老い
おい
ageing, old age
By Nihongo PathUpdated
Examples
祖父は最近老いを感じると言っています。
そふはさいきんおいをかんじるといっています。
My grandfather says he has been feeling his age lately.
老いは誰にでも訪れます。
おいはだれにでもおとずれます。
Old age comes to everyone.
母は年を取っても老いを感じさせない。
はははとしをとってもおいをかんじさせない。
My mother has grown older but never seems old.
少年老い易く学成り難し。
しょうねんおいやすくがくなりがたし。
Youth passes quickly, but learning takes long to master.
Common patterns
- 老いを感じる
- to feel one's age
- 老いも若きも
- young and old alike
- 老いが進む
- for ageing to advance
Memory tip
The noun made from 老いる, so it is the process of ageing rather than an old person (that is 年寄り). It has a literary tone; in ordinary conversation people say 年を取る.
Kanji in this word
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What does 老い mean?