Pinyin: lǎo

English: old, always

HSK Level: 3 (246 words at this level)

Tone Pattern: 3rd (dipping)

When to use: Use 老 when you want to talk about old. This word appears in everyday Mandarin conversations and is part of the HSK 3 core vocabulary of 246 words.

The character 老 is part of the HSK 3 vocabulary list with 246 words. Mastering this word helps build the foundation for reading, writing, and speaking Mandarin Chinese.

This character has a specific stroke order and radical decomposition. AI Lingo Chat's application includes animated stroke order diagrams and native-speaker audio for all 3587 words across all 6 HSK levels.