Onyomi: コ · Kunyomi: -ふる.す, ふる-, ふる.い · Meanings: old
Kanji for old
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The kanji 古 combines the sun radical (日) with a mouth-like element, symbolizing something from long ago — a story or object spoken of under the sun. In ancient times, it represented age, past events, or old things. 古 came to mean old, ancient, or traditional, capturing history, experience, and things that have lasted over time.
The sun above a mouth — 古 means old or ancient, something from long ago.
Imagine stories told under the sun about old times — that’s 古, the kanji for old, ancient, or traditional.
| Word | Reading | Meaning | Meta |
|---|---|---|---|
| 古 | ふる | used item, secondhand item | Noun |
| 古 | いにしえ | antiquity, ancient times, bygone days, former times | common JLPT-N1 Noun |
| 古い | ふるい | old, aged, ancient, antiquated, antique, timeworn | common JLPT-N5 I-adjective (keiyoushi) |
| 古典 | こてん | classic (work, esp. book), the classics | common JLPT-N2 Noun |
| 古代 | こだい | ancient times, distant past, antiquity | common JLPT-N1 Noun, Noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no' |
| 古墳 | こふん | ancient burial mound, barrow, tumulus | common Noun |
| 古着 | ふるぎ | old clothes, secondhand clothing | common Noun |
| 古文書 | こもんじょ | historical document, archives, old manuscript, paleograph | common Noun |
| 故郷 | ふるさと | hometown, birthplace, native place, one's old home | common JLPT-N3 Noun |
| 古今 | ここん | ancient and modern times, all ages, past and present | common Noun, Noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no' |