Meaning

Primary

Old

Alternatives

Ancient, Out-Of-Date

Word Type

い adjective

Explanation

This is a single kanji with an on the end, meaning you know it's probably an adjective. What's the adjective form of old? It's also old, ancient, or out-of-date.

This word is used for things like clothes, food and friendships, but not for people! So a 古い友人 (old friend) is someone you've been friends with for a long time, not an elderly friend.

Reading

ふるい
Kyoko
(Tokyo accent, female)
Kenichi
(Tokyo accent, male)

Explanation

Since this word is made up of a single kanji with some hiragana attached, it's going to use the kun'yomi reading. You learned the on'yomi when learning the kanji portion, so let's use a mnemonic to help you with the reading of this word:

If you're old, you're also full (ふる) of memories. And you're probably full of old secrets. And you're full from old people food.

Context

Patterns of Use

  • 〜古い
  • 古い〜

Common Word Combinations

  • ちょっと古い
    a bit old
    かなり古い
    very old
    少し古い
    a little old
  • 古いバージョン
    an old version
    古いもの
    old things
    古い友人
    old friends

Context Sentences

そのふくは古いので、もういりません。

Those clothes are old, so I don’t need them anymore.

古いものにしがみついていては、あたらしいものをうけとることができません。

If you hold onto old stuff, you can't get anything new.

ガレージで、古いパンツをみつけた。

I found an old pair of underwear in our garage.

Kanji Composition