年老い・年老|としおいtoshioi[4]odaka (tail-high)

1. nounold person

• Synonym年寄りとしよりCasualEveryday word for an old person; casual and sometimes disrespectful. 「年老」 is a written, old-fashioned term stressing age-related decline.
• Synonym老人ろうじんNeutralNeutral word for an old person, common in both speech and writing, as in 「老人ホーム」; more objective in tone than 「年寄り」.
• Synonym高齢者こうれいしゃFormalFormal, administrative term for the elderly; the most objective and polite of these words, unlike the dated 「年老」.
• Related古老ころうWrittenWritten word for an elder who knows the distant past well; stresses knowledge of bygone events rather than physical decline.
• Related老いおいWrittenNative-Japanese word for old age or the ageing process, also an old person; leans written, stressing the process of growing old.
• Related長老ちょうろうNeutralRespectful term for a venerable elder or a senior monk; stresses prestige, whereas 「年老」 stresses being old and frail.
• Related老ろうWrittenWritten, archaic word for old age or an old person; also a humble first-person pronoun used by elderly men.
• Related老骨ろうこつWrittenRefers to one's own aged body, often used humbly as in 「老骨に鞭打つ」.
• Related老体ろうたいWrittenAn aged, weakened body; also an honorific for an old person, as in 「ご老体」; stresses bodily decline.
• Related昔者むかしものNeutralAn old-fashioned person who sticks to old ways; stresses outdated ideas, while 「年老」 stresses age and frailty.
• Related老輩ろうはいWrittenWritten, archaic word for old people as a group, or a humble self-reference used by the elderly themselves.

「年老」 is a written, old-fashioned word for an elderly person weakened by age. In daily speech say 「年寄り」 or 「老人」, in formal or administrative contexts 「高齢者」, and 「長老」 for an elder you honor.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

1. 年としをとって、からだが弱よわくなった人ひと。