元老

yuánlǎo

noun HSK 7 #9,670

Measure Word

一位元老 wèi

Meanings

1 veteran
2 senior figure
3 founding member

Characters

first; original

Examples

他是公司的元老之一。

Tā shì gōngsī de yuánlǎo zhī yī.

He is one of the founding members of the company.

这位元老在行业里德高望重。

Zhè wèi yuánlǎo zài hángyè lǐ dégāowàngzhòng.

This veteran is highly respected in the industry.

Tips

memory

元 means 'first/original' and 老 means 'old/senior' — the original old-timers, i.e., founding veterans.

Stroke Order

元 yuán

老 lǎo