Chinese symbol for “retro”
复古
fù gǔ
Traditional: 復古
to return to old ways (a Confucian aspiration); to turn back the clock; neoclassical school during Tang and Song associated with classical writing 古文; retro (fashion style based on nostalgia, esp. for 1960s)
The closest CC-CEDICT match for retro is 复古 (fù gǔ), defined as: to return to old ways (a Confucian aspiration); to turn back the clock; neoclassical school during Tang and Song associated with classical writing 古文; retro (fashion style based on nostalgia, esp. for 1960s).
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Characters and stroke order
Traditional forms
Related words
Other words that share a character with 复古.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 恢复 (恢復) | huī fù | to reinstate; to resume |
| 复杂 (複雜) | fù zá | complicated; complex |
| 重复 (重複) | chóng fù | to repeat; to duplicate |
| 修复 (修復) | xiū fù | to restore; to renovate; (computing) to repair (a corrupted file etc) |
| 报复 (報復) | bào fù | to make reprisals; to retaliate; revenge; retaliation |
| 古代 | gǔ dài | ancient times |
| 古老 | gǔ lǎo | ancient; old |
| 古典 | gǔ diǎn | classical |
See also: Japanese symbol for “retro”.
Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.