Explore 昔 in stories about the past and expressions that reach from the past to today.
The idea
昔 has eight strokes; follow the linked diagram. 昔（むかし） means long ago, 昔話（むかしばなし） an old tale, and 昔から（むかしから） since long ago. Learn each reading with its word.
Examples
- 昔、この町にお城がありました。Long ago, there was a castle in this town.
- 祖母が昔話を話してくれました。My grandmother told me an old tale.
- この歌が昔から好きです。I have liked this song for a long time.
- 昔、人はこの川を船で渡りました。In the past, people crossed this river by boat.
- 昔の写真を見つけました。I found an old photograph.
- この祭りは昔から続いています。This festival has continued since long ago.
Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.
No Japanese device voice is available. You can still read the text and use the linked listening resources.
Watch out
昔 refers to past time; 古い describes something old. 昔から can continue into the present, while 昔 alone does not say when the period ended.
Try it yourself
Write the reading of 昔 in hiragana.
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むかし
昔 is むかし: it places the castle in the past.
Write the reading of 昔話 in hiragana.
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むかしばなし
昔話 is むかしばなし: it means an old tale; 話 changes to ばなし in this compound.
Choose the missing kanji: ＿から（むかしから）［昔／今］.
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昔
昔 completes 昔から, meaning since long ago; 今 would refer to now.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Japanese sentences where available. We keep your score.
Write the reading of 昔 in hiragana.
Write the reading of 昔話 in hiragana.
Choose the missing kanji: ＿から（むかしから）［昔／今］.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
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Write 昔 using the diagram. Read 昔話 aloud, then make a sentence about something you have liked since long ago.