Japanese symbol for “archaic”
古風
こふう
Romaji: kofuu
old-fashioned; archaic; antique; antiquated
In Japanese, archaic is 古風, read こふう (kofuu).
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-na, n old-fashioned; archaic; antique; antiquated
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “archaic”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| アルカイック | アルカイック arukaikku | archaic |
| プリミティブ | プリミティブ purimitibu | primitive; crude; archaic |
| アーケイック | アーケイック aakeikku | archaic |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 古い | ふるい furui | old; aged; ancient |
| 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 |
| 台風 | たいふう taifuu | typhoon; hurricane |
| 風景 | ふうけい fuukei | scenery; scene; landscape |
See also: Chinese symbol for “archaic”.
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.