How to Write 耄 (mào) — Meaning “Octogenarian / Very old age”

Imagine an old person (耂) with long, white hair (毛) blowing in the wind, showing their advanced age. The hair is so long it reaches down, reminding you that 耄 refers to people in their 80s and 90s. This visual of "old plus hair" helps link the character to its meaning.

Pay attention to the top part 耂: it has a horizontal stroke followed by a left-falling stroke, then a vertical hook, and finally two short horizontal strokes inside — do not confuse it with 老. The bottom part 毛 must be written with the first stroke as a short left-falling stroke, then three horizontal strokes, and a final vertical hook; keep the overall shape balanced and not too tall.

耄 specifically refers to people in their 80s or 90s (very old age), while 者 is a grammatical particle meaning "one who" and has no age-related meaning. 耆 (qí) also means old age (sixty-year-old) but is less common and focuses on a slightly younger range; visually, 耆 has 日 below instead of 毛.

耄 is rarely used alone in daily conversation; it appears in formal or literary phrases like 耄耋之年 (mào dié zhī nián) to refer to someone in their eighties or nineties. You might see it in birthday greetings for elderly people or in historical texts. It carries a respectful, classical tone and is not part of standard HSK vocabulary.

Common words containing 耄 include: 耄耋 (mào dié) — People in their 80s and 90s / Advanced age; 耄年 (mào nián) — Advanced years / Old age; 耄老 (mào lǎo) — The aged / Very old people.