How is 老 pronounced?

老 is pronounced “lǎo” in pinyin.

What HSK level is 老?

老 belongs to HSK 3 in the HSK 3.0 vocabulary.

How do you write 老?

Follow the stroke-order animation above; 老 is written using standard stroke order. Practice it in the writing trainer.

HSK 3adjectiveadverb

老

lǎo

老 (lǎo) means “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old (of people); venerable (person); experienced; of long standing; always; all the time; of the past; very; outdated; (of meat etc) tough”. It is an HSK 3 Chinese character in the HSK 3.0 vocabulary.

Stroke order

Practice writingUnlock HSK 3 required

Example

老师好！

Lǎoshī hǎo!

Hello teacher!

Words containing 老

老师lǎo shīteacher 老虎lǎo hǔtiger; CL:隻|只[zhi1]老百姓lǎo bǎi xìngordinary people; the "person in the street"老板lǎo bǎnvariant of 老板老婆lǎo pó(coll.) wife 老实lǎo shihonest; sincere; well-behaved; naive; gullible 老鼠lǎo shǔrat; mouse (CL:隻|只[zhi1])衰老shuāi lǎoto age; to deteriorate with age; old and weak 老公lǎo gōng(coll.) husband 老人lǎo rénold man or woman; the elderly; one's aged parents or grandparents 古老gǔ lǎoancient; old; age-old 老是lǎo shialways

More HSK 3 vocabulary

HSK 3 →

阿姨ā yímaternal aunt; step-mother; childcare worker; nursemaid; woman of similar age to one's parents (term of address used by child)啊āinterjection of surprise; Ah!; Oh!矮ǎilow; short (in length)爱好ài hàoto like; to be fond of; to take pleasure in; to be keen on; interest; hobby 安静ān jìngquiet; peaceful; calm 把bǎto hold; to grasp; to hold a baby in position to help it urinate or defecate; handlebar; classifier: handful, bundle, bunch; classifier for things with handles; (used to put the object before the verb: 把 + {noun} + {verb})班bānsurname Ban 搬bānto move (i.e. relocate oneself); to move (sth relatively heavy or bulky); to shift; to copy indiscriminately 办法bàn fǎmeans; method; way (of doing sth)办公室bàn gōng shìoffice; business premises; bureau 半bànhalf; semi-; incomplete; (after a number) and a half 帮忙bāng mángto help; to lend a hand; to do a favor; to do a good turn

Frequently asked questions

What does 老 mean?: 老 (lǎo) means “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old (of people); venerable (person); experienced; of long standing; always; all the time; of the past; very; outdated; (of meat etc) tough”. It is an HSK 3 word.
How is 老 pronounced?: 老 is pronounced “lǎo” in pinyin.
What HSK level is 老?: 老 belongs to HSK 3 in the HSK 3.0 vocabulary.
How do you write 老?: Follow the stroke-order animation above; 老 is written using standard stroke order. Practice it in the writing trainer.

Updated: 2026-05-27