Meaning of 久
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- (of a period of time) long
How to use 久
久 describes a long stretch of time and often appears with words like 好, 多 or 不. You will hear it in greetings and questions about duration. Example: 好久不见。(Hǎojiǔ bú jiàn.) Long time no see.
Picture 久 (jiǔ) as a person leaning forward, dragging one long stroke behind them as they walk on and on. It sounds like 九 (jiǔ, nine), and nine is the biggest single digit, so think of a time that feels very long.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 久 with 欠 (qiàn, to owe), which has an extra stroke on top. Another trap is using 久 for physical length; 这条路很久 is wrong, so use 长 (cháng) for long objects.
久 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
久 jiǔ · long · 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
Related words
Words that share a character with 久.
| 多久 | duōjiǔ | (of time) how long?; (not) a long time |
| 不久 | bùjiǔ | not long (after); before too long |
| 好久 | hǎojiǔ | (coll.) a long time |
| 长久 | chángjiǔ | long-time; long-term; lasting; enduring; permanent |
| 永久 | yǒngjiǔ | everlasting; perpetual |
| 持久 | chíjiǔ | lasting; enduring |
| 前不久 | qiánbùjiǔ | not long ago; not long before |
| 久仰 | jiǔyǎng | honorific: I've long looked forward to meeting you.; It's an honor to meet you at last. |
| 久违 | jiǔwéi | to go a long time without seeing, hearing, visiting, experiencing etc (sb or sth) |
| 悠久 | yōujiǔ | long (tradition, history etc) |
| 天长地久 | tiāncháng-dìjiǔ | enduring while the world lasts (idiom); eternal |
| 经久不息 | jīngjiǔ-bùxī | (idiom) prolonged (applause, cheering etc) |
Questions about 久
What does 久 mean?
久 (jiǔ) means "(of a period of time) long" and is used as a adjective.
How do you write 久?
久 is made of 1 character: 久 (3 strokes). That is 3 strokes in total.
Is 久 an HSK word?
Yes. 久 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do I ask how long something took in Chinese?
Use 多久 (duōjiǔ) after the verb, for example 你等了多久？(Nǐ děng le duōjiǔ?) How long did you wait? You can also say 多长时间 (duō cháng shíjiān), which means the same thing.
What is the difference between 不久 and 很久?
不久 (bùjiǔ) means soon or not long after, as in 不久以后 (bùjiǔ yǐhòu), before long. 很久 (hěn jiǔ) means a long time, as in 我很久没回家了 (Wǒ hěn jiǔ méi huí jiā le), I have not been home for a long time.