Meaning of 老太太
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- elderly lady (respectful)
- esteemed mother
Measure word: 位
How to use 老太太
老太太 is a polite, everyday way to refer to an elderly woman, often a stranger or a neighbor. It can also be a respectful way to refer to someone's mother, especially in older or more formal speech. Example: 那位老太太每天早上去公园。(Nà wèi lǎotàitai měitiān zǎoshang qù gōngyuán.) That elderly lady goes to the park every morning.
老 (lǎo) means old, and 太太 (tàitai) means a married woman or Mrs. Put them together and an old Mrs. is an elderly lady.
Common mistake: Learners often say the second and third syllables with full fourth tones, tài tài. In normal speech the last 太 is neutral, so it sounds like lǎo tài tai. Also, 老太太 is not the same as 太太 alone, which just means a married woman or wife.
老太太 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
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太 tài · highest · 4 strokes
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太 tài · highest · 4 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 老太太.
| 老师 | lǎoshī | teacher |
| 老人 | lǎorén | old man or woman; the elderly |
| 太太 | tàitai | married woman; Mrs. |
| 太阳 | tàiyáng | sun; sunlight; sunshine |
| 不太 | bù tài | |
| 老朋友 | lǎo péngyou | old friend; (slang) period |
| 老是 | lǎoshì | always |
| 老年 | lǎonián | elderly; old age |
| 老王 | Lǎo Wáng | |
| 老板 | lǎobǎn | boss; proprietor |
| 老百姓 | lǎobǎixìng | ordinary people; the "person in the street" |
| 老头儿 | lǎotóur | see 老頭子|老头子[lao3 tou2 zi5] |
Questions about 老太太
What does 老太太 mean?
老太太 (lǎotàitai) means "elderly lady (respectful); esteemed mother" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 老太太?
老太太 is made of 3 characters: 老 (6 strokes), 太 (4 strokes), 太 (4 strokes). That is 14 strokes in total.
Is 老太太 an HSK word?
Yes. 老太太 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
Is it rude to call someone 老太太 to her face?
Talking about someone as 老太太 is polite. When speaking directly to an older woman, people usually say 奶奶 (nǎinai) or 阿姨 (āyí) instead, since these feel warmer and more natural as forms of address.
What is the male equivalent of 老太太?
The usual counterpart is 老先生 (lǎo xiānsheng), a respectful term for an elderly man. In casual speech people also say 老大爷 (lǎo dàye) or 老爷爷 (lǎo yéye).