 人 (2 strokes). That is 8 strokes in total.
Is 老人 an HSK word?
Yes. 老人 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
Is 老人 polite to say to an older person's face?
老人 is fine for talking about the elderly in general, but it can sound blunt when addressing someone directly. To address an older person, people usually use 老人家 (lǎorénjia), 爷爷 (yéye), 奶奶 (nǎinai), or 阿姨 (āyí).
Can 老人 mean my own parents or grandparents?
Yes. In context, 家里的老人 (jiā li de lǎorén) refers to the older generation in your family, such as your aged parents or grandparents.