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Japanese vocabulary · Beginner
How do you say "ancient" in Japanese?
古代
kodai
In Japanese, "ancient" is 古代 (kodai).
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Pronunciation
Ko-dai, two syllables, 'dai' glides like the English word 'die', giving the word a solemn, weighty ending.
Writing and usage
古代 is written using kanji. It's a adjective, and this word is also taught inside the Noun Town language learning game, where it appears in interactive lessons alongside hundreds of other everyday words.
Example sentence
彼らは古代の寺院を研究しました。
karera ha kodai no jiin wo kenkyuu shimashita.
They studied an ancient temple.
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How to remember 古代
Kodai sounds like 'code, eye' — an ancient code so old only one eye can still read it.
Related words
- modern モダンな modan na
- traditional 伝統的な dentouteki na
- modernized 近代化された kindaika sareta
- stingy ケチ kechi
- humble 謙虚 kenkyo
- arrogant 傲慢だ gouman da
- flexible 柔軟な juunanna
- rigid 硬い katai
- fragile 壊れやすい koware yasui
Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.
Questions about 古代
How do you pronounce 古代?
Ko-dai, two syllables, 'dai' glides like the English word 'die', giving the word a solemn, weighty ending.
Is 古代 formal or casual?
古代 is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech. The level of formality comes from the sentence structure around it, not from the word itself.
How is 古代 written in Japanese?
古代 is written using kanji. Romanised, it reads as kodai.
Where can I practice Japanese words for free?
You can play free Japanese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, with no sign-up needed. Every word in the Japanese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.
"Ancient" in other languages
Curated by Jack Ratcliffe
This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the Japanese language learning game Noun Town, where words are introduced through play rather than memorisation. Want to play the full game? Get Noun Town on Steam.
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