昔
昔 — Once upon a time
once upon a time, antiquity, old times
On’yomiセキ (seki)
On’yomiシャク (shaku)
Kun’yomiむかし (mukashi)
Stroke order (8 strokes)
Watch the strokes draw themselves in the correct order — numbers mark where each stroke starts. Diagram from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA).
Common words using 昔
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 昔 | むかし mukashi | the old days; the past; former times |
| 一昔 | ひとむかし hitomukashi | an age (ago); a long time (ago); a decade (ago) |
| 昔話 | むかしばなし mukashibanashi | old tale; folk tale; legend |
| 昔のまま | むかしのまま mukashinomama | the way it was; the way it used be; as of old |
| 大昔 | おおむかし oomukashi | ancient times; prehistoric times; the distant past |
| 今昔 | こんじゃく konjaku | past and present |
Study notes
昔 is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 8 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 3), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #1197 of the 2,500 most frequent kanji in newspapers. On’yomi (音読み) are Chinese-derived readings mostly used in compound words; kun’yomi (訓読み) are native Japanese readings, with any highlighted part written in hiragana after the kanji (okurigana).
🔊 Tap the big kanji, any reading or any example word to hear it.