老

Meaning(adjective, adverb, vocab.word.pos.g)

prefix used before the surname of a person or a numeral indicating the order of birth of the children in a family or to indicate affection or familiarity; old (of people); venerable (person); experienced; of long standing; always; all the time; of the past; very; outdated; (of meat etc) tough

老 + surname (老王) is a friendly way to address colleagues or older friends.

Examples

• 我爷爷已经很老了。

  wǒ yé ye yǐ jīng hěn lǎo le.

  My grandfather is already very old.

• 他是我的老朋友。

  tā shì wǒ de lǎo péng you.

  He's an old friend of mine.

• 你别老看手机。

  nǐ bié lǎo kàn shǒu jī.

  Stop looking at your phone all the time.

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