衰老

• Pinyin: shuāi lǎo
• Hanzi breakdown: 衰 = 亠 + 口 + 衣 (decline); 老 = 耂 + 匕 (old age)

Meaning

Aging; senescent. Describes the gradual biological and physical decline associated with growing old.

Used in medical, biological, and everyday contexts to describe the natural aging process in living organisms. Anti-aging research often references 延缓衰老 (slowing down aging).

Examples

1. 科学家正在研究如何延缓细胞衰老的过程。 Scientists are studying how to slow the process of cellular aging.
2. 长期精神压力会加速人体的衰老速度。 Long-term psychological stress can speed up the body’s aging.
3. 他虽然年事已高，但精神状态丝毫不显衰老。 Although he is advanced in years, his mental state shows no sign of aging.

Usage Guide

Context: medical, biology, daily life

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 保持规律运动有助于减缓身体衰老的进程。(Maintaining regular exercise helps slow down the process of physical aging.)
• 研究人员发现了一种与细胞衰老密切相关的基因。(Researchers identified a gene closely associated with cellular aging.)

Don't Say

• 这个产品让你衰老 — use 显老 when meaning to look older; 衰老 sounds clinical and describes actual biological decline, not appearance

Origin & History

衰 (decline) + 老 (old age)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal