古いにしえ

い

に

し

え

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

1

noun

antiquity; ancient times; bygone days

poetical term

Poetic or literary term for the distant past, often with a nostalgic or romantic nuance. Used in historical, literary, and reflective contexts.

いにしえの人ひと々びとは星ほしを頼たよりに旅たびをした。
People of ancient times traveled by relying on the stars.

この神しん殿でんは古いにしえの時じ代だいから残のこっている。

This temple has remained since ancient times.

Written forms

古いにしえUsage74%
Standard kanji spelling; high-frequency in news and literary contexts.
いにしえUsage22%
Kana spelling is common in modern writing, especially when the kanji 古 might be misread as ふる or こ.
古いにしえUsage4%
search-only kanji form
Search-only kanji form.
往古いにしえ
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form.

Kanji

古old
往journey, travel, chase away

Similar words

古こ代だい
古代 is the standard, neutral term for 'ancient times' in historical or academic contexts, while 古 (いにしえ) is more poetic and literary.
昔むかし
昔 is the common everyday word for 'old times' or 'long ago', whereas 古 (いにしえ) carries a more elevated, nostalgic tone.

Etymology

Derived from Old Japanese. The reading いにしえ is a compound of 往にし (inishi, 'passed') + 方 (e, 'direction' or 'side'), literally meaning 'the direction that has passed', i.e., the past. The kanji 古 simply means 'old'.