Meaning & readings

old

On’yomi
Kun’yomi ふる.い、ふる-、-ふる.す
Nanori ふゆ

Origin

This character combines ten () above a mouth or container () to suggest something old. The image represents the passage of time—ten mouths or ten periods—accumulated together, which conveys the idea of age and antiquity. By stacking these elements, the character visually expresses how things become old through the accumulation of many passing periods or cycles.

AI-generated (claude-haiku-4-5), not yet reviewed. Formation type (automated guess): Compound ideographic (combined meanings).

5 strokes

Components

  • radical top
  • radical bottom

Common words

  • 稽古 けいこ practice; practising
  • 古い ふるい old; aged
  • 古語 こご archaic word; obsolete word
  • 古今 ここん ancient and modern times; all ages
  • 古参 こさん senior; veteran
  • 古書 こしょ old book; rare book
  • 古城 こじょう old castle; old fortress
  • 古巣 ふるす old haunts; former homes

Reference

Strokes
5
Kangxi radical
30
Grade
Grade 2 (Kyōiku)
Frequency rank
#509 (newspapers)
Former JLPT
level 4
Unicode
U+053E4