八十耄耋

bāshí màodié

phrase

Meanings

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

Characters

septuagenarian / very old

Examples

HSK 7-9

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.

HSK 7-9

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 - 《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