► 名詞
昔 [むかし] meaning: past rank: 1
☆ インターネットが無かったのはそう昔のことではない ⇨ It was not that long ago when there was no Internet
☆ 昔には良かったことも悪かったこともある ⇨ The old days had good things and also bad things
☆ 昔のことは忘れよう ⇨ Let’s forget what happened in the past
☆ 昔の人達は強かった ⇨ People in the past were tough
昔 [むかし] [昔々] meaning: past rank: 1
☆ 昔々、ある所にお爺さんとお婆さんが住んでいました (むかしむかし) ⇨ Once upon a time, a grandpa and a grandpa were living somewhere (☛ A common phrase in stories for children)
過去 [(1)かこ] meaning: past rank: 2
☆ 動詞の過去形 ⇨ The past tense of a verb
☆ 彼には複雑な過去があるようだ ⇨ It seems like he has a complicated past
☆ 過去の事にいつまでも拘ってもしょうがない ⇨ It won’t do any good to dwell on things in the past
古く [(1)ふるく] [liter] meaning: past rank: 2
☆ それは古くは～と呼ばれた ⇨ That used to be called … in the long past
☆ 古くから伝わる民話 ⇨ A folklore passed from the old times
大昔 [(3)おおむかし] meaning: past rank: 3
☆ 大昔の人達はどうやって虫歯を防いでいたのだろう？ ⇨ How did ancient people avoid dental cavities?
先 [(1)さき] meaning: past rank: 3
☆ 社会党は先の選挙で大敗した ⇨ The socialist party suffered a major defeat in the recent election (☛ A recent past)
一昔 [(2)ひとむかし] meaning: past rank: 3
☆ それは一昔前は普通だった ⇨ That was common, normal, in the previous generation, not so long ago (☛ Generally around 10 to 50 years ago. A past but not that long ago)
古 [いにしえ] [liter] meaning: past rank: 4
☆ 京都は古の都だ ⇨ Kyoto is an ancient capital
往年 [おうねん] [liter] meaning: past rank: 4
☆ 彼は往年の名選手だ ⇨ He was a great player in the past
温故知新 [(1)おんこちしん] meaning: past rank: 4
☆ 温故知新 ⇨ Learn from the past and find a new way
古来 [(1)こらい] meaning: past rank: 4
☆ 日本古来の音楽 ⇨ Japanese original traditional music (☛ Originate in ancient times)
太古 [(1)たいこ] [liter] meaning: past rank: 4
☆ 人間のDNAに刻まれた太古の記憶 ⇨ Ancient memories carved in human DNA (☛ A very long time ago)
► 連体詞
在りし [(1)ありし] [在り＋き] [liter] meaning: past rank: 4
☆ 母の在りし日の思い出 ⇨ Memories of the days when mom was alive (☛ Literally means “existed”)