1 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
1 lit. a piece of rat feces spoiled the whole pot of congee (idiom)
2 fig. one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch
一颗老鼠屎坏了一锅汤
yī kē lǎo shǔ shǐ huài le yī guō tāng
1 lit. a piece of rat feces spoiled the whole pot of soup (idiom)
2 fig. one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch
上有老下有小
shàng yǒu lǎo xià yǒu xiǎo
1 lit. above are the elderly, below are the young (idiom)
2 fig. to have to take care of both one's aging parents and one's children
3 sandwich generation
不听老人言，吃亏在眼前
bù tīng lǎo rén yán , chī kuī zài yǎn qián
1 (idiom) ignore your elders at your peril
天荒地老
tiān huāng dì lǎo
1 until the end of time (idiom)
宝刀不老
bǎo dāo bù lǎo
1 lit. a good sword always remains sharp (idiom)
2 fig. (of one's skills etc) to be as good as ever
3 the old man still has it
宝刀未老
bǎo dāo wèi lǎo
1 treasure knife does not age (idiom); old but still vigorous
年老力衰
nián lǎo lì shuāi
1 old and weak (idiom)
年老体弱
nián lǎo tǐ ruò
1 old and weak (idiom)
抽丝剥茧
chōu sī bāo jiǎn
1 lit. to spin silk from cocoons
2 fig. to make a painstaking investigation (idiom)
敬老尊贤
jìng lǎo zūn xián
1 to respect the wise and venerate the worthy (idiom); to honor the great and the good
活到老，学到老
huó dào lǎo , xué dào lǎo
1 One is never too old to learn. (idiom)
无颜见江东父老
wú yán jiàn Jiāng dōng fù lǎo
1 (idiom) to be unable to return to one's hometown due to the shame of failure (originally referred to Xiang Yu 項羽|项羽[Xiàng Yǔ], who chose not to retreat to Jiangdong after his humiliating defeat)
狗逮老鼠
gǒu dǎi lǎo shǔ
1 lit. a dog who catches mice (idiom)
2 fig. to be meddlesome
病来如山倒，病去如抽丝
bìng lái rú shān dǎo , bìng qù rú chōu sī
1 sickness comes like a landslide, but goes slowly like spinning silk (idiom); expect to convalesce slowly
白头偕老
bái tóu xié lǎo
1 (to live together until the) white hairs of old age (idiom); to live to a ripe old age in conjugal bliss
2 until death do us part
白头到老
bái tóu dào lǎo
1 (to live together until the) white hairs of old age (idiom); to live to a ripe old age in conjugal bliss
2 until death do us part
短中抽长
duǎn zhōng chōu cháng
1 to make the best of a bad job
2 to make the best use of limited resources (idiom)