How to say “ancient” in Chinese
ancient
“Ancient” in Chinese is 古, gǔ: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
古 is read gǔ. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
On top, 十; at the bottom, 口. It hints at the sound of 估 gū, 姑 gū and 苦 kǔ.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “古”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 古. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 中国历史一般分为古代、近代和现代。Zhōngguólìshǐyìbānfēnwéigǔdài,jìndàihéxiàndàiChinese history is usually divided into antiquity, the modern era and the contemporary era.
- 这是一座古城，已经有两千多年的历史了。zhèshìyízuògǔchéng,yǐjīngyǒuliǎngqiānduōniándelìshǐleThis is an ancient city with a history of more than two thousand years.
- 这是一个古老的传说zhèshìyígegǔlǎodechuánshuōThis is an age-old legend.
- 中国古代有四大发明。ZhōngguógǔdàiyǒusìdàfāmíngAncient China had four great inventions.
- 我对中国古代历史很感兴趣。wǒduìZhōngguógǔdàilìshǐhěngǎnxìngqùI'm very interested in the history of ancient China.
- 爷爷只2听古典音乐yéyezhǐtīnggǔdiǎnyīnyuèGrandpa only listens to classical music.
More characters by topic — happiness, luck, strength, nature — on the page “Chinese characters with meanings”.
More words from the lesson “The distant past”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “ancient” in Chinese?
“Ancient” in Chinese is 古, pinyin gǔ.
What does 古 mean?
古 (gǔ) means “ancient”.
How do you write 古?
古 is 1 character. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 古?
古 is read gǔ. Tones: gǔ — third tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“ancient” in the lesson “The distant past”
This word is from the topic “China: the country and its history” of HSK 5. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
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