古い
ふるい
hepburn furui
old (of things)
Part of speech · i-adjective
Pattern visualization
Examples
- この建物は古いです。This building is old.
- 古い友達と会いました。I met an old friend.
Collocations
古い建物古い友達 (old friend)古本 (furuhon, secondhand book)古代 (kodai, ancient era)古く (long ago, adv)
Mnemonic
古い furui — describes things or relationships as old, NOT people's age. For old people use 年寄り toshiyori or 老人 roujin; for relative age 年上 toshiue. Opposite: 新しい. Onyomi こ (ko): 古代 kodai (ancient), 中古 chuuko (used/secondhand).
Quick check
"My grandfather is old" — correct expression?