The Meaning of furui [古い] In Japanese

古い
ふるい
Romaji: furui N5

What does 古い mean?

Translation and Meaning

old, aged, antique, outdated

Definition

古い (furui) means old; it describes something that has existed for a long time or is no longer new, signaling age, wear, or obsolescence, and it functions as an i-adjective that can modify a noun or serve as a predicate in sentences.

Type

adjective (i-adjective) (い形容詞)

Stroke Order

Meanings

  • describes the age or condition of non-living things, places, and concepts (e.g., objects or ideas that are not new)
  • can imply obsolescence or being out of date, with a neutral to negative nuance depending on context
  • usually contrasted with 新しい (atarashii) to express old vs new
  • not commonly used for describing people; use 年を取った (toshi o totta) or 老いた (oita) for people

Composition

  • 古 = old, ancient; when combined with the i-adjective ending い, it forms 古い, meaning old or aged

Usage

Used in casual and formal speech to describe the age or condition of things; before nouns to attribute age; as predicate with です; conjugates to 古くない in negation and to 古かった in the past; the te-form 古くて links to subsequent clauses, and common phrases include 古い本 and 古い建物.
💡 Tips
Mnemonic: visualize the kanji 古 as 十 (ten) over 口 (mouth); as years pass (ten), the object becomes old, so 古い = old.

Variations

  • 古風な (こふうな) — kofū na, old-fashioned
  • 新しい (あたらしい) — atarashii, new
  • 古代の (こだいの) — kodai no, ancient

Example Phrases

  • この古い自転車を新しいのと交換した。
    Kono furui jitensha o atarashii no to kōkan shita.
    I swapped this old bicycle for a new one.
    Lista:
    • この (kono) – this
    • 古い (furui) – old
    • 自転車を (jitensha o) – bicycle (object marker)
    • 新しいのと (atarashii no to) – with a new one
    • 交換した (kōkan shita) – swapped
    Core grammar point: 古い is an i-adjective that directly modifies the noun; here it makes 「古い自転車」 meaning ‘an old bicycle’.
古い