How to say “old” in Chinese
old (of things)
“Old” in Chinese is 旧, jiù: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
旧 is read jiù. 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 the right, 日 “sun, day”.
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 “旧”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 旧. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 这把伞是旧的zhèbǎsǎnshìjiùdeThis umbrella is old.
- 新手机比旧手机轻。xīnshǒujībǐjiùshǒujīqīngThe new phone is lighter than the old one.
- 我把旧报纸扔了。wǒbǎjiùbàozhǐrēngleI threw away the old newspapers.
- 这台电脑硬件不错，软件有点儿旧。zhètáidiànnǎoyìngjiànbúcuò,ruǎnjiànyǒudiǎnrjiùThis computer's hardware is good, but the software is a bit old.
- 角落里放着一个旧箱子jiǎoluòlifàngzheyígejiùxiāngziThere's an old suitcase in the corner.
- 这栋旧楼明年要拆除zhèdòngjiùlóumíngniányàochāichúThis old building will be torn down next year.
More characters by topic — happiness, luck, strength, nature — on the page “Chinese characters with meanings”.
More words from the lesson “Shoes and an umbrella”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “old” in Chinese?
“Old” in Chinese is 旧, pinyin jiù.
What does 旧 mean?
旧 (jiù) means “old (of things)”.
How do you write 旧?
旧 is 1 character. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 旧?
旧 is read jiù. Tones: jiù — fourth tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“old” in the lesson “Shoes and an umbrella”
This word is from the topic “Shopping and things” of HSK 3. 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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