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旧jiùold

HSK 3word

By Chinese Copilot · Last updated

旧 (jiù) means "old" in the sense of not new, the opposite of 新, as in 旧衣服 (old clothes). It can mean "former," describing something from before, such as an earlier home or friend. It also means "worn (with age)," when an object looks used after a long time.

What does 旧 mean?

  1. 1.

    oldadjective

  2. 2.

    formeradjective

  3. 3.

    worn (with age)adjective

What does the character 旧 mean?

  • 旧old

How do you use 旧?

旧 describes things, not people's age; for an older person you can use 老 instead.

What are some examples of 旧 in a sentence?

  1. HSK 1

    这件衣服太旧了。

    Zhè jiàn yīfu tài jiù le.

    This piece of clothing is too worn.

  2. HSK 1

    我想买新的，不要旧的。

    Wǒ xiǎng mǎi xīn de, búyào jiù de.

    I want to buy a new one, not an old one.

  3. HSK 3

    他还住在旧房子里。

    Tā hái zhù zài jiù fángzi li.

    He still lives in the old house.

How is 旧 used in a conversation?

  1. Speaker A:

    你的书包怎么这么旧？

    Nǐ de shūbāo zěnme zhème jiù?

    Why is your schoolbag so worn?

  2. Speaker B:

    我用了五年了。

    Wǒ yòngle wǔ nián le.

    I've used it for five years.

  3. Speaker A:

    该买个新的了吧。

    Gāi mǎi ge xīn de le ba.

    It's probably time to buy a new one.

  4. Speaker B:

    下个月我就去买。

    Xià ge yuè wǒ jiù qù mǎi.

    I'll go buy one next month.

What should you learn next?

Related words

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English glosses on this page are adapted from CC-CEDICT, published by MDBG (snapshot 2026-10-23), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Glosses were edited for learners.