昔

Translingual

Han character

昔 (Kangxi radical 72, 日+4, 8 strokes, cangjie input 廿日 (TA), four-corner 4460₁, composition ⿱龷日)

1. formerly
2. ancient
3. in the beginning

Derived characters

• 借, 徣, 惜, 耤, 措, 腊, 猎, 醋, 錯 (错), 𰃩

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 492, character 5
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 13816
• Dae Jaweon: page 855, character 2
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 1488, character 11
• Unihan data for U+6614

Chinese

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 昔
Shang	Western Zhou	Warring States	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Chu slip and silk script	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Oracle bone form: Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意) : 𡿧 (“disaster; floods”) + 日 (“sun”) – the flood submerging the sun; the former times.

Shuowen: Two pieces of flesh (仌) left to dry in the sun (日). Original form of 腊 (OC *sjaːɡ).

Etymology 1

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-r(j)ak (“night, full 24-hour day, spend the night”) (STEDT; Schuessler, 2007). Wang (1982) relates this to 夕 (OC *ljaːɡ) and 夜 (OC *laːɡs); however, see those two entries for more.

Pronunciation

Definitions

昔

1. ^⁜ former times; the past; long ago; ancient times

   • 昔去雪如花，今來花似雪。 [MSC, trad.]
     昔去雪如花，今来花似雪。 [MSC, simp.]

     From: 范雲, 《別詩》

     Xī qù xuě rú huā, jīn lái huā sì xuě.

     When I left then, the snow was like the flowers; I come now and the flowers are like the snow.

   • 昔魯公殺一無罪宮女，遂致九年旱澇；景公怒殺宮妃，臺傾三里。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     昔鲁公杀一无罪宫女，遂致九年旱涝；景公怒杀宫妃，台倾三里。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: 甄偉, 西漢通俗演義

     Xī Lǔ Gōng shā yī wúzuì gōngnǚ, suì zhì jiǔ nián hànlào; Jǐng Gōng nù shā gōngfēi, tái qīng sān lǐ.

     In olden times, the Duke of Lu murdered a guiltless palace maid, thus resulting in nine years of drought and flood; the Duke of Jing murdered a palace concubine in anger, causing terraces to collapse by three li.

2. ^† yesterday

   • 疇昔之羊，子為政；今日之事，我為政。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     畴昔之羊，子为政；今日之事，我为政。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Commentary of Zuo, c. 4^th century BCE, translation from Zuozhuan: Commentary on the "Spring and Autumn Annals" (2017), by Stephen Durrant, Wai-yee Li and David Schaberg

     Chóuxī zhī yáng, zǐ wéizhèng; jīnrì zhī shì, wǒ wéi zhèng.

     With yesterday’s mutton, you were in charge, but in today’s affair, I am in charge.

   • 未成乎心而有是非，是今日適越而昔至也。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     未成乎心而有是非，是今日适越而昔至也。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Zhuangzi, circa 3^rd – 2^nd centuries BCE

     Wèi chéng hū xīn ér yǒu shìfēi, shì jīnrì shì yuè ér xī zhì yě.

     For one who has not this determined mind, to have his affirmations and negations is like the case described in the saying, 'He went to Yue to-day, and arrived at it yesterday.'

3. ^† sunset; dusk
4. ^† Alternative form of 腊 (“dried meat”)
5. ^† Alternative form of 夕 (xī, “evening; night”)

   • 為一昔之期，襲梁及霍。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     为一昔之期，袭梁及霍。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Commentary of Zuo, c. 4^th century BCE, translation from Zuozhuan: Commentary on the "Spring and Autumn Annals" (2017), by Stephen Durrant, Wai-yee Li and David Schaberg

     Wèi yīxī zhī qī, xí Liáng jí Huò.

     They made an overnight pact, and then mounted sneak attacks on Liang and Huo.

6. a surname

Compounds

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

Definitions

昔

1. ^† coarse; rough
2. ^† Alternative form of 錯／错 (“to criss-cross”)
3. ^† Alternative form of 措 (cuò, “to use; to carry out”)

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

Definitions

昔

1. (Southern Min) Alternative form of 早

Japanese

Kanji

(grade 3 “Kyōiku” kanji)

Readings

• Go-on: しゃく (shaku, Jōyō ^†)
• Kan-on: せき (seki, Jōyō)
• Kun: むかし (mukashi, 昔, Jōyō)

Etymology

From Old Japanese. The muka portion derives from the 未然形 (mizenkei, “incomplete form”) of verb 向く (muku, “to face opposite to something”), implying “that which stands opposite from the present”. The shi portion is suffix し (shi) indicating direction, also found in words 縦し (tatashi, “the standing or vertical direction”), 横し (yokoshi, “the sideways or horizontal direction”). This appears to be a somewhat rare alternative form, more commonly encountered as さ (sa), and may be cognate with the nominalizing adjective ending さ (sa).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) むかし (Heiban – )
• IPA^(key):

Adverb

昔(むかし) • (mukashi) 

1. once (in the indeterminate past)

   昔(むかし)見(み)た映(えい)画(が)

   mukashi mita eiga

   a movie I once saw

Noun

昔(むかし) • (mukashi) 

1. the past, old times

   昔(むかし)と今(いま) ― mukashi to ima ― the past and the present

   昔(むかし)の自(じ)分(ぶん) ― mukashi no jibun ― my past self

   昔(むかし)からの友達(ともだち) ― mukashi kara no tomodachi ― a longtime friend (literally, “a friend since old times”)

   昔(むかし)に戻(もど)る ― mukashi ni modoru ― to return to the past

   • 970–999, Utsubo Monogatari, page Toshikage:

     むかし、式部大輔、左大弁かけて清原の王ありけり。

2. ancient

   昔(むかし)の人(ひと) ― mukashi no hito ― ancient people

   もう昔(むかし)の話(はなし)だ。 ― mō mukashi no hanashi da. ― That's ancient history.

Derived terms

• 昔(むかし)昔(むかし) (mukashi mukashi)

References

Korean

Hanja

昔 • (seok, chak) (hangeul 석, 착, revised seok, chak, McCune–Reischauer sŏk, ch'ak, Yale sek, chak)

1. formerly
2. ancient
3. in beginning

Vietnamese

Han character

昔: Hán Nôm readings: tích, tếch, thách, tách

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