自古

Chinese

		from	ancient
simp. and trad. (自古)		自	古

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): zìgǔ

  (Zhuyin): ㄗˋ ㄍㄨˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): zi⁶ gu²
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): chhṳ-kú
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): chīr-kó͘ / chū-kó͘

  (Teochew, Peng'im): ze⁷ gou²

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: zìgǔ
    • Zhuyin: ㄗˋ ㄍㄨˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: zìhgǔ
    • Wade–Giles: tzŭ⁴-ku³
    • Yale: dz̀-gǔ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tzyhguu
    • Palladius: цзыгу (czygu)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sz̩⁵¹ ku²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: zi⁶ gu²
    • Yale: jih gú
    • Cantonese Pinyin: dzi⁶ gu²
    • Guangdong Romanization: ji⁶ gu²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡siː²² kuː³⁵/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: chhṳ-kú
    • Hakka Romanization System: cii gu`
    • Hagfa Pinyim: ci⁴ gu³
    • Sinological IPA: /t͡sʰɨ⁵⁵ ku³¹/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chīr-kó͘
    • Tâi-lô: tsīr-kóo
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /t͡sɯ⁴¹⁻²² kɔ⁵⁵⁴/
  • (Hokkien: General Taiwanese, Xiamen, Zhangzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chū-kó͘
    • Tâi-lô: tsū-kóo
    • Phofsit Daibuun: zuxkor
    • IPA (Taipei): /t͡su³³⁻¹¹ kɔ⁵³/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /t͡su³³⁻²¹ kɔ⁴¹/
    • IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou): /t͡su²²⁻²¹ kɔ⁵³/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: ze⁷ gou²
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: tsṳ̄ kóu
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sɯ¹¹ kou⁵²/

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• Middle Chinese: dzijH kuX

Rime
Character	自	古
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Initial (聲)	從 (15)	見 (28)
Final (韻)	脂 (15)	模 (23)
Tone (調)	Departing (H)	Rising (X)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open
Division (等)	III	I
Fanqie	疾二切	公戸切
Baxter	dzijH	kuX
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/d͡ziɪH/	/kuoX/
Pan Wuyun	/d͡ziH/	/kuoX/
Shao Rongfen	/d͡zjɪH/	/koX/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/d͡ziH/	/kɔX/
Li Rong	/d͡ziH/	/koX/
Wang Li	/d͡ziH/	/kuX/
Bernard Karlgren	/d͡zʱiH/	/kuoX/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	zì	gǔ
Expected Cantonese Reflex	zi6	gu2

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*s.[b]i[t]-s  kˤaʔ/

  (Zhengzhang): /*ɦljids  kaːʔ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	自	古
Reading #	2/2	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	zì	gǔ
Middle Chinese	‹ dzijH ›	‹ kuX ›
Old Chinese	/*s.[b]i[t]-s/	/*kˁaʔ/
English	to follow; from	ancient
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	自	古
Reading #	1/1	1/1
No.	17879	4219
Phonetic component	自	古
Rime group	至	魚
Rime subdivision	1	0
Corresponding MC rime	自	古
Old Chinese	/*ɦljids/	/*kaːʔ/

Adverb

自古

1. from time immemorial; since ancient times

   • 自古皆有死，民無信不立。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     自古皆有死，民无信不立。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE

     Zìgǔ jiē yǒu sǐ, mín wú xìn bù lì. [Pinyin]

     From of old, death has been the lot of all men; but if the people have no faith in their rulers, there is no standing for the state.

   • 人生自古誰無死？留取丹心照汗青。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     人生自古谁无死？留取丹心照汗青。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: 1279, Wen Tianxiang, 《過零丁洋》

     Rénshēng zìgǔ shéi wú sǐ? Liú qǔ dānxīn zhào hànqīng. [Pinyin]

     (please add an English translation of this usage example)

Synonyms

• 古來／古来 (gǔlái) (literary)
• 終古／终古 (zhōnggǔ) (literary)
• 自古以來／自古以来 (zìgǔ yǐlái)

 

Derived terms

• 自古以來／自古以来 (zìgǔ yǐlái)
• 自古皆有死，人無信不立／自古皆有死，人无信不立 (zìgǔ jiē yǒu sǐ, rén wúxìnbùlì)
• 自古皆有死，民無信不立／自古皆有死，民无信不立 (zìgǔ jiē yǒu sǐ, mín wúxìnbùlì)
• 自古紅顏多薄命／自古红颜多薄命 (zìgǔ hóngyán duō bómìng)