Japanese symbol for “ancient”
古い
ふるい
Romaji: furui
old; aged; ancient; antiquated
In Japanese, ancient is 古い, read ふるい (furui).
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.
Meanings
- adj-i old; aged; ancient; antiquated; antique; timeworn
- adj-i long; since long ago; time-honored
- adj-i of the distant past; long-ago
- adj-i stale; threadbare; hackneyed; corny
- adj-i old-fashioned; outmoded; out-of-date
Written forms: 古い、旧い、故い. Readings: ふるい.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “ancient”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| エンシェント | エンシェント enshento | ancient |
| 積年 | せきねん sekinen | long-standing (esp. hatred, grudge); ancient |
| 古期 | こき koki | old; ancient |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 古代 | こだい kodai | ancient times; distant past; antiquity |
| 中古 | ちゅうこ chuuko | used; second-hand; old |
| 古典 | こてん koten | classic (work, esp. book); the classics |
| 稽古 | けいこ keiko | practice; practising; training |
| 古本 | ふるほん furuhon | secondhand book |
See also: Chinese symbol for “ancient”.
Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.