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老马识途

lǎo mǎ shí túdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
an old horse knows the way (idiom) / an experienced worker knows what to do / an old hand knows the ropes
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-645a16e4695de65f. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

老馬識途 老马识途 [lao3 ma3 shi2 tu2] /an old horse knows the way (idiom); an experienced worker knows what to do/an old hand knows the ropes/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 老馬識途

  • 老
    lǎo

    prefix used before the surname of a person or a numeral indicating the order of birth of the children in a family or to indicate affection or familiarity / old (of people) / venerable (person) / experienced / of long standing / always / all the time / of the past / very / outdated / (of meat etc) tough

  • 马
    mǎ

    horse / CL:匹[pǐ] / horse or cavalry piece in Chinese chess / knight in Western chess

    Mǎ

    surname Ma / abbr. for Malaysia 馬來西亞|马来西亚[Mǎ lái xī yà]

  • 识
    shí

    to know / knowledge / Taiwan pr. [shì]

    zhì

    to record / to write a footnote

  • 途
    tú

    way / route / road

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.