Chinese word

老二

Pronunciation

Pinyinlǎo èr

Meaning

  • nounsecond child

Example

他是家里的老二。tā shì jiā lǐ de lǎo èr

He is the second child in the family.

Illustration for 老二 (second child)

More examples

在比赛中，他是老二，常常替补上场。zài bǐ sài zhōng tā shì lǎo èr cháng cháng tì bǔ shàng chǎng

In the competition, he is second-string and often comes on as a substitute.

Core concept

The family member marked as number two in the sequence of siblings.

Common phrases

  • 家里的老二jiā lǐ de lǎo èr

    second child in the family

  • 做老二zuò lǎo èr

    be second-string

Similar words

第二个孩子dì èr gè hái zi: The second-born child in a family, in a plain conversational expression.
次女cì nǚ: The daughter born second in a family.
二姐èr jiě: A familiar way to address the second-oldest sister among the sisters.

Definition in Chinese

在家庭中指排行第二的孩子，口语中常用来称呼家里出生顺序第二的人。zài jiā tíng zhōng zhǐ pái háng dì èr de hái zi kóu yǔ zhōng cháng yòng lái chēng hū jiā lǐ chū shēng shùn xù dì èr de rén

Word origin

The expression 老二 (lǎoèr, "second child") combines 老 (lǎo, "informal rank marker") + 二 (èr, "two") to identify the child born second.

Usage tips

  • When used like a name at home, the label signals both birth order and family familiarity, not the person's official name.

Other meanings

  • second sonnoun
  • second daughternoun
  • number twonoun

Opposites

Word lists with this word