Explore 旧 through former names, old friends and restoration. Learn its reading with complete words.

The idea

旧 has five strokes and is read きゅう in 旧友, 旧姓 and 復旧. 旧 usually marks a former state or longstanding relationship; learn each compound as a whole.

Patterns to compare
Japanese wordReadingExample
旧友きゅうゆうI met an old friend at the station.
旧姓きゅうせいHer former surname is Tanaka.
復旧ふっきゅうPower was restored after the outage.

Examples

  • 旧友きゅうゆうに駅えきで会あいました。I met an old friend at the station.
  • 彼女かのじょの旧姓きゅうせいは田中たなかです。Her former surname is Tanaka.
  • 停電ていでんから電気でんきが復旧ふっきゅうしました。Power was restored after the outage.
  • 旧校舎きゅうこうしゃは今いま、図書館としょかんとして使つかわれています。The former school building is now used as a library.
  • 旧市街きゅうしがいを歩あるいて写真しゃしんを撮とりました。I walked through the old town and took photos.
  • 旧制度きゅうせいどと新あたらしい制度せいどを比くらべました。I compared the former system with the new one.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

旧姓 is a former surname, not an old surname in the sense of a worn-out object. 古い describes age or condition and is a separate word.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 旧友 in hiragana.

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    きゅうゆう

    旧友 is きゅうゆう: an old friend, someone known for a long time.

  2. Write the reading of 旧姓 in hiragana.

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    きゅうせい

    旧姓 is きゅうせい: a former surname, often the name before marriage.

  3. Choose the missing kanji: 復＿（ふっきゅう）［旧／日］.

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    旧

    旧 makes 復旧（ふっきゅう）, restoration to the previous state.

Use it today

Write 旧 following the linked diagram, then cover the readings and use 旧友 or 旧姓 in a sentence.