Meaning of 古
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- ancient
- old
- paleo-
- surname Gu
How to use 古
古 means old in the sense of ancient or from long ago. It usually appears inside words like 古代 (gǔdài), 古老 (gǔlǎo), and 古典 (gǔdiǎn) rather than standing alone. Example: 这是一座很古老的城市。(Zhè shì yí zuò hěn gǔlǎo de chéngshì.) This is a very ancient city.
古 is built from 十 (shí, ten) on top of 口 (kǒu, mouth). Picture a story passed through ten mouths, one generation after another, until it becomes something ancient.
Common mistake: Learners often use 古 for anything old, but for old people or used objects you need 老 (lǎo) or 旧 (jiù), so an old phone is 旧手机, not 古手机. Also watch the shape: 古 has 十 on top of 口, while 叶 (yè) puts 口 beside 十.
古 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.
古 gǔ · ancient · 5 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 古.
| 古代 | gǔdài | ancient times |
| 古老 | gǔlǎo | ancient; old |
| 古典 | gǔdiǎn | classical |
| 古怪 | gǔguài | strange; weird |
| 古董 | gǔdǒng | curio; antique |
| 古人 | gǔrén | people of ancient times; the ancients |
| 古迹 | gǔjì | place of historic interest; historical site |
| 古朴 | gǔpǔ | simple and unadorned (of art, architecture etc) |
| 古今中外 | gǔjīn-zhōngwài | at all times and in all places (idiom) |
| 前无古人 | qiánwúgǔrén | (idiom) unprecedented; unheard of |
| 万古长青 | wàngǔ-chángqīng | (idiom) enduring through the ages; ever-flourishing |
| 远古 | yuǎngǔ | antiquity; ancient times |
Questions about 古
What does 古 mean?
古 (gǔ) means "ancient; old" and is used as a adjective.
How do you write 古?
古 is made of 1 character: 古 (5 strokes). That is 5 strokes in total.
Is 古 an HSK word?
Yes. 古 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
Why does 古怪 mean strange if 古 means ancient?
In 古怪 (gǔguài) the word as a whole means odd or eccentric, and you do not need to read it as old. It describes people, behavior, or things that are unusual, as in 他脾气很古怪 (tā píqi hěn gǔguài), his temper is very odd.
What is the difference between 古代 and 古老?
古代 (gǔdài) is a noun meaning ancient times, as in 古代中国 (ancient China). 古老 (gǔlǎo) is an adjective meaning ancient or very old, used to describe things like 古老的传统 (an ancient tradition).