老子

Chinese

		old venerable	master (honorific)
trad. (老子)		老	子
simp. ^#(老子)		老	子

Pronunciation 1

Mandarin
(Pinyin): Lǎozǐ
(Zhuyin): ㄌㄠˇ ㄗˇ
Cantonese (Jyutping): lou⁵ zi²
Hakka (Sixian, PFS): Ló-chṳ́
Min Dong (BUC): Lō̤-cṳ̄
Min Nan
(Hokkien, POJ): Nó͘-chú / Ló-chú
(Teochew, Peng'im): lao⁶ ze²

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: Lǎozǐ [Phonetic: láozǐ]
  - Zhuyin: ㄌㄠˇ ㄗˇ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: Lǎozǐh
  - Wade–Giles: Lao³-tzŭ³
  - Yale: Lǎu-dž
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: Laotzyy
  - Palladius: Лаоцзы (Laoczy)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /lɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻³⁵ t͡sz̩²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
  - Jyutping: lou⁵ zi²
  - Yale: lóuh jí
  - Cantonese Pinyin: lou⁵ dzi²
  - Guangdong Romanization: lou⁵ ji²
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /lou̯¹³ t͡siː³⁵/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: Ló-chṳ́
  - Hakka Romanization System: lo` zii`
  - Hagfa Pinyim: lo³ zi³
  - Sinological IPA: /lo³¹ t͡sɨ³¹/
Min Dong
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: Lō̤-cṳ̄
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /l̃o³³⁻³⁵ ^(t͡s-)ʒy³³/
Min Nan
- (Hokkien: General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Nó͘-chú
  - Tâi-lô: Nóo-tsú
  - Phofsit Daibuun: nofzuo
  - IPA (Taipei): /nɔ̃⁵³⁻⁴⁴ t͡su⁵³/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /nɔ̃⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ t͡su⁴¹/
- (Hokkien: variant in Taiwan)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Ló-chú
  - Tâi-lô: Ló-tsú
  - Phofsit Daibuun: loyzuo
  - IPA (Taipei): /lo⁵³⁻⁴⁴ t͡su⁵³/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /lɤ⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ t͡su⁴¹/
- (Teochew)
  - Peng'im: lao⁶ ze²
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: lău tsṳ́
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /lau³⁵⁻¹¹ t͡sɯ⁵²/

Middle Chinese: /lɑu^X t͡sɨ^X/

Rime
Character	老	子
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Initial (聲)	來 (37)	精 (13)
Final (韻)	豪 (89)	之 (19)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)	Rising (X)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open
Division (等)	I	III
Fanqie	盧晧切	即里切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/lɑu^X/	/t͡sɨ^X/
Pan Wuyun	/lɑu^X/	/t͡sɨ^X/
Shao Rongfen	/lɑu^X/	/t͡sie^X/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/law^X/	/t͡sɨ^X/
Li Rong	/lɑu^X/	/t͡siə^X/
Wang Li	/lɑu^X/	/t͡sĭə^X/
Bernard Karlgren	/lɑu^X/	/t͡si^X/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	lǎo	zǐ
Expected Cantonese Reflex	lou⁵	zi²

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*C.rˤuʔ tsəʔ/
(Zhengzhang): /*ruːʔ ʔslɯʔ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	老	子
Reading #	1/1	2/2
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	lǎo	zǐ
Middle Chinese	‹ law^X ›	‹ tsi^X ›
Old Chinese	/*C.rˁuʔ/	/*tsəʔ/
English	old	child; gentleman, master
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. [t] as coda may in fact be -t or -p; Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	老	子
Reading #	1/1	1/1
No.	7666	17857
Phonetic component	老	子
Rime group	幽	之
Rime subdivision	1	0
Corresponding MC rime	老	子
Old Chinese	/*ruːʔ/	/*ʔslɯʔ/

Proper noun

老子

Laozi (604–531 BCE), a Chinese philosopher, and founder of Taoism
Laozi (also called Tao Te Ching, a book of philosophy supposedly written by Laozi)

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (老子):

→ Japanese: 老(ろう)子(し) (rōshi)
→ Korean: 로자(老子) (roja), 노자(老子) (noja)
→ Vietnamese: Lão Tử (老子)

Pronunciation 2

Mandarin
(Pinyin): lǎozi
(Zhuyin): ㄌㄠˇ ˙ㄗ
Cantonese (Jyutping): lou⁵ zi²
Min Nan (POJ): láu-chú / láu-chír

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: lǎozi
  - Zhuyin: ㄌㄠˇ ˙ㄗ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: lǎozi̊h
  - Wade–Giles: lao³-tzŭ⁵
  - Yale: lǎu-dz
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: lao.tzy
  - Palladius: лаоцзы (laoczy)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /lɑʊ̯²¹⁴ d͡z̥z̩⁴/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
  - Jyutping: lou⁵ zi²
  - Yale: lóuh jí
  - Cantonese Pinyin: lou⁵ dzi²
  - Guangdong Romanization: lou⁵ ji²
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /lou̯¹³ t͡siː³⁵/
Min Nan
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Zhangzhou)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: láu-chú
  - Tâi-lô: láu-tsú
  - Phofsit Daibuun: lawzuo
  - IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou): /lau⁵³⁻⁴⁴ t͡su⁵³/
- (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: láu-chír
  - Tâi-lô: láu-tsír
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /lau⁵⁵⁴⁻²⁴ t͡sɯ⁵⁵⁴/

