老大不小

lǎodàbùxiǎo
idiom #32,090

Meanings

  1. 1 no longer a child
  2. 2 old enough (to know better)
  3. 3 grown up already

Examples

Nǐ dōu lǎodàbùxiǎo le, gāi zìjǐ zuò juédìng le.
You're not a kid anymore — you should make your own decisions.
Lǎodàbùxiǎo de rén, hái zhème rènxìng.
A grown adult, and still so willful.

Tips

usage
Used to scold or nudge someone (often an adult child) into acting their age — typical contexts are marriage pressure, career stalling, or immature behavior. Often paired with to mark the realization of age.
memory
Literally 'old big, not small' — the doubled emphasis ("big — not small") is exactly how a Chinese parent piles on the point that you're already past childhood.

Stroke Order

lǎo
xiǎo