古ふる本ほん

also: ふるぼん · こほん

ふ

る

ほ

ん

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

1

noun

secondhand book; used book

Common word for a previously owned book, typically sold at a used bookstore.

週しゅう末まつに古ふる本ほん市いちで珍めずらしい本ほんを見みつけた。
I found a rare book at the secondhand book fair on the weekend.
この古ふる本ほんは状じょう態たいがとても良

よ

い

。

This used book is in very good condition.

2

noun

ancient book; antiquarian book

Only with reading こほん

Rare, specialized term for old or antiquarian books; read as こほん. Not used for ordinary secondhand books.

図と書しょ館かんの貴き重ちょう書しょ庫こには多おおくの古こ本ほんが保ほ管かんされている。
Many antiquarian books are kept in the library's rare book collection.

Written forms

古本Usage100%
- ふるほん
  Standard kanji spelling for 'secondhand book'.
- ふるぼん
  Alternate reading with rendaku; less common but still used.
- こほん
  Reading used specifically for 'ancient/antiquarian book' sense.
こほんUsage<1%
ふるぼん

Kanji

古old
本book, present, main

Similar words

中ちゅう古こ本ぼん
Also means 'secondhand book', but 中古本 is more explicitly commercial and often used in online listings, while 古本 is the everyday term.
新しん本ぽん
Means 'new book', the opposite of 古本.

Etymology

Compound of 古 (old) and 本 (book). The reading ふるほん is the most common, with ふるぼん as a rendaku variant. The reading こほん uses the on'yomi of both characters and is reserved for the antiquarian sense.