Middle Chinese: /lɑu^X t͡sɨ^X/

Rime
Character	老	子
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Initial (聲)	來 (37)	精 (13)
Final (韻)	豪 (89)	之 (19)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)	Rising (X)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open
Division (等)	I	III
Fanqie	盧晧切	即里切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/lɑu^X/	/t͡sɨ^X/
Pan Wuyun	/lɑu^X/	/t͡sɨ^X/
Shao Rongfen	/lɑu^X/	/t͡sie^X/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/law^X/	/t͡sɨ^X/
Li Rong	/lɑu^X/	/t͡siə^X/
Wang Li	/lɑu^X/	/t͡sĭə^X/
Bernard Karlgren	/lɑu^X/	/t͡si^X/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	lǎo	zǐ
Expected Cantonese Reflex	lou⁵	zi²

Pronoun

老子

(colloquial, chiefly men's speech, sometimes humorous) I; me
老子才不怕老闆呢。 [MSC, trad.]
老子才不怕老板呢。 [MSC, simp.]
Lǎozi cái bù pà lǎobǎn ne. [Pinyin]
I'm not afraid of the boss.
- 杯，汝來前。老子今朝，點檢形骸。 [Ci, trad.]
  杯，汝来前。老子今朝，点检形骸。 [Ci, simp.]
  From: c. 12th century, Xin Qiji (辛棄疾). Admonitions to the Goblet on the Occasion of My Determination to Stay Sober (《沁園春·將止酒戒酒杯使勿近》)
  Bēi, rǔ lái qián. Lǎozi jīnzhāo, diǎnjiǎn xínghái. [Pinyin]
  Come forth, ye goblet. Listen: from now on, I care for myself.

Usage notes

When 老子 (lǎozi) is used this way, it often gives off an arrogant, angry, childish or humorous tone.

Noun

老子

old man
(slang) father; old man
(dated or regional) son; young man (i.e. a mother scolding her son)
- 最奇怪的是昨天街上的那個女人，打他兒子，嘴裏說道：「老子呀！我要咬你幾口纔出氣！」他眼睛卻看着我。 [MSC, trad.]
  最奇怪的是昨天街上的那个女人，打他儿子，嘴里说道：“老子呀！我要咬你几口才出气！”他眼睛却看着我。 [MSC, simp.]
  From: 1918, Lu Xun, A Madman's Diary
  Zuì qíguài de shì zuótiān jiē shàng de nàge nǚrén, dǎ tā érzǐ, zuǐ lǐ shuōdào: “Lǎozi ya! Wǒ yào yǎo nǐ jǐ kǒu cái chūqì!” Tā yǎnjīng què kàn zhe wǒ. [Pinyin]
  The strangest was a woman on the street yesterday. She was hitting her son. From her mouth, I heard her say, "Young man! I'd like to take a few bites out of you just to vent my anger!" Yet, her eyes were fixed on me.

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
老	子
ろう Grade: 4	し Grade: 1
on’yomi

From Middle Chinese 老子 (MC lɑu^X t͡sɨ^X).

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) ろーし [ròóshí] (Heiban – [0])[1][2]
IPA^(key): [ɾo̞ːɕi]

Proper noun

老(ろう)子(し) • (Rōshi) ^{←らうし (rausi)^?}

Laozi
the works of Laozi: synonym of 老子道徳経 (Rōshi Dōtokukyō, “Tao Te Ching”)

Usage notes

The Tao Te Ching is known in Japanese by three possible names:[3][4][5]

老子道徳経 (Rōshi Dōtokukyō, literally “Laozi Tao Te Ching”)
老子 (Rōshi, literally “Laozi”)
道徳経 (Dōtokukyō, literally “Tao Te Ching”)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
老	子
ろう Grade: 4	し Grade: 1
on’yomi

From Middle Chinese 老子 (MC lɑu^X t͡sɨ^X), based on the literal meanings of the characters 老 (“old; an elder”) + 子 (diminutive suffix).

First attested in this use in a text from 1694.[3]

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) ろーし [róꜜòshì] (Atamadaka – [1])[6]
IPA^(key): [ɾo̞ːɕi]

Pronoun

老(ろう)子(し) • (rōshi)

[from 1694] (archaic) you (addressing an elderly person)

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
老	子
お(い) Grade: 4	こ > ご Grade: 1
kun’yomi

For pronunciation and definitions of 老子 – see the following entry.

【老おい子ご】

[noun] [from late 1000s] (archaic) a child of older parents

(This term, 老子, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)

References

1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN
1997, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
1995, 大辞泉 (Daijisen) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
“老子”, in 日本大百科全書：ニッポニカ (Nippon Dai Hyakka Zensho: Nipponica, “Encyclopedia Nipponica”)‎ (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 1984
2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

Korean

Hanja in this term
老	子

Proper noun

老子 • (Noja) (hangeul 노자)

Hanja form^? of 노자 (“Laozi”).

Vietnamese

Hán tự in this term
老	子

Proper noun

老子

chữ Hán form of Lão Tử (“Laozi”).

[NHK-1] 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN

[SMK5-2] 1997, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[KDJ-3] 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan

[DJS-4] 1995, 大辞泉 (Daijisen) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

[N-5] “老子”, in 日本大百科全書：ニッポニカ (Nippon Dai Hyakka Zensho: Nipponica, “Encyclopedia Nipponica”)‎ (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 1984

[DJR-6] 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

老子

Chinese

Pronunciation 1

Proper noun

Descendants

Pronunciation 2

Pronoun

Usage notes

Noun

Japanese

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

Proper noun

Usage notes

See also

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

Pronoun

Etymology 3

References

Korean

Proper noun

Vietnamese

Proper noun