How to say “long ago” in Chinese
long ago, ancient
“Long ago” in Chinese is 久远, jiǔ yuǎn: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke.
How to pronounce it
久远 is read jiǔ yuǎn: 2 syllables. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
Two third tones in a row: the first one is said as a second tone, but it is still written as a third.
How to write it
It sounds the same as 九 “nine” and 酒 “alcohol”.
On the left, 辶 “walk”.
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 “久远”.
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 “long ago” in Chinese?
“Long ago” in Chinese is 久远, pinyin jiǔyuǎn.
What does 久远 mean?
久远 (jiǔyuǎn) means “long ago, ancient”.
How do you write 久远?
久远 is 2 characters: 久 (jiǔ) — long (time); 远 (yuǎn) — far. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 久远?
久远 is read jiǔyuǎn. Tones: jiǔ — third tone, yuǎn — third tone. The page has an audio recording.
“long ago” 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.
Start for free