326 Old

In most cultures around the world, people try to stay young, but thanks to the influence of Confucius, there is great respect for elders in China! Jonathan Dugdale, a researcher, and historian at the University of Birmingham, calls in to discuss the different Chinese words for “old” with ShaoLan. It’s important to know the difference because there is both a rude way and a respectful way to describe someone who is “old.”

On top of that, ShaoLan explains the word for “old” to describes objects, perhaps an old phone, or an old book, and the word for antiques or ancient archaeological artifacts, things that Jonathan researches. He even mentions that during the period he researches, the Liao dynasty, ancient objects from China were found in Western Europe and vice versa, evidence of trade going on over 1000 years ago.

The way to describe an old person in Chinese is 老人, or to be respectful is to say 長輩/长辈. The word for an old object is 舊/旧, while to describe ancient objects you say 古.

Learn With Jonathan Dugdale

To make East Asian history and culture accessible to wider audience

Join Our 600,000 Followers

Old
lǎo
Old person
老人
lǎo rén
Old man
老男人
lǎo nán rén
Old woman
老女人
lǎo nǚ rén
Elder
長輩 / 长辈
zhǎng bèi
To age, to become old
老化
lǎo huà
Aging population
人口老化
rén kǒu lǎo huà
Population
人口
rén kǒu
Aging issues
人口老化問題 / 人口老化问题
rén kǒu lǎo huà wèn tí
Another word for "old"
舊 / 旧
jiù
Old mobile phone
舊手機 / 旧手机
jiù shǒu jī
Old book
舊書 / 旧书
jiù shū
Another word for "old"
Ancient times
古代
gǔ dài
Old friend
老朋友
lǎo péng yǒu

Become a Golden Chineasian

Want to master all the phrases taught in Talk Chineasy? Want to level up your Chinese and surprise your friends? Become a Golden Chineasian and enjoy useful custom learning materials!

Join Now