とっくの昔むかし

と

っ

く

の

む

か

し

Meanings

1

expression, noun

a long time ago; ages ago; long since

Emphasizes that something happened or was completed far in the past, often with a nuance of 'already long ago' or 'way back when'. Used in casual to neutral contexts.

その話はなしはとっくの昔むかしに終おわったよ。
That matter was settled ages ago.
彼かれはとっくの昔むかしに帰かえりました。
He went home a long time ago.

Written forms

とっくの昔むかし
Standard spelling; the kanji 昔 is normally used.
疾とっくの昔むかし
rarely-used kanji form
Rare kanji form using 疾; it is rarely used.

Kanji

昔once upon a time, antiquity, old times
疾rapidly

Similar words

昔むかし
昔 is a general noun for 'old times' or 'long ago', while とっくの昔 is an emphatic expression meaning 'already long ago' or 'way back when'.
とっくに
とっくに is an adverb meaning 'long ago' or 'already', used similarly but without the noun 昔. とっくの昔 is more emphatic and often used as a noun phrase.

Etymology

Derived from 疾っく (とっく), an emphatic adverbial form meaning 'long ago', combined with 昔 (むかし, 'old times'). The exact historical derivation of とっく is uncertain, but it likely originated as a sound shift from an older form.