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老鳥

简老鸟 · 繁老鳥

Mandarin · pinyin lǎo niǎo

(coll.) old hand; veteran

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Characters in this entry

老: lǎo · old, aged; experienced; Kangxi radical 125
鳥: niǎo · bird; Kangxi radical 196
鸟: niǎo · bird; Kangxi radical 196

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

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Mandarin tones

3–3 · lao3 niao3

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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.

老鳥 · find source passages ↗ · 老鸟 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 4 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

lou5 niu5

Cantonese word readings for 老鳥. 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

(literally) old bird
(slang) old hand; veteran; experienced and qualified person
(slang, Internet) someone skillful in using the Internet (compared to a rookie)
(slang, derogatory) old fart

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

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