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啃老族

Mandarin · pinyin kěn lǎo zú

(coll.) adults still living with and depending on their parents

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Characters in this entry

啃: kěn · gnaw, chew, bite
老: lǎo · old, aged; experienced; Kangxi radical 125
族: zú · a family clan, ethnic group, tribe

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

3–3–2 · ken3 lao3 zu2

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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.

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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

(neologism) adults who mooch off their parents; boomerang kids

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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