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2. Laos
4. Gelo
5. Pharaoh
6. Teacher / Master / Old Sage
7. Big Brother
10. Old, But More Vigorous in Spirit
11. Birth Old-Age Sickness Death
13. Dear Grandfather
15. Dear Grandmother
16. You are only as old as you feel
17. Hold Hands with You, Grow Old with You
18. Black or white cat matters not as long as it can catch mice
偕老 is a Chinese, Japanese, and Korean word that means to grow/growing old together.
This will be a nice wall scroll to hang in your home if your plan is to grow old with your mate.
Depending on the romanization scheme you use, this man's name can be spelled Laozi, Lao Tzu, or Lao Tze. In older English usage, he was known as Laocius. He is believed to have lived around 500 B.C.
He was a Chinese philosopher, founder of Daoism/Taoism, credited with being the author of the sacred and wise book of Daoism/Taoism.
There is a theory that Lao Tzu's soul traveled to India and was reborn as the Buddha.
老師 directly translates as “old teacher,” “old master,” or “old sage.”
Together, they are understood as “teacher.” When you think about that, also realize that with age comes respect in Asian cultures. So calling someone old is a term of respect (not like the way we mean it in English). You could replace “old” with “respected” and be closer to how this is meant in Chinese.
Teachers, in general, are more respected by their students and the population in China. When I was a teacher in China, I certainly felt that.
This term is also used for masters of certain fields. For instance, a master calligrapher would respectfully be addressed as a “teacher.” In this case, “master” and “teacher” are synonymous.
Other artists (especially those who are famous or accomplished) should be addressed with this term. Also, some martial arts schools use this term of respect for their masters/teachers/instructors.
This title is recognized in Japanese as "roushi" with the same meaning but it’s rarely used in Japan.
Until death do us part
Age is just a number
老當益壯 is a Chinese proverb that means “old but vigorous” or “hale and hearty despite the years.”
Said of someone who is more spirited when he/she grows older.
The story behind this Chinese proverb:
In the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was a man named Ma Yuan. He had been planning to herd animals on the frontier since he was young. When he grew up, Ma became a minor official of a county.
Once, he was sending some prisoners to another location. He felt pity for them, so he set them free, and then he fled to another county in the north. He herded animals there, and thus his dream came true. He always said: “If you want to be a great man, the poorer you are, the firmer in spirit you have to be; the older you are, the more spirited you should be.”
Later, when he was even older, Ma Yuan became a famous general of the Eastern Han Dynasty and contributed to many battles.
Born to Suffer
生老病死 means “to be born, to grow old, to get sick and to die” or “birth, aging, sickness, and death.”
This is an old somewhat-morbid Chinese proverb that is also used in Korean and Japanese. It figuratively means the fate of humankind (i.e. mortality) or suggests that we are all born to suffer.
In the Buddhist context, there are the “four inevitables in human life” or “four afflictions that are the lot of every human” known as “四苦” (literally “four afflictions”). Sometimes this proverb is written with that affliction character, 苦, at the end like 生老病死苦.
Maternal (Northern China)
Maternal (Northern China)
Maternal (Northern China)
Maternal (Northern China)
You're only old if you think you're old
Ability is more important than looks
不管黑猫白猫能捉着老鼠的就是好猫 literally translates as: It doesn't matter [if a] cat [is] black [or] white, [as long as it] can catch mice, it's a good cat.
This proverb was either composed or made famous by Deng XiaoPing in 1961 when he exclaimed, “I don't care if it's a white cat or a black cat. It's a good cat so long as it catches mice” when his critics pointed out that his ideas were Capitalistic (free market). The response was meant to say, “It does not matter if it's Communist or Capitalist, as long as it works.”
This is a Chinese proverb that can be used to suggest one should disregard looks or a person's race, as long as they can do the job. It can also be used as a metaphor for many other situations.
Deng XiaoPing probably saved China from collapse (as the Soviet Union experienced). He changed China’s economy from pure Communism to a hybrid where the free market (Capitalism) is encouraged. More about Deng XiaoPing
Below are some entries from our dictionary that may match your lao3 search...
