老 lǎo
- Strokes
- 6
- Radical
- 老 — old, aged
- How it's built
- Pictograph — a drawing of the thing
老人家
lǎorenjia
elderly person; old gentleman/lady
Characters in this word
人 rén
- Strokes
- 2
- Radical
- 人 — man, person
- How it's built
- Pictograph — a drawing of the thing
家 jiā
- Strokes
- 10
- Radical
- 宀 — roof
- Made of
- 宀 roof 豕 pig, boar
- How it's built
- Phono-semantic — one part hints at the meaning, another at the sound
Example phrases
- 老人家说话慢，并不代表他们的判断力就差。 Lǎorenjia shuōhuà màn, bìng bù dàibiǎo tāmen de pànduànlì jiù chà. Elderly people may speak slowly, but that does not mean their judgement is poor.
- 您老人家身体还好吗？ Nín lǎorenjia shēntǐ hái hǎo ma? Are you still in good health, sir?
- 公交车上要给老人家让座。 Gōngjiāochē shang yào gěi lǎorenjia ràngzuò. On the bus you should give up your seat for elderly people.