To learn Chinese well, one
should be as careful as possible, because the same word can have various
meanings in different situations. Obviously, it is the context that decides the
meaning of a particular word. So when you go through Chinese learning, do
pay extreme attention to the context and only in this way can you figure out
the correct meaning of the text.
While learning Chinese language,
people are sometimes confused by the usage of老 (lǎo), which literally
means “old” in English, but in fact it has other meanings besides “old” such as
always, respected (senior), outdated and tough.
In Chinese learning, 老 (lǎo) is translated
into "senior" particularly when depicting aged people as a way to
show respect. The Chinese call someone “old” to show respect. Chinese people
tend to add 老(lǎo) after an aged person’s family name to address him or her
respectfully, for example, Ji Xianlin, was called by many as 季老(jìlǎo). However,
this kind of usage should only happen in daily
Chinese conversations.
In another example, the
phrase “老爸”, “老” has an exceptional meaning, which is to show the close affiliation to
the father in a common and vulgar way. So “老爸” approximately means
“daddy”, instead of meaning old daddy.
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