老远
lǎo yuǎn · HSK 7
very far away
🔭 老 here = very (intensifier) + 远 = far → very far away
老 often means old, but before some adjectives it just cranks them up to very. So 老远 is 远 (far) intensified: a long, long way off.
老 — old man 耂 + 匕 (bent figure)
Originally a pictograph of an elderly person with long hair leaning on a cane. The top 耂 depicts the hair and stooped body, while 匕 at the bottom represents the cane or a bent figure. The core meaning 'old' has remained stable since oracle bone script.
远 — 辶 (walk) + 袁 (phonetic)
远 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The 辶 radical (a walking/movement element) carries the meaning of going or distance, while 袁 (yuán) provides the sound. The traditional form 遠 shows this structure clearly; together they convey 'far' — a place reached by long travel.