老板

• 拼音: lǎo bǎn
• 汉字拆解: 老 = 耂 (old) + 匕 (change), signifying age and respect; 板 = 木 (wood) + 反 (reverse), originally a wooden board

含义

Boss; business owner; employer. The most common word for the person in charge at a workplace or shop.

Used extremely widely in daily life — not only for your workplace superior, but also as a casual way to address shop owners, restaurant owners, and even vendors. In some regions, customers call any shopkeeper 老板 or 老板娘 (female boss/wife of the boss). Can also mean the person who is paying, as in who is treating.

例句

1. 老板今天让我们早点儿下班。
2. 这家餐厅的老板是我的朋友。
3. 老板说下个月工资会涨一点儿。

用法指南

语境: workplace, business, shopping

语气: casual

正确说法

• 老板，买单！(Boss, the bill please! — used at restaurants.)
• 我们老板人很好，对员工很关心。(Our boss is a good person — very caring towards employees.)

错误说法

• 老板，你好笨。(Never use disrespectful language when addressing your boss — 老板 implies respect for their position.)

起源与历史

老 means old or familiar (a term of respect); 板 originally meant a board or plank. In business contexts, 板 came to mean the person who holds the board — the proprietor who makes the decisions.

文化背景

世代: All ages

社会背景: Universal