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昔馴染み (mukashinajimi) Japanese meaning: old friend | Kotomora
Freq. Frequency Top 100,000 Report an issue with this page
I met an old friend at the class reunion.
He's an old friend of mine; we used to play together as kids.
Kanji 昔 once upon a time, antiquity, old times 馴 get used to, experienced, tamed Related words 旧きゅう 友ゆう More formal and literary term for an old friend, often used in writing or speeches. 昔なじみ is warmer and more colloquial.
幼おさな なじみ Specifically a childhood friend, someone you've known since you were very young. 昔なじみ can refer to any old acquaintance, not necessarily from childhood.
Written forms 昔むかし 馴な 染じ み Usage 41%
Full kanji spelling; slightly more formal or literary feel.
昔むかし なじみ Usage 47%
Common mixed kanji-kana spelling; the kana part makes it easy to read.
昔むかし 馴な 染じみ Usage 13%
Abbreviated kanji spelling; less common but still seen.
Etymology Compound of 昔 (mukashi, 'old times') and なじみ (najimi, 'familiarity, acquaintance'), from the verb 馴染む (najimu, 'to become familiar'). The spelling 馴染み uses kanji for the second part, while なじみ is often written in kana.
