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昔

Long Ago
Stroke count: 8

Readings

On readingセキ、シャク
Kun readingむかし
JLPT level: N3JōyōGrade 3Level 11

Meanings

  1. long Ago
  2. once upon a timeRtK
  3. antiquity
  4. old times
  1. the old days
  2. the past
  3. former times
  4. a long time ago
  5. the past ten years

Radicals and components

Radical日sun
Components
How it's built
昔
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Mnemonic (RtK)

ⓘ

salad · flowers (艹) · one (一) · floor · sun (日) · day (日)

From "Remembering the Kanji" by James Heisig · Frame 1268

Compound words

一昔ひとむかし
an age (ago); a long time (ago); a decade (ago)
昔話むかしばなし
old tale; folk tale; legend; reminiscence
大昔おおむかし
ancient times; prehistoric times; the distant past; a very long time ago
今昔こんじゃく
past and present
昔のままむかしのまま
the way it was; the way it used be; as of old; in former times
往昔おうせき
ancient times
古昔こせき
ancient times
昔式むかししき
old fashioned
昔日せきじつ
old days
昔風むかしふう
old-fashioned
ひと昔ひとむかし
an age (ago)
一昔前ひとむかしまえ
long ago
昔蜥蜴むかしとかげ
tuatara (primitive lizardlike reptile endemic to New Zealand)
姫昔艾ひめむかしよもぎ
horseweed (Conyza canadensis)
ひと昔前ひとむかしまえ
long ago
昔とった杵柄むかしとったきねづか
skill learned in one's former days
昔取った杵柄むかしとったきねづか
skill learned in one's former days
昔は昔、今は今むかしはむかし、いまはいま
let bygones be bygones

Kun Reading Examples

昔、地球は平らなものだと考えられていた。むかし
It used to be thought that the earth was flat.tatoeba

Additional Examples

彼は年を取って昔の名声を失ってしまった。
He has outlived his fame.tatoeba
彼は昔大金持ちだった。
He used to be a man of fortune.tatoeba
彼は昔は無口な男でした。
He used to be a quiet man.tatoeba
彼は昔より裕福だ。
He is better off than he used to be.tatoeba

Stroke Order

8 strokes

Long ago. 廿 (layers) + 日 (days) — many days piled up in the past.

Practice Writing

Practice Writing 昔

Draw with a guide, then from memory — checked at every step