とうの昔むかし

と

う

の

む

か

し

Meanings

expression, noun

a long time ago; long ago

Emphasizes that something happened so long ago it feels distant or irrelevant now. Often used in the pattern とうの昔に〜した (did something ages ago). Similar to とっくの昔 but slightly more formal.

Kanji

昔once upon a time, antiquity, old times
疾rapidly
当hit, right, appropriate
遠distant, far

Related words

とっくの昔むかし
More casual and conversational than とうの昔, but nearly identical in meaning.

Written forms

とうの昔むかし
Standard kana-kanji spelling; the most common written form.
疾とうの昔むかし
Rare kanji spelling using 疾う for とう; not commonly used in modern writing.
当とうの昔むかし
irregular kanji usage
Irregular kanji usage; included for search coverage but not recommended for learners.
遠とうの昔むかし
irregular kanji usage
Irregular kanji usage; included for search coverage but not recommended for learners.

Etymology

The とう is an old adverbial form of 疾し (とし, 'quick, early'), meaning 'already' or 'long since'. Combined with の昔 (のむかし, 'of old times'), it literally means 'the long-ago past'. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the expression is well-established in modern Japanese.