# 昔 — long ago

昔 means “long ago”. It is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 8 strokes. On'yomi: セキ (seki), シャク (shaku). Kun'yomi: むかし (mukashi). You'll see it in words such as 昔 (mukashi, “the old days; the past”).

- Meaning: long ago
- On'yomi: セキ (seki), シャク (shaku)
- Kun'yomi: むかし (mukashi)
- Strokes: 8
- Level: JLPT N3 · set Time 2

## How to remember 昔

Ten (十) and ten more suns (日) piled up: long ago.

Parts: 廾 two hands · 日 sun; day

## Words with 昔

| Word | Reading | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 昔 | むかし (mukashi) | the old days; the past |

## Don't confuse it with

[措](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/set-aside/) · [惜](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/begrudge/) · [曹](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/sergeant/) · [共](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/together/)

## More in the “Time 2” set

[再](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/again/) · [常](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/always/) · [末](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/tip/) · [旧](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/former/) · [秒](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/second-of-time/) · [昔](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/long-ago/) · [頃](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/around-a-time/)

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From Moji Ninja (https://moji.ninja/), a free app for learning hiragana, katakana and the JLPT kanji from N5 to N1 with spaced repetition. Page: https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/long-ago/. Last updated 2026-11-01.