Characters If shown, 2nd row is Simp. Chinese |
Pronunciation Romanization |
Simple Dictionary Definition |
偕老 see styles |
xié lǎo xie2 lao3 hsieh lao kairou / kairo かいろう |
More info & calligraphy: Growing Old Togethergrowing old together |
法老 see styles |
fǎ lǎo fa3 lao3 fa lao |
More info & calligraphy: Pharaoh |
老子 see styles |
lǎo zi lao3 zi5 lao tzu roushi / roshi ろうし |
More info & calligraphy: Lao Tzu / LaoziLaozi; Lao Tzu; Lao Tse; (person) Laozi (semi-legendary Chinese philosopher and deity); Lao Tzu; Lao Tse Laozi, or Laocius, the accepted founder of the Daoists. The theory that his soul went to India and was reborn as the Buddha is found in the 齊書 History of the Qi dynasty 顧歡傳. |
老師 老师 see styles |
lǎo shī lao3 shi1 lao shih roushi / roshi ろうし |
More info & calligraphy: Teacher / Master / Old Sage(1) old master; old teacher; (2) old monk; aged priest old master |
老撾 老挝 see styles |
lǎo wō lao3 wo1 lao wo |
More info & calligraphy: Laos |
老大哥 see styles |
lǎo dà gē lao3 da4 ge1 lao ta ko |
More info & calligraphy: Big Brother |
佬 see styles |
lǎo lao3 lao |
male; man (Cantonese) |
咾 see styles |
lǎo lao3 lao |
a noise; a sound |
栳 see styles |
lǎo lao3 lao |
basket |
狫 see styles |
lǎo lao3 lao |
name of a tribe |
老 see styles |
lǎo lao3 lao rou / ro ろう |
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 (n,n-pref,n-suf) (1) old age; age; old people; the old; the aged; senior; elder; (pronoun) (2) (archaism) (humble language) (used by the elderly) I; me; my humble self; (surname) Rou jarā; old, old age. |
轑 see styles |
lǎo lao3 lao |
spokes |
銠 铑 see styles |
lǎo lao3 lao |
rhodium (chemistry) |
㧯 see styles |
lǎo lao3 lao |
round-bottomed wicker basket; (dialect) to lift; to carry on one's shoulder |
二老 see styles |
èr lǎo er4 lao3 erh lao |
mother and father; parents |
仫佬 see styles |
mù lǎo mu4 lao3 mu lao |
Mulao ethnic group of Guangxi |
元老 see styles |
yuán lǎo yuan2 lao3 yüan lao genrou / genro げんろう |
senior figure; elder; doyen (1) elder statesman; doyen; old-timer; authority; (2) (hist) genrō (member of a pre-WWII body that informally advised the emperor) |
八老 see styles |
bā lǎo ba1 lao3 pa lao |
"the Eight Great Eminent Officials" of the CCP, abbr. for 八大元老[Ba1 Da4 Yuan2 lao3] |
北佬 see styles |
běi lǎo bei3 lao3 pei lao |
northerner, person from Northern China (Cantonese) |
古老 see styles |
gǔ lǎo gu3 lao3 ku lao korou / koro ころう |
ancient; old; age-old old people; seniors; elders; old-timer |
啃老 see styles |
kěn lǎo ken3 lao3 k`en lao ken lao |
(coll.) to live with and depend on one's parents even upon reaching adulthood |
國老 国老 see styles |
guó lǎo guo2 lao3 kuo lao koku rō |
national elder |
垂老 see styles |
chuí lǎo chui2 lao3 ch`ui lao chui lao |
approaching old age |
基佬 see styles |
jī lǎo ji1 lao3 chi lao |
(slang) gay guy |
大佬 see styles |
dà lǎo da4 lao3 ta lao |
big shot (leading some field or group); godfather |
姆佬 see styles |
mǔ lǎo mu3 lao3 mu lao |
Mulao ethnic group of Guangxi |
姥姥 see styles |
lǎo lao lao3 lao5 lao lao |
(coll.) mother's mother; maternal grandmother |
姥娘 see styles |
lǎo niáng lao3 niang2 lao niang |
maternal grandmother (dialectal) |
姥爺 姥爷 see styles |
lǎo ye lao3 ye5 lao yeh |
maternal grandfather (dialectal) |
姥鯊 姥鲨 see styles |
lǎo shā lao3 sha1 lao sha |
basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) |
The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
Growing Old Together | 偕老 | kairou / kairo | xié lǎo / xie2 lao3 / xie lao / xielao | hsieh lao / hsiehlao |
Laos | 老撾 老挝 | lǎo wō / lao3 wo1 / lao wo / laowo | ||
Lao Tzu Laozi | 老子 | roushi / roshi | lǎo zǐ / lao3 zi3 / lao zi / laozi | lao tzu / laotzu |
Gelo | 仡佬 | gē lǎo / ge1 lao3 / ge lao / gelao | ko lao / kolao | |
Pharaoh | 法老 | fǎ lǎo / fa3 lao3 / fa lao / falao | ||
Teacher Master Old Sage | 老師 老师 | lǎo shī / lao3 shi1 / lao shi / laoshi | lao shih / laoshih | |
Big Brother | 老大哥 | lǎo dà gē lao3 da4 ge1 lao da ge laodage | lao ta ko laotako |
|
Fountain of Youth | 不老泉 | furousen / furosen | bù lǎo quán bu4 lao3 quan2 bu lao quan bulaoquan | pu lao ch`üan pulaochüan pu lao chüan |
The White Hairs of Old Age | 白頭偕老 白头偕老 | bái tóu xié lǎo bai2 tou2 xie2 lao3 bai tou xie lao baitouxielao | pai t`ou hsieh lao paitouhsiehlao pai tou hsieh lao |
|
Old, But More Vigorous in Spirit | 老當益壯 老当益壮 | lǎo dāng yì zhuàng lao3 dang1 yi4 zhuang4 lao dang yi zhuang laodangyizhuang | lao tang i chuang laotangichuang |
|
Birth Old-Age Sickness Death | 生老病死 | shou rou byou shi shouroubyoushi sho ro byo shi | shēng lǎo bìng sǐ sheng1 lao3 bing4 si3 sheng lao bing si shenglaobingsi | sheng lao ping ssu shenglaopingssu |
Loving Grandfather | 慈祥的老爺 慈祥的老爷 | cí xiáng de lǎo ye ci2 xiang2 de lao3 ye ci xiang de lao ye cixiangdelaoye | tz`u hsiang te lao yeh tzuhsiangtelaoyeh tzu hsiang te lao yeh |
|
Dear Grandfather | 親愛的姥爺 亲爱的姥爷 | qín ài de lǎo ye qin2 ai4 de lao3 ye qin ai de lao ye qinaidelaoye | ch`in ai te lao yeh chinaitelaoyeh chin ai te lao yeh |
|
Loving Grandmother | 慈祥的姥姥 | cí xiáng de lǎo lao ci2 xiang2 de lao3 lao ci xiang de lao lao cixiangdelaolao | tz`u hsiang te lao lao tzuhsiangtelaolao tzu hsiang te lao lao |
|
Dear Grandmother | 親愛的姥姥 亲爱的姥姥 | qín ài de lǎo lao qin2 ai4 de lao3 lao qin ai de lao lao qinaidelaolao | ch`in ai te lao lao chinaitelaolao chin ai te lao lao |
|
You are only as old as you feel | 不怕人老隻怕心老 不怕人老只怕心老 | bú pà rén lǎo zhǐ pà xīn lǎo bu2 pa4 ren2 lao3 zhi3 pa4 xin1 lao3 bu pa ren lao zhi pa xin lao buparenlaozhipaxinlao | pu p`a jen lao chih p`a hsin lao pupajenlaochihpahsinlao pu pa jen lao chih pa hsin lao |
|
Hold Hands with You, Grow Old with You | 執子之手與子偕老 执子之手与子偕老 | zhí zǐ zhī shǒu yǔ zǐ xié lǎo zhi2 zi3 zhi1 shou3 yu3 zi3 xie2 lao3 zhi zi zhi shou yu zi xie lao zhizizhishouyuzixielao | chih tzu chih shou yü tzu hsieh lao | |
Black or white cat matters not as long as it can catch mice | 不管黑貓白貓能捉著老鼠的就是好貓 不管黑猫白猫能捉着老鼠的就是好猫 | bù guǎn hēi māo bái māo néng zhuō zhe lǎo shǔ de jiù shì hǎo mǎo bu4 guan3 hei1 mao1 bai2 mao1 neng2 zhuo1 zhe lao3 shu3 de jiu4 shi4 hao3 mao3 bu guan hei mao bai mao neng zhuo zhe lao shu de jiu shi hao mao | pu kuan hei mao pai mao neng cho che lao shu te chiu shih hao mao | |
In some entries above you will see that characters have different versions above and below a line. In these cases, the characters above the line are Traditional Chinese, while the ones below are Simplified Chinese. |
Successful Chinese Character and Japanese Kanji calligraphy searches within the last few hours...
All of our calligraphy wall scrolls are handmade.
When the calligrapher finishes creating your artwork, it is taken to my art mounting workshop in Beijing where a wall scroll is made by hand from a combination of silk, rice paper, and wood.
After we create your wall scroll, it takes at least two weeks for air mail delivery from Beijing to you.
Allow a few weeks for delivery. Rush service speeds it up by a week or two for $10!
When you select your calligraphy, you'll be taken to another page where you can choose various custom options.
The wall scroll that Sandy is holding in this picture is a "large size"
single-character wall scroll.
We also offer custom wall scrolls in small, medium, and an even-larger jumbo size.
Professional calligraphers are getting to be hard to find these days.
Instead of drawing characters by hand, the new generation in China merely type roman letters into their computer keyboards and pick the character that they want from a list that pops up.
There is some fear that true Chinese calligraphy may become a lost art in the coming years. Many art institutes in China are now promoting calligraphy programs in hopes of keeping this unique form
of art alive.
Even with the teachings of a top-ranked calligrapher in China, my calligraphy will never be good enough to sell. I will leave that to the experts.
The same calligrapher who gave me those lessons also attracted a crowd of thousands and a TV crew as he created characters over 6-feet high. He happens to be ranked as one of the top 100 calligraphers in all of China. He is also one of very few that would actually attempt such a feat.
Check out my lists of Japanese Kanji Calligraphy Wall Scrolls and Old Korean Hanja Calligraphy Wall Scrolls.
Some people may refer to this entry as Lao3 Kanji, Lao3 Characters, Lao3 in Mandarin Chinese, Lao3 Characters, Lao3 in Chinese Writing, Lao3 in Japanese Writing, Lao3 in Asian Writing, Lao3 Ideograms, Chinese Lao3 symbols, Lao3 Hieroglyphics, Lao3 Glyphs, Lao3 in Chinese Letters, Lao3 Hanzi, Lao3 in Japanese Kanji, Lao3 Pictograms, Lao3 in the Chinese Written-Language, or Lao3 in the Japanese Written-Language.