HSK 5 · Family

老百姓 lǎobǎixìng “ordinary people” in Chinese

Said as láobǎixìng

Same in Traditional

What 老百姓 means

  1. ordinary people
  2. the “person in the street”

Measure word 个 gè · 一个老百姓 yí ge lǎobǎixìng

How to say 老百姓

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale老lǎo3rd tone, dipping
  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale百bǎi3rd tone, dipping
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale姓xìng4th tone, falling

Said as láobǎixìng. When two third tones meet, the first one rises into a second tone. You still write it with two third tones. How tone changes work

老百姓 in a sentence

  1. 这些菜都是老百姓家里常做的。

    Zhèxiē cài dōu shì lǎobǎixìng jiā li cháng zuò de.

    These are dishes ordinary families often cook at home.

    Sentence by WillyChina

  2. 这家饭馆很便宜，老百姓都吃得起。

    Zhè jiā fànguǎn hěn piányi, lǎobǎixìng dōu chī de qǐ.

    This restaurant is cheap, so ordinary people can all afford to eat there.

    Sentence by WillyChina

How 老百姓 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 老 (lǎo) with each of its parts in a different colour
老lǎoprefix used before the surname of
  • 耂old form of 老 · lǎo
  • 匕spoon · bǐ

Memory aidDrawn from an old person with long hair and a walking stick.

The character 百 (bǎi) with each of its parts in a different colour
百bǎihundred
  • 一one · yīMeaning part
  • 白white · báiSound part

一 hints at the meaning (one); 白 (bái) hints at the sound. Compare it with bǎi.

The character 姓 (xìng) with each of its parts in a different colour
姓xìngfamily name; surname
  • 女woman · nǚMeaning part
  • 生life · shēngSound part

女 hints at the meaning (woman); 生 (shēng) hints at the sound. Compare it with xìng.

Memory aidA woman 女 and birth 生: the family name you are born into.

How to write 老百姓

老 6 strokes · 百 6 strokes · 姓 8 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

老百姓 (lǎobǎixìng) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 老百姓 (lǎobǎixìng). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 老百姓

Words with 老

老师lǎoshī · teacher老lǎo · old老人lǎorén · old person老虎lǎohǔ · tiger老婆lǎopo · wife (informal)老实lǎoshi · honest老板lǎobǎn · boss老鼠lǎoshǔ · rat衰老shuāilǎo · to grow old

Words with 百

百bǎi · hundred百分之bǎifēnzhī · per cent千方百计qiānfāngbǎijì · by every possible means

Words with 姓

姓xìng · surname姓名xìngmíng · full name

More words: People, Body & Health

家务jiāwù · household duties嘉宾jiābīn · esteemed guest嫁jià · (of a woman) to marry舅舅jiùjiu · mother’s brother姥姥lǎolao · grandma (mother’s mother)老婆lǎopo · wife (informal)离婚líhūn · to divorce恋爱liàn'ài · romantic love

FAQs

老百姓 (lǎobǎixìng) means “ordinary people” or “the “person in the street””. It is an HSK 5 word.
Say it lǎobǎixìng: lǎo with a 3rd tone, then bǎi with a 3rd tone, then xìng with a 4th tone. In speech it sounds like láobǎixìng. When two third tones meet, the first one rises into a second tone. You still write it with two third tones. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 老百姓 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Use 个 (gè). For example, one ordinary people is 一个老百姓 (yí ge lǎobǎixìng).
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type laobaixing with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 老百姓 from the suggestions. Typing laobaixing into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
老百姓 is an HSK 5 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences written by WillyChina. Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.