Japanese kanji 古: old and used

The idea

A kanji can have Japanese-origin readings (kun) and readings borrowed through Chinese (on); learn each reading with its word. Compare 古い（ふるい） and 中古（ちゅうこ） in the table. 古 has 5 strokes; follow their order in the linked KanjiVG diagram.

Examples

• 古ふるい家いえに住すんでいます。I live in an old house.
• この本ほんはとても古ふるいです。This book is very old.
• 中古ちゅうこの車くるまを買かいます。I buy a used car.
• 駅前えきまえで古本ふるほんを買かいます。I buy a used book near the station.
• 祖母そぼの古ふるい写真しゃしんを見みます。I look at an old photograph of my grandmother.
• 古代こだいの話はなしを読よみます。I read a story about ancient times.

Watch out

古い is read ふるい, while 中古 is read ちゅうこ. Learn the reading of each complete word; the character does not have just one pronunciation. 古い describes an old thing or something from long ago. Do not use it to state a person’s age; 年を取っている is one way to say a person is elderly.

Try it yourself

1. Write the reading of 古い in hiragana.

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   ふるい

   古い is read ふるい; the expression means “old (thing)”.

2. Write the reading of 中古 in hiragana.

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   ちゅうこ

   中古 is read ちゅうこ; the expression means “secondhand”.

3. Fill in the missing kanji: 中＿（ちゅうこ）.

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   古

   古 completes 中古, read ちゅうこ; the expression means “secondhand”.

Use it today

Cover the table, write 古 from memory, and read 古い and 中古 aloud. Check both the readings and meanings.