Chinese word

老乡

Pronunciation

Pinyinlǎo xiāng

Meaning

nounsomeone from my hometown

Example

今天在车站遇到老乡了。jīn tiān zài chē zhàn yù dào lǎo xiāng le

I ran into someone from my hometown at the station today.

Illustration for 老乡 (someone from my hometown)

More examples

认识他后才发现，他也是我的老乡。rèn shí tā hòu cái fā xiàn tā yě shì wǒ de lǎo xiāng

It was only after I got to know him that I discovered he was also from my hometown.

Core concept

A familiar bond between people who share a home region.

Common phrases

遇到老乡yù dào lǎo xiāng
run into someone from my hometown
和老乡聊天hé lǎo xiāng liáo tiān
talk with someone from my hometown
老乡聚会lǎo xiāng jù huì
gathering of people from my hometown

Similar words

同乡tóng xiāng: A person who comes from the same hometown or native region.
乡亲xiāng qīn: A warm way to address or refer to people from the same village or local area.
同乡人tóng xiāng rén: A person from the same native place or local area.

Definition in Chinese

口语里称呼来自同一乡里或同一地区的人，含有亲切感或认同感。kóu yǔ lǐ chēng hū lái zì tóng yì xiāng lǐ huò tóng yí dì qū de rén hán yǒu qīn qiè gǎn huò rèn tóng gǎn

Word origin

老乡 (lǎoxiāng, "hometown fellow") combines 老 (lǎo, "old") with 乡 (xiāng, "native place"), where 老 adds a familiar tone rather than meaning "elderly".

Usage tips

Its range is flexible: in conversation, the shared region can be a village, city, or wider province, so the word does not identify an exact address.

Opposites

外地人wài dì rénoutsidernoun
异乡人yì xiāng rénsomeone from elsewherenoun