Meaning of 古代
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- ancient times
How to use 古代
古代 is a noun used for the distant past, often before modern history, and it can describe things directly, as in 古代文化 (gǔdài wénhuà, ancient culture). Example: 中国古代有很多发明。(Zhōngguó gǔdài yǒu hěn duō fāmíng.) Ancient China had many inventions.
古 (gǔ) means old, and 代 (dài) means a generation or era. Put them together and you get the old eras, ancient times.
Common mistake: Learners often write 代 (dài) as 伐 (fá) or 化 (huà), which look similar on the right side. Also, 古代 means ancient times as a period, so for an old object say 古老 (gǔlǎo) or 旧 (jiù), not 古代 alone.
古代 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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代 dài · to be a substitute for · 5 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 古代.
| 代表 | dàibiǎo | representative; delegate |
| 时代 | shídài | age; era |
| 年代 | niándài | a decade of a century (e.g. the Sixties); age |
| 现代 | xiàndài | modern times; modern age |
| 现代化 | xiàndàihuà | modernization |
| 代表团 | dàibiǎotuán | delegation |
| 代替 | dàitì | to replace; to take the place of |
| 替代 | tìdài | to substitute for; to replace |
| 近代 | jìndài | the not-very-distant past; modern times, excluding recent decades |
| 代价 | dàijià | price; cost |
| 古老 | gǔlǎo | ancient; old |
| 代理 | dàilǐ | to act on behalf of sb in a responsible position; to act as an agent or proxy |
Questions about 古代
What does 古代 mean?
古代 (gǔdài) means "ancient times" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 古代?
古代 is made of 2 characters: 古 (5 strokes), 代 (5 strokes). That is 10 strokes in total.
Is 古代 an HSK word?
Yes. 古代 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the opposite of 古代?
The usual opposite is 现代 (xiàndài), modern times. Between them there is also 近代 (jìndài), the recent past, which in Chinese history often refers to the period from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s.
How do I say "in ancient times" in a sentence?
You can say 在古代 (zài gǔdài) or simply put 古代 at the start of the sentence. For example, 在古代，人们骑马旅行。(Zài gǔdài, rénmen qí mǎ lǚxíng.) In ancient times, people traveled by horse.