TraceHanzi

老百姓 meaning in English

lǎobǎixìng

ordinary people; the "person in the street"

HSK 3noun20 strokes

Meaning of 老百姓

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

lǎobǎixìng
  1. ordinary people
  2. the "person in the street"

Measure word: 個|个

How to use 老百姓

老百姓 is a common, informal word for regular citizens, often used to contrast ordinary people with officials or the rich. It appears a lot in news and daily talk about prices, housing and public life. Example: 房价太高，老百姓买不起。(Fángjià tài gāo, lǎobǎixìng mǎi bu qǐ.) Housing prices are too high for ordinary people to afford.

Think of 百 (bǎi, hundred) and 姓 (xìng, surname): the "hundred surnames" means all the families in the land. Add 老 (lǎo) in front and you get the familiar, everyday crowd of ordinary people.

Common mistake: Learners often read 老 here as "old" and think 老百姓 means elderly people, but it simply means ordinary people of any age. For the elderly, use 老人 (lǎorén) or 老年人 (lǎoniánrén).

老百姓 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

许xǔ多duō老lǎo百bǎi姓xìng加jiā入rù了le军jūn队duì。
A great number of citizens went into the army.
自zì古gǔ至zhì今jīn，容róng忍rěn的de总zǒng是shì老lǎo百bǎi姓xìng，被bèi容róng忍rěn的de总zǒng是shì统tǒng治zhì者zhě。
Since ancient times, it has always been the commoners who tolerate their ruler.
听tīng那nà些xiē只zhǐ看kànCCAV的de老lǎo百bǎi姓xìng进jìn行xíng全quán球qiú经jīng济jì的de个gè人rén分fēn析xī一yì直zhí是shì很hěn有yǒu趣qù的de。
Listening to the personal analysis about global economy made by people who watch only CCAV has always been kinda funny.

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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  2. 2
  3. 3
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  6. 6

百 bǎi · hundred · 6 strokes

  1. 1
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  3. 3
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姓 xìng · family name · 8 strokes

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Related words

Words that share a character with 老百姓.

老师lǎoshīteacher
老人lǎorénold man or woman; the elderly
老朋友lǎo péngyouold friend; (slang) period
老是lǎoshìalways
姓名xìngmíngsurname and given name; full name
老年lǎoniánelderly; old age
老王Lǎo Wáng
老板lǎobǎnboss; proprietor
老太太lǎotàitaielderly lady (respectful); esteemed mother
老头儿lǎotóursee 老頭子|老头子[lao3 tou2 zi5]
老婆lǎopo(coll.) wife
老公lǎogōng(coll.) husband

Questions about 老百姓

What does 老百姓 mean?

老百姓 (lǎobǎixìng) means "ordinary people; the "person in the street"" and is used as a noun.

How do you write 老百姓?

老百姓 is made of 3 characters: 老 (6 strokes), 百 (6 strokes), 姓 (8 strokes). That is 20 strokes in total.

Is 老百姓 an HSK word?

Yes. 老百姓 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

Is 老百姓 polite or rude?

It is neutral and friendly, not rude. People often use it to describe themselves, as in 我们老百姓 (wǒmen lǎobǎixìng), meaning "we ordinary folks." In formal writing you may also see 人民 (rénmín) or 民众 (mínzhòng).

Can I say 一个老百姓 for one person?

Yes, 一个老百姓 (yí ge lǎobǎixìng) is fine for one ordinary person, for example 我只是一个普通老百姓 (I am just an ordinary person). Most of the time, though, the word refers to people as a group.

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