Meaning & readings
old times, old things, old friend, former, ex-
On’yomi キュウ
Kun’yomi ふる.い、もと
Origin
This character combines two visual elements to express the idea of "old." The left component is a vertical line representing something standing or existing, while the right component is a square representing the sun or a day. Together, they suggest something from a previous time—like days that have already passed. The image evokes the sense of things worn by time or belonging to an earlier period, which is why the character means old, former, or ex-.
Components
- 丨
- 日
Common words
- 旧式 きゅうしき old type; old style
- 旧制 きゅうせい old system; old order
- 旧姓 きゅうせい one's original family name; maiden name
- 旧態 きゅうたい old state of affairs
- 旧約 きゅうやく old promise; old agreement
- 旧来 きゅうらい traditional; from ancient times
- 旧暦 きゅうれき Japan's old (lunisolar) calendar
- 新旧 しんきゅう new and old; incoming and outgoing
Easily confused with
These look alike but are unrelated in meaning — check the stroke that differs.
Reference
- Strokes
- 5
- Kangxi radical
- 72
- Formation type
- Compound ideographic (combined meanings)
- Grade
- Grade 5 (Kyōiku)
- Frequency rank
- #549 (newspapers)
- Former JLPT
- level 2
- Unicode
- U+065E7