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Chinese/Dictionary entry

姜还是老的辣

jiāng hái shì lǎo de làdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
ginger gets spicier as it gets older (idiom) / the older, the wiser
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-af5c9e0ae2b31bf8. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

薑還是老的辣 姜还是老的辣 [jiang1 hai2 shi4 lao3 de5 la4] /ginger gets spicier as it gets older (idiom)/the older, the wiser/

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: 薑還是老的辣

  • 姜
    jiāng

    ginger

    Jiāng

    surname Jiang

  • 还
    hái

    still / still in progress / still more / yet / even more / in addition / fairly / passably (good) / as early as / even / also / else

    huán

    to pay back / to return

    Huán

    surname Huan

  • 是
    shì

    to be (followed by substantives only) / correct / right / true / (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well / (adverb for emphatic assertion)

  • 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/ old (of people) / venerable (person) / experienced / of long standing / always / all the time / of the past / very / outdated / (of meat etc) tough

  • 的
    de

    of / ~'s (possessive particle) / (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun) / (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis) / (used after a noun, verb or adjective to form a nominal expression, as in 皮革的[pí gé de] "one made of leather" or 跑堂兒的|跑堂儿的[pǎo táng r de] "a waiter (literally, one who runs back and forth in a restaurant)" or 新的[xīn de] "new one") / also pr. [dì] or [di] in poetry and songs

    dī

    (bound form) a taxi / a cab (abbr. for 的士[dī shì])

    dí

    really and truly

    dì

    (bound form) bull's-eye / target

  • 辣
    là

    hot (spicy) / pungent / (of chili pepper, raw onions etc) to sting / to burn

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.