DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT
老總
简 老总 · 繁 老總Mandarin · pinyin lǎo zǒng
Meanings
- boss
- sir (person with a leading role in an organization)
- (after a surname) high ranking commander in the PLA
- (Qing dynasty) high ranking government official
- (old) courteous term used by the general populace in addressing a rank-and-file soldier or police officer
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Mandarin tones
3–3 · lao3 zong3
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
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Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.Read this spelling in Classical texts
Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 3 senses · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
lou5 zung2
Cantonese word readings for 老總. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.
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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section
Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.
noun
- (dated) Form of address for a soldier.
- (honorific or endearing) Term used after a surname to address a general or high-ranking commander of the People's Liberation Army.
- (honorific or endearing) chief (eg. manager); person in charge; boss
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
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