Comparing "jiu" and "lao"

Both 旧 (jiù) and 老 (lǎo) mean "old," but 旧 (jiù) refers more to a worn-out, beat-up appearance of an object, whereas 老 (lǎo) refers to actual age in existence and can refer to people.

B1HSK3ASV4567

	旧 (jiù)	老 (lǎo)
Meaning	worn out	aged, experienced; "the usual," existing for a long time
Part of Speech	adjective	adjective
Formality	formal and informal	formal and informal

:Yes

For "worn out" use 旧 (jiù)

Use this to refer to objects that have been in use for a long time and thus are worn out or beat up.

Common Phrases

These phrases work with 旧 (jiù)：

• 旧 衣服jiù yīfuold clothing
• 旧 电视jiù diànshìold TV
• 旧 电脑jiù diànnǎoold computer
• 旧 手机jiù shǒujīold cell phone
• 旧 家具jiù jiājùold furniture
• 旧 自行车jiù zìxíngchēold bicycle

Example Sentences

In the following sentences, ONLY 旧（jiù）can be used:

• 你的 衣服 太 旧 了 ， 买 新 的 吧 。 Nǐ de yīfu tài jiù le, mǎi xīn de ba.Your clothes are too old, buy new ones.
• 这 是 旧 鞋子， 不 是 新 鞋子 。 Zhè shì jiù xiézi , bù shì xīn xiézi.These are old shoes, not new shoes.
• 我 的 手机 是 旧 手机 。 Wǒ de shǒujī shì jiù shǒujī .My phone is an old phone.
• 伦敦 的 火车站 非常 旧 。 Lúndūn de huǒchēzhàn fēicháng jiù .The train station in London is very old.
• 他 有 一 辆 旧 自行车。 Tā yǒu yī liàng jiù zìxíngchē .He has an old bicycle.

For "aged" or "existing for a long time" use 老 (lǎo)

While 老 (lǎo) can mean "aged," it often imparts a certain degree of respect, traditionally. It can also be difficult to determine exactly when 老 (lǎo) is a separate word and when it is a part of a word.

Common Phrases

These phrases work ONLY with 老 (lǎo)：

• 老人lǎorénold person
• 老 树lǎo shùold tree
• 老 房子 lǎo fángziold house
• 老 故事lǎo gùshìold story
• 老 朋友lǎo péngyǒu old friend

Example Sentences

In the following sentences, ONLY 老 (lǎo) can be used:

• 这个 人 很 老 了，感觉 他 90 岁 了。 Zhège rén hěn lǎo le, gǎnjué tā 90 suì le.This man is very old, it feels like he's 90 years old.
• 我 在 这里 有 很 多 老 朋友。 Wǒ zài zhèlǐ yǒu hěn duō lǎo péngyou .I have a lot of old friends here.
• 这 部 电影 是 一 部 老 电影 。 Zhè bù diànyǐng shì yī bù lǎo diànyǐng .This movie is an old movie.
• 在 这里 ， 有 很 多 老 的 建筑 ， 没有 空调 ， 夏天 很 热 。 Zài zhèlǐ, yǒu hěn duō lǎo de jiànzhù , méiyǒu kōngtiáo, xiàtiān hěn rè.There are a lot of old buildings here with no air conditioning. It's very hot in the summer.

Some nouns work with both 老 (lǎo) and 旧 (jiù)

In these cases, both words are correct, but they mean something different. 老 emphasizes old style (an old model), whereas 旧 means worn-out or beat-up as usual.

• 我 家 的 老 房子 很 大。 Wǒ jiā de lǎo fángzi hěn dà.
• 这个 房子 太 旧 了。 Zhège fángzi tài jiù le.

• 我 有 两 个 手机，一 个 新 手机，一 个 老 手机。 Wǒ yǒu liǎng gè shǒujī, yī gè xīn shǒujī, yī gè lǎo shǒujī .
• 我 买 了 一 个 旧 手机。 Wǒ mǎi le yī gè jiù shǒujī .

For "the usual" or "same as always" use 老 (lǎo)

Common Phrases

These phrases work ONLY with 老 (lǎo)：

• 老样子lǎoyàngzisame old (situation)
• 老地方 lǎo dìfangthe usual place

Example Sentences

In the following sentences, ONLY 老 (lǎo) can be used:

• 明天 我们 在 老 地方见 吧。 Míngtiān wǒmen zài lǎo dìfang jiàn ba.I'll see you at the usual place tomorrow.
• 我 最近的 工作 还是 老样子。 Wǒ zuìjìn de gōngzuò háishì lǎo yàngzi .I've been doing the same old thing at work lately.