HSK 5 · Time

古代 gǔdài “ancient times” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 古代 means

  1. ancient times

How to say 古代

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale古gǔ3rd tone, dipping
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale代dài4th tone, falling

古代 in a sentence

  1. 我父亲对古代历史有兴趣。

    Wǒ fùqīn duì gǔdài lìshǐ yǒu xìngqù.

    My father is interested in ancient history.

    Sentence #931053 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters

  2. 古代的探险家用星星来辨别方向。

    Gǔdài de tànxiǎnjiā yòng xīngxing lái biànbié fāngxiàng.

    Ancient explorers used the stars to find their way.

    Sentence #779859 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

  3. 古代中国没有椅子。

    Gǔdài Zhōngguó méiyǒu yǐzi.

    There were no chairs in ancient China.

    Sentence #5995377 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters

How 古代 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 古 (gǔ) with each of its parts in a different colour
古gǔancient
  • 十ten · shí
  • 口mouth · kǒu
The character 代 (dài) with each of its parts in a different colour
代dàito be a substitute for
  • 亻person form of 人 · rén
  • 弋shoot · yì

How to write 古代

古 5 strokes · 代 5 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

古代 (gǔdài) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 古代 (gǔdài). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 古代

Words with 古

古典gǔdiǎn · classical名胜古迹míngshènggǔjì · famous sights and historic sites古怪gǔguài · strange考古kǎogǔ · archaeology古董gǔdǒng · antique

Words with 代

近代jìndài · modern times (roughly 1840 to 1919 in China)年代niándài · a decade of a century (e.g. the Sixties)时代shídài · age现代xiàndài · modern times代表dàibiǎo · representative代替dàitì · to replace后代hòudài · descendants朝代cháodài · dynasty当代dāngdài · contemporary历代lìdài · successive dynasties

More words: Time & Sequence

除夕Chúxī · lunar New Year’s Eve从此cóngcǐ · from now on从前cóngqián · previously公元gōngyuán · CE (Common Era)国庆节Guóqìngjié · PRC National Day (October 1st)阶段jiēduàn · stage近代jìndài · modern times (roughly 1840 to 1919 in China)空闲kòngxián · free time

FAQs

古代 (gǔdài) means “ancient times”. It is an HSK 5 word.
Say it gǔdài: gǔ with a 3rd tone, then dài with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 古代 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type gudai with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 古代 from the suggestions. Typing gudai into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
古代 is an HSK 5 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

Turn words into conversations

A dictionary gives you the words. A native teacher shows you how to use them. Start with a free 30-minute intro call.

Book a free intro call

Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.