耆 (qí) · an elder; aged person (traditionally one of sixty or…

Meanings

1 an elder; aged person (traditionally one of sixty or seventy)
2 venerable

Characters

耆

qí

elder; venerable

Examples

HSK 7-9

村里的耆老至今仍受敬重。

Cūnlǐ de qílǎo zhìjīn réng shòu jìngzhòng.

The village elders are still revered today.

HSK 7-9

委员会请了几位耆宿前来指导。

Wěiyuánhuì qǐng le jǐ wèi qísù qiánlái zhǐdǎo.

The committee invited several venerable scholars to advise.

HSK 7-9

他希望有朝一日能被尊为乡里的耆英。

Tā xīwàng yǒuzhāo-yīrì néng bèi zūn wéi xiānglǐ de qíyīng.

He hopes one day to be honored as a wise elder of the community.

Tips

usage

Compounds where you actually meet 耆: 耆老 (revered elders, esp. of a village), 耆宿 (a senior, learned figure in some field), 耆英 (eminent elderly worthy). Hong Kong, Taiwan and academic writing use these freely; mainland everyday speech leans on plainer 老人 or 长辈.

register

Literary / honorific register. Confucian texts set 耆 at sixty and 艾 at fifty, while 耄 starts in the eighties - together 耆耋 covers the whole arc of seniority. Use in formal writing, eulogies, or when describing dignified elders; sounds archaic in casual speech.

Components

radical

耂 lǎo

old; elder

Top 耂 is the elder-radical form of 老 (Kangxi #125) - a stylized stooped figure with long hair leaning on a cane. Indexes a small family of age and respect words: 老, 考, 孝, 者.

phonetic

旨 zhǐ

purport; flavor

Bottom 旨 supplies the sound - the older reading of 旨 was close enough to qí that ancient phonology paired them. Modern 旨 and 耆 have drifted apart but the phonetic link is preserved historically.