Tā tài lǎoshi, róngyì shòurén qīpiàn. He is too honest and is prone to be deceived. 老实说 lǎoshi shuō
to be frank, to tell the truth ■ 老实说，你这种做法我并不赞成。Lǎoshi shuō, nǐ zhè zhǒng zuòfǎ
wǒ bìng bù zànchéng. To tell the truth, I don’t approve of your way of doing things.
lǎoshihuà 老实话 N plain truth
lǎoshi rén 老实人 N honest person, simple-minded person, gullible person
lǎoshǔ 老鼠 N mouse, mice, rat, rats (只 zhī)
lǎotàitai 老太太 N (a respectful form of address or reference to an old woman) (位 wèi) ■ 老太太，您
找谁？Lǎotàitai, nín zhǎo shuí? Who are you looking for, ma’am? ■ 他把座位让给一位老太太。
Tā bǎ zuòwèi rànggěi yí wèi lǎotàitai. He offered his seat to an old lady.
lǎotóur 老头儿 N old man (个 gè) ■ 几个老头儿 在树下打牌。Jǐ ge lǎotóur zài shù xia dǎpái. Some
old men were playing cards under the tree.
NOTE: (1) lǎotóur 老头儿 is an impolite way of referring to an old man. As a form of address, lǎotóur 老头儿
is very rude. Instead, use the neutral term lǎorén 老人 or the polite terms lǎoxiānsheng 老先 生 or lǎodàye 老大
爷. (2) The corresponding impolite word for an old woman is lǎotàipó 老太婆. Use lǎotàitai 老太太 or
lǎodàniáng 老大娘 instead.
lǎoxiānsheng 老先生 [modif: 老 old, elderly + 先生 gentleman] N (a respectful form of address or
reference to an old man) (位 wèi) ■ 老先生，请您 让我看看您的票子。Lǎoxiānsheng, qǐng nín
ràng wǒ kànkan nín de piàozi. Please show me your ticket, sir.
lè 乐 TRAD 樂 ADJ happy
lèguān 乐观 [modif: 乐 happy + 观 view] ADJ optimistic (ANTONYM 悲观 bēiguān) ■ 他很乐观，相 信世
界会越变越好。Tā hěn lèguān, xiāngxìn shìjiè huì yuè biàn yuè hǎo. He is optimistic, believing
that the world is getting ever better. ■ 根据乐观的 估计，今年经济增长可以达到百分之五。
Gēnjù lèguān de gūjì, jīnnián jīngjì zēngzhǎng kěyǐ dádào bǎifēn zhī wǔ. According to an
optimistic estimate, the economy will grow by five percent this year.
lèqù 乐趣 [comp: 乐 joy + 趣 interest] N pleasure, joy
lèyì 乐意 [modif: 乐 happy + 意 will] ADJ be happy to, be willing to
le 了 PARTICLE 1 (used after a verb to indicate the completion of an action) ■ 我昨天写了三封 信。Wǒ
zuótiān xiěle sān fēng xìn. I wrote three letters yesterday. ■ 他吃了晚饭就上网玩游戏。Tā chīle
wǎnfàn jiù shàngwǎng wán yóuxì. As soon as he had eaten supper, he went online to play games. 2
(used at the end of a sentence to indicate the emergence of a new situation) ■ 秋天来了， 树叶黄
了。Qiūtiān lái le, shùyè huáng le. Autumn has come and leaves have turned yellow. ■ 我会说 一
点儿中文了。Wǒ huì shuō yidiǎnr Zhōngwén le. I can speak a bit of Chinese now.
léi 雷 N thunder ■ 昨天又打雷，又闪电，挺吓人 的。Zuótiān yòu dǎ léi, yòu shǎndiàn, tǐng xiàrén
de. There was thunder and lightning yesterday. It was rather frightening. 打雷 dǎ léi thunder
léidá 雷达 N radar
léiyǔ 雷雨 [comp: 雷 thunder + 雨 rain] N thunderstorm
lèi 泪 TRAD 淚 N teardrop, tear (See yǎnlèi 眼泪.)
lèi 类 TRAD 類 N kind, category, class ■ 这两类不 同的情况，不要混为一谈。Zhè liǎng lèi bùtóng de
qíngkuàng, bú yào hùnwéi yìtán. These are two different situations. Don’t lump them together.
lèisì 类似 ADJ similar
lèixíng 类型 [comp: 类 category + 型 type] N type (种 zhǒng)
lèi 累 ADJ exhausted, tired ■ “你劳动了半天，累 不累？”“不累，一点都不累。”“Nǐ láodòngle
bàntiān, lèi bu lèi?” “Bú lèi, yìdiǎn dōu bú lèi.” “Are you tired after doing manual labor for such a
long time?” “No, I’m not the least tired.”
lěng 冷 ADJ cold (ANTONYM 热 rè) ■ 今天很 冷。Jīntiān hěn lěng. It’s cold today. ■ 他每天都 洗冷水
澡。Tā měi tiān dōu xǐ lěngshuǐ zǎo. He takes a cold bath every day.
lěngdàn 冷淡 [comp: 冷 cold + 淡 bland] ADJ cold, indifferent, apathetic ■ 商业界对政府的新政 策很