yuánzì Chinese characters of the chemical elements
老

老 lǎo

“old, aged; experienced; Kangxi radical 125”

On its own, an ordinary character; Cantonese lou5. Readings and gloss from the Unicode Unihan database.

Carries Rhodium

钅 metal → solid metal
+
老 lǎo
=
铑 lǎo · Rh 45

Transliterates syllable 1 of rho·dium: rhodium → lǎo.

The element keeps the component’s reading exactly.