How to Write 旧 (jiù) — Meaning “old; used; former”

Imagine the radical 日 (sun) and the stroke 丨 as a tally mark on a calendar — when you cross off a day, that day becomes 'old' (旧). Another way: see 旧 as a sun (日) with a line through it, like "the sun that has passed," meaning old. This visual of a crossed-out day helps link the shape to the meaning of 'old' or 'used.'

Write 旧 starting with the left radical 日: first the vertical stroke down, then the top horizontal, then the middle horizontal, then the bottom horizontal (3 strokes). Next write the right vertical stroke 丨 (1 stroke) from top to bottom. Common mistakes include making the right stroke too short or curved, or misaligning it with the middle of 日 — it should be a straight vertical line slightly taller than the sun radical.

旧 has an extra vertical stroke to the right of 日, while 日 is just the sun radical alone — 旧 means 'old,' 日 means 'sun' or 'day.' 旦 has a horizontal line at the bottom of 日, meaning 'dawn' (sun rising over the horizon), whereas 旧 has the vertical line on the right side. Visually, 旧 looks like 日 with a "1" beside it, 旦 looks like 日 with a bottom line.

旧 is very common for describing things that are old or second-hand, like 旧衣服 (old clothes), or former states like 旧地址 (old address). It appears in the phrase 叙旧, meaning to catch up and talk about old times — a warm social custom in Chinese culture. The word 依旧 means 'still as before,' often used in literature to express continuity despite change.

Common words containing 旧 include: 旧衣服 (jiù yī fú) — old clothes; second-hand clothing; 叙旧 (xù jiù) — to reminisce or talk about old times; 依旧 (yī jiù) — as before; still.