八十耄耋

bāshímàodié

phrase

Meanings

1 eighty — the venerable old age
2 traditional name for octogenarian and nonagenarian age

Characters

septuagenarian / very old

Examples

他已经是八十耄耋之年了。

Tā yǐjīng shì bāshí màodié zhī nián le.

He is already in the venerable age of eighty.

八十耄耋的老人依然笔耕不辍。

Bāshí màodié de lǎorén yīrán bǐ gēng bú chuò.

The eighty-year-old gentleman still writes without pause.

Tips

history

耄 (mào) originally meant 80–90, 耋 (dié) meant 70–80 — Book of Rites 《礼记·曲礼》: 八十九十曰耄,七十曰耋. Modern usage blurs them into a single honorific for very old age. Both characters share the 老 (old) radical at top.

Stroke Order

八 bā

十 shí

耄 mào

耋 